though probably less fascinating to Googledom at large: I'm putting together my application for library school and thought I might share my Statement of Intent (1406 words). Here it comes - read on at your own peril!
I have worked in academic libraries for all of my adult life, but my love for the institution of the library began many years before. As my town was too small to afford a public library of its own and my elementary school library's collection was woefully narrow in scope, the weekly arrival of the community bookmobile was something akin to a religious experience for me - a kid who grew up in a "one bookshelf" home. I remember the wonder and amazement I felt at being surrounded by books and the joy at being able to borrow whatever I pleased as I browsed through the titles. Although that bookmobile couldn't have had more than a few hundred monographs crammed onto its shelves, at the time it seemed like the sum total of the world's knowledge. I never left without as many books as I could carry!
The idea of repositories of books that are maintained not for profit but for the betterment of humanity is still one that gives me a thrill; the more I’ve realized how rare and beautiful libraries are, the more I've wanted to learn everything there is to know about them, inside and out. My first library job was at the Dewey Library at M.I.T., where I had begun my undergraduate education. Even though I had already considered myself a bibliophile who knew his way around in a library environment, I didn't realized how much I was under-utilizing the library system until I found myself on the other side of the desk. Starting out as the serials shelving supervisor, I came to learn Dewey's periodical collection inside and out. When after that I was promoted to the Circulation Desk, I found out quickly that all manners of questions were fair game for the front line of a library – not just the policies and procedures of circulation but detailed reference queries as well, especially on the evenings and weekends, when I worked. Sometimes I think I learned more in the three years that I worked at Dewey than I had in the three years before as an M.I.T. undergraduate, as I was routinely expected to know how to find and access information that was well beyond my major field of concentration. The rewards were more satisfying as well – not a letter grade or a nod from a professor (if that), but heartfelt thanks from desperate library patrons who would have otherwise gone without the knowledge they were looking for.
After returning to college in order to complete my Bachelor's degree in Ancient Greek and Latin, I ended up working at the Countway Library of Medicine in the office of Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery, and once more a whole new aspect of library operations opened up to me. This time not only did I have a keener appreciation and better understanding of academic libraries, but I also found a mentor in the form of my supervisor. A recent graduate of Simmons College herself, she saw in me the love of librarianship and not only potential but enthusiasm for library science, and did her best to nurture it. It was at the Countway that I first began to tackle problems of policy and procedure as an employee trusted with the authority to optimize my own day-to-day workflow and to “own” my job in a way that I hadn’t before. This was a monumental change for me – no longer content simply to do what was expected of me, I wanted to know why we did things the way we did in the I.L.L. office and the library as a whole. Feeling like I had a personal interest in the well-being of the Countway, I didn't hesitate to raise my voice and make my opinions known when decisions were made that had an effect on what I thought our library's mission was. Sometimes I found myself in direct conflict with the decisions that were made, but never did I let that deter me from ensuring that my patrons received the best possible service and assistance in obtaining the information they sought.
I left the Countway last summer to take advantage of a rare opportunity - a cataloging job had opened up in the Modern Greek Division at Widener Library, on the Harvard main campus in Cambridge. Unlike the bulk of the Harvard College Library's cataloging work, which is done now in the vast Technical Processing Office, materials in the Greek alphabet were handled by the Modern Greek Librarian and two assistants. This meant that instead of doing one job over and over again in a high-volume setting, I would be doing a little bit of everything in the cataloger's job description - acquisitions, provisional cataloging, serials holdings, and the like. Again another vista opened up. For years I had been learning about the external mechanics of how a library worked; now I was privy to the innermost workings, the basic classification and organization of knowledge and library materials. Everything I’ve learned on this job so far has made me want to learn more, and I am therefore very eager to begin my formal education in the library sciences this upcoming summer. In the meantime I have also begun working at the Widener Circulation Desk on the weekends, a definite change of pace from cataloging (which I continue to do) and a return to the “front line” service orientation that I began with, all those years ago. Once more I am answering reference questions along with checking out materials to patrons, only now my answers are informed by years of experience at all of the diverse positions I have held as a library assistant at both Harvard and M.I.T.
Needless to say, I've come a long way from the bookmobile. Although for a long time I didn't realize what to do with my love for books and my years of experience working in libraries, now for me things are very clear. There is no incompatibility whatsoever between my studies thus far in Greek and Latin and my vocation in librarianship - after all, the first librarians at the Great Library of Alexandria were themselves scholars - but getting to a point where I could see that the two disciplines were meant to be combined took a lot longer than I would have imagined. This is not an accident, however. As scholars we often don't understand the first things about using a library properly; and as librarians, we often forget that our mission is first and foremost an educational one. It's an axiom that one doesn't really understand a subject until he or she attempts to teach it to someone else. The same basic truth can be applied to librarianship. Once you've been on both sides of the desk, you begin to apprehend the big picture; and I feel it's time for me finally not only to apprehend, but to understand it as well.
At Simmons College I will have the opportunity to continue my education in the theory and organization of library materials through the Archives Management program, while furthering my studies in the Ancient World by taking advantage of the dual-degree program in library science and history. My ideal is ultimately to find a job that combines both passions for me, similar to the position I am working in now at the Modern Greek Division, but one which would draw upon my expertise in Latin and Ancient Greek. I am still torn, however, as to whether I would prefer working as a librarian at a large research university or something smaller, such as a private collection or specialized archive. Working in both public services and technical processing right now has given me a glimpse into what it would be like to work primarily with the collection versus working mostly with the library’s patrons, and to be honest I still enjoy both possibilities equally. I am hoping that my time at Simmons College will help me narrow my focus and choose a path, while at the same time preparing me for either eventuality. It is in this regard that I believe that the dual-degree program in library science and history would be a perfect match for me, as it offers a combination of deep knowledge and broad perspective that I feel has characterized my academic and professional lives thus far. I hope that you will agree with my assessment.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
No comments:
Post a Comment