I was just reading the OCLC newsletter and they had a focus on the “next generation” of the librarians.  They did short bios of a handful of recent MLS graduates to find out what they thought about librarianship.  They also had an interview that made me start thinking about where I want to go with this job (in general) and what I want to do in the future.  I have thought about management and right now I really thing that I enjoy working with patrons too much to move up into management.  There are patrons that I don’t like to deal with as much as some, but that’s going to happen anywhere.  The management I see in the library I’m in now only gets to work with patrons rarely.  My boss covers the desk more now that we’re short a person, but it’s still farely rare for her to be on the desk for any length of time.  I don’t know that I have or will ever see the director on the desk.  The assistant director, when she was here, was on-desk once.  I just enjoy the research part of my job too much at this point.  I don’t like politics, office or otherwise, and I don’t think I would like dealing with all the political aspects of being a library director or manager.  Maybe the perfect job for me will open up…who knows?  I am not opposed to becoming management, but I don’t feel that I am really cut out for it.  My family says I would be a good manager, and so does my boyfriend, but at the moment I just don’t feel qualified.  It could be because I am the youngest person working almost on the whole staff.  I am the youngest professional on staff.  I don’t really feel that my coworkers think anything of it, but it feels weird when they are talking about having kids and stuff.  I hear so much about other librarians who have had to deal with not being taken seriously because of their age, and I don’t really want that to happen.  I don’t want to be burned out and hate my job.  I am happy with my job, but not thrilled with the pay.  I realize that will be similar almost anywhere, but I can’t afford a new car or to live in the town that I work in.  That really kind of sucks.

Okay…enough pensiveness….back to work…really this time.