Career Plan

My career goal is to become a full-time librarian. I like the very human aspect of user services, and I am open to working in a variety of fields that allow me to directly help library users. My previous position as a library assistant at St Paul’s University was excellent, in part because I got to know the students at the library very well. My short-term plan for my career involves becoming a part-time library technician or library assistant. This could be in a school-board, university/college, or for the city. My library experience at a university and an NGO prepared me with the skillset to do various different kinds of entry-level work. I expect my next position will probably be an assistant job, and I would expect to stay in that position, or a similar role, for 1-3 years.

My current plan is to, within 4 years, acquire a position as a reference and user services librarian at a university or public library. This position would require skills such as researching (including using Web of Science and JSTOR), interpersonal communication, and writing concisely. These are skills I have honed during my academic career, as well as my time working as a library assistant. Searching online, I find that the most common professional experience required by many postings is 1-2 years of experience as a full-time librarian. 

For my career to progress, I have to rely on libraries’ accepting a combination of experience and education. Part of my career plan is to, when/if I get onto casual lists or get hired as an assistant, take short-term internal librarian postings during maternity/paternity leaves. These postings can help me bridge the gap from assistant to librarian. Eventually, after I have built experience as a librarian, I desire a position as the Head of User Services.

My time in the ÉSIS program has helped and prepared me for potential work as a reference and user services librarian. I have learned technical skills regarding information retrieval, and I have put them to use already in the workplace. I also learned more theoretical aspects of librarianship, like race and antiracism in library services, which will help me more proactively consider how certain choices affect marginalized patrons/users. ÉSIS professors have helped demonstrate for me the ways in which librarianship can be intellectually fulfilling and create a sense of empowerment when helping others, even in the face of institutional barriers (budgets, training difficulties, staff turnover). I have been similarly inspired by the User Services Librarian at St. Paul’s, who I worked under. Both with staff and patrons, her demeanor exuded both approachability and authority.