Baby Boomer Librarians Can Be A Rewarding Career, Especially For Book Lovers

Baby Boomer Librarians

If you're a book lover, there's no better second career to have than a librarian. You'll not only get the thrill of helping connect people to books they'll love, but you get to spend your day surrounded by books yourself in peaceful serenity--what could be better?

Skills You'll Need

Before you even begin looking for librarian jobs, it's important to make sure that you have the right skills. Library science is constantly evolving and incorporating new technologies, and if your experience of libraries ends with the card catalog, you won't be able to be competitive in the modern library marketplace.

It's a good idea to become familiar with basics of modern library catalog systems, in particular online journal sites like JStor. In a pinch, a good knowledge of database software like Microsoft Access will do, but the more systems you can learn about the better when it comes to being hired. A good working knowledge of both the Library of Congress notation and the Dewey Decimal System are also essential.

Any foreign language experience you have will also go a long way in the library job market, especially if you're looking for jobs in a university environment. If you don't know any foreign languages, there's no time like the present to start picking up some of the standard second languages, in particular Spanish, French, and other Romance languages.

Where To Look For Work

Once you're sure your skills are in order, you'll have to start looking for work. There are plenty of different opportunities for library work, each with its own challenges and advantages.

When most people think of libraries, they think of the standard public library in their town. These libraries have the advantage of being low-stress and fairly simple in terms of work requirements. It's also easy to get your foot in the door with library work by volunteering: local libraries are often staffed by part-timers and volunteers, and another hand to shelve, alphabetize, and manage library patrons is always welcome.

A more challenging environment might be a university library, with its focus on research and its much larger variety of books. It's unrealistic to expect high-level jobs at university libraries without advanced degrees, but it's certainly possible to start working on a volunteer basis. Ask at your local university and see if there are any opportunities for library assistants. High student populations sometimes make these jobs hard to find, but if your skills set is good you can definitely stand out and start working.

Private/corporate libraries or information consulting jobs are much more difficult to get and usually require some kind of advanced degree. Corporations take their information archiving and technology very seriously, and it's absolutely essential to have up-to-the-minute knowledge about databases, archiving concepts, and management techniques in order to compete in the private library job market.

It's a much better idea for part-timers to reserve these jobs for later in a library career. You can rely on public libraries to build experience and provide you with a good base for getting more advanced qualifications.

Furthering Your Career

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people interested in library careers and not nearly enough jobs to go around. Unless you have very, very good skills or prior library experience it can be difficult for a part-timer to break into high-end library jobs.

The high price of advanced librarian training (most high-end jobs require a master's degree in information science) is also a major barrier to consider, especially if you've been out of a college environment for a very long time. It never hurts to ask, of course, but it's a good idea to carefully consider what you're looking for in a library career and to make sure you have a backup plan.

Most of the best parts about a library career are available even in the humblest of library jobs, after all.

One good strategy for getting around this problem is to start working on a volunteer basis at a public library and to ask the head librarian there about options for getting additional training. Some larger libraries provide volunteers with free coursework in the finer points of library science. If you're lucky, some of this coursework could apply for credit toward a library science degree.

Library careers have a certain "glass ceiling" built in, but a talented if untrained part-time worker can sometimes go far with some assistance from higher-ranking librarians. Don't be afraid to ask--you might be surprised by what you learn, and by where you can go with your career. So do consider becoming baby boomer librarians.

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