Me in 2010

When I had my first interview for a library job, back in the beginning of 2005, one of the questions that I asked was "Where do you see yourself in 2010?" Naturally, I said that I'd be a librarian. Nine months later, I applied for another job within the organisation, and was asked the same question, and this time I said that I wanted to be at least managing a small library by then.

So, the other day, when I was thinking about the future of libraries, I was, of course, also wondering where I'd be, and what part I'd be playing in the big picture of things. I have to admit that part of what is so exciting about where libraries are going with technology is the opportunity for me to be actively involved in this new direction. However, I wasn't half-joking when I considered that I might have left the profession. I've met a number of librarians who have moved on to other industries which they've either found more challenging/stimulating, or a field that they're more passionate about. And I think it's a realistic future for me, the way things are going. I haven't quite reached the crossroads where I might make that decision, but my last 2.5 years in libraries, whilst fun, haven't shown a lot of change in the industry, despite the opportunities for change.

That said, I attended a talk this morning by Margaret Dent, Co-curator of the National Treasures exhibition, and this has somewhat re-ignited my interest in heritage services - something that really inspired my career choice in the first place. In my undergraduate years, one of my favorite lecturers at Melbourne University, Bernard Muir, was doing all sorts of awesome stuff developing interactive digital media with medieval manuscripts, and was contracted by the British Library to do projects with their collection, and I thought it was simply the most awesome thing ever. Being able to take materials that are hundreds of years old, and digitise them into a hi-res format so anybody could access them, click on them for hyperlinks to translations, readings, and so on.

I also did my professional development with the Cultural Collections, including Rare Books, at the University of Melbourne. I started just before the launch of a new exhibition, so I was able to see the work that went toward curating a library exhibition, and also thought was a pretty cool job that I'd like to end up doing.

Seeing Margaret Dent (who was a rare books librarian before going into the National Treasures project) talk has made me think more about my career. It's unfortunate that, at the moment with current workforce trends, the industry is so saturated that qualified librarians can't be too picky about the work that they get. However, now that I'm getting pretty well established with my skills and experience as a librarian, maybe I should consider a future career in heritage services.

I hate career planning.