I've been thinking a lot about passion at work lately, and what makes me a good Librarian. I have a lot of passion for serving the public and I care deeply about doing the right thing, making a difference in the world, stuff like that. So it's been hard for me, during this down time, to keep myself motivated and keep my head in the game. I've been fortunate to have good friends who've supported me and helped me remember what I'm about when I get low and I've also participated in some webinars and done some research here and there.
One thing that is challenging for me is that, for each job, I research and prep and build up a passion for that library. As I prepare for an interview I research the town, learn about the library, check out census numbers, create charts and graphs with data I find, heck, I even look at the housing stock in the area. I learn as much as I can about the community around that library so that when I interview I can speak directly to that board of trustees (or whoever is interviewing) about what they are facing. So I build up my passion for that place. I get excited about the possibilities, I care. I can't help but think that one of these times it's going to pay off . . . right? I've written vision statements for some of these libraries, I've created goals and objectives, drafted plans for collection development, staff training, customer service, etc.
Yea, someday the board will think mine is the best plan. The waiting is hard. You see, I get all passionate about a place and then when I don't get to go to that place it makes me sad. Still, it's exciting to go through this process and I'm learning more each time.
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