Farewell, SAPL

It’s the day before my last day of reporting to work at the public library.  There are a lot of things that I will miss.  I had some really great coworkers here at the library – people who made breaks and time at the reference desk truly enjoyable – and I learned a lot about office dynamics that I’d somehow managed to avoid in my previous jobs.  I’m coming out of this a little wiser I hope; and, despite some difficulties that I had to work through in the public library system (contrary to popular opinion, this is not an easy place to be an introvert), I find that working in a library is still something that I want to do, and that should be a good indicator.

I won’t lie, there are a few things that I won’t miss – despite all of my efforts to be as pleasant, polite, and helpful as possible (which was thankfully not unnoticed by many patrons), there have always been a few who were consistently rude and demeaning … but that’s life.  Sometimes it just feels a bit concentrated here.  I’ve learned a lot about not taking things personally, when to let go, and when to vent.  Those are all good lessons to learn – and I know they will be applicable both back at school and again at the library when I return to public service.

All in all it’s bittersweet – I’m leaving a significant time in my professional development behind to make some changes that will in turn aid my career in the long term as a librarian.  I will miss wandering the stacks and the friends that I’ve made.

So I thought this transition up to Michigan for grad school would be a good time to start a blog.  I can reflect back on my time here at the SAPL and also document the experience of getting my masters 1500 miles away from home.  I’ll probably talk about food and wine a lot, too … but I’ll find a way to relate it all.  Most of the time.

~ by Jess on July 18, 2008.