I’ve mentioned before that sometimes I feel like I’m
not cut out for this. One of the main
reasons I especially feel discouraged lately is because I simply cannot find a
full job description that does not use a buzzword like “innovative” or
“leader.”
A popular saying is that you either lead,
follow, or get out of the way. I’ll
gladly do options two or three, but I am not into option one. And as for being an innovator, are you
kidding me? How? I have no idea how to reinvent the
wheel. If I were that smart… I’d be able
to think of a witty way to end this sentence.
No, as a matter of fact I’m not on the bleeding edge of
today’s technology. I’m not sure how you
expect me to be when I can’t even get a decent job to begin with. I don’t get to throw money around on things
that are impractical for my own personal use.
When I don’t even own a smart phone, I’m obviously not going to know how
to design apps for it. And no, a webinar
isn’t going to fill that knowledge gap when the technology itself is only
theoretical in my world.
But I’m sorry, that paragraph looked like I’m shifting the
blame to my circumstances. My original
point, however, is that I’m not that person.
I’m not inventing things. I’m not
shaking up the status quo. I’m not
thinking of exciting new things that have never been done. I’m not that
smart. We can’t all be leaders and
trailblazers in the field, right? Don’t
there have to be some of us to follow you, or get out of your way?
To be clear, I am perfectly willing to do exactly that—“get
out of your way.” I do not intend to be
an obstacle for people who want to do new things. I don’t want to be the one grumbling at change
because it’s more work. If you can
improve something, great, I’ll get in line.
Only problem is, it doesn’t seem like there’s a line to get into.
You would think the trailblazers would need people in line,
but judging by the job descriptions I see, everyone is expected to be a leader,
an innovator, a general.
Maybe it speaks of an internal insecurity in the librarian
world. Some laypersons still view the
library as “musty old books” that are hopelessly behind the times. And some of that probably is justified. I once attended a workshop given by a library
futurist (my apologies, her name escapes me) who said that her job is easy,
because all she has to do is look at what the rest of the world is already
doing.
So maybe this is why those job descriptions tend to
overcompensate by calling for every position, from the ground up, to be stuffed
with people filled with new ideas. But
how serious about that are they, and where does that leave me?
I’m only a person.
I’m not out to reinvent an industry or think of new ways of doing
things. I couldn't if I wanted to. I’m an ordinary, everyday person
who just wants to do a day’s work and get a day’s pay. Is there— especially in this economy— any space
out there for someone like me? And I
suppose the question people considering a career in librarianship need to ask
themselves is, is there room for you?
Who are you? Have you
always been inspired by people who have thrown buzzwords at you about thinking
outside the box? Are you the brilliant
kind of person who could revolutionize an industry and think of ways to do your job that no one in human history thought of before you? Are you on the bleeding edge of technology to
the point where you can tinker even further with it to do things that haven’t
been done yet? Or are you, like me, a
regular person who just wanted what seemed like a decent, respectable job that
wasn’t too strenuous for a weak body?
If it’s the latter I wish you luck, and hope you can manage
to survive where I apparently can’t.
Because it’s getting harder and harder to find leaders who will let you
line up behind them, rather than leave you behind.
