Plan B

[Cross-posted from The Land of Surprising Pun]

Two months from today, I'll be leaving the country. The fear is starting to set in. I still have no work lined up. I have no idea if I'll make any friends in the isolated town that I'll be living in. It scares me.

At the same time, I wonder - what am I losing by opting for this "Plan B" in my life.

I used to be super-keen about my career. I was so passionate about libraries, about the human capacity for learning and organising information, and about innovative ways by which we can use technology to share and enjoy our experiences, stories, and life lessons. When I became an information professional, I was determined to go out there and change the world.

But that's all changed. I know it's partially me - I don't have the age and wisdom to embody the kind of grace that I imagine is necessary to successfully manage change in a fraught industry. I used to think that all I needed was the willingness, enthusiasm, and knowhow to make things better, and the world would be right behind me. I was naive, and know now that it's a little more complicated than that.

However, I spent the evening with a group of young librarians, and whilst everybody is generally positive in their attitudes to their careers, I do keep hearing the same kinds of stories, the same experiences that I've been through in the past. And I don't envy any of them their jobs.

So, in lieu of attaining anything vaguely resembling a "dream job", it's time for Plan B. Life's too short to be frustrated at the same thing - I may as well risk a different variety of frustration. Hopefully, it'll at least vary the nature of my disillusionment with life, and who knows - perhaps I'll discover some new alternative career path that I never considered before.

One thing is for sure. When I step on that plane, it'll be goodbye to Plan A.

Like death and taxes...

Change is inevitable.

My life is changing, and I'm blogging about it here at The Land of Surprising Pun.

My return to Library Blogging

Greetings.

It's been a while, but I've decided to take a new direction in blogging in 2011.

For those of you who have found my Librarian Idol musings enjoyable / thought-provoking / mildly profound, I'm returning to the lib-blogger fold with a new blog, The Library Artist.

I'm also starting a review blog at The YA Book Pile, as a means of catching up on the pile of unread books that seem to have amassed in my bedroom.

See you over there!

Andrew

The end of the Idol journey

So, today is my three-year blogiversary.

I've explored the library industry, and reflected on my own personal experiences in various sectors. And as much as I enjoy rambling and occasionally ranting about libraries, I feel like I've pretty much said everything that there is to say here.

I've reached my destination. It's not quite where I expected to be, three years ago (although I would love to quit librarianship and become a folk singer). However, I feel like I've said everything that needs to be said about being a new librarian.

And so, it's time for a new direction. I need to challenge myself a bit more with my blogging and writing. Talking about libraries is easy for me. It's everything else in the world that's hard. I'll be trying to make sense of it all in my new blog, Mr Begin-Again.

But, for all of you loyal bibliophiliac readers, fear not! I have also joined the team at Libraries Interact, and will be contributing semi-regular library-related posts there. I couldn't give up biblioblogging completely!

And so, dear readers, thankyou. Especially those of you who have been reading all the way from the start. It's been fun!

I'll see you all on the other side (of the reference desk).