As I’m most of my readers now by now, I work in a library.  This amazing job was offered to me just over six months ago and I thank God everyday for it because I know it was all in His plan for this one to open up as opposed to the other libraries I had applied to prior to getting this job.  I honestly never knew I could come home from work every day and say that I love my job until now.  The past six months have really shown me that this is where I belong in the working world.

Of course, any of my family members and friends could’ve told you that before I realized it.

REasons Why I Love Working in a Library:

1. Being the first person to check out a brand new book.  When new books are added to our collection, often times my co-workers and I are the first to scavenge for an interesting read and check it out before any patrons get to them.  The only times we don’t are if they are already on hold for a patron.

2. Being surrounded by books.  One of the obvious ones, but also one of the best for a bookworm life myself.  No, we don’t sit and read all day, but just being surrounded by all kinds of books rejuvenates my love for reading and I’m always adding new books to my ‘To Be Read’ list.

3. Talking about books with patrons.  Another obvious and fun perk.  I really enjoy talking about books with patrons, whether they’re recommending it to me or vice versa.  I always get excited when I see a patron taking out a book I read and I get to tell them that it’s really good.  There’s also the case of them taking out a book I haven’t gotten to yet and I get to ask them to let me know what they think of it when they return it.  You can read as many reviews online about books as you want, but there’s nothing better than getting a review in person.

4. No library card, no problem.  At work, that is.  When we (the staff) want to check out items for ourselves at work, we just pull up our account on the computer and do so.  Though honestly, this one is both a blessing and a curse.  Sometimes we check out more than items than we can actually get to in a period of time.

5. No late fees.  Enough said.

Oh you know, creeping in the stacks is always fun too.

6. Nerding out in public.  We can nerd out over pretty much anything here at the library and not get judged for it.  It can be the latest movies, books, games… you name it!  Librarians need not be ashamed of what they get excited over because even if you’re alone among the staff, there’s a great chance that at least one patron will be on your side.

7. The staff.  I know librarians might seem like strict beings, but that’s really only if you don’t follow library policies.  Otherwise, librarians are probably some of the weirdest people you’ll meet… or at least the ones I’ve met are pretty strange.  It all links to the perk above, which is when we’re comfortable with each other and patrons, we’ll start nerding out… big time.  I can honestly say I love the people I work with – they’re all amazing human beings.

8. Learning.  Working in a library means that you’ll be learning a lot.  It can be new technologies that are being integrated into the job and that we offer for the patrons, or it can mean you learn new information about various subjects (or even things about your town).  Then there’s learning more about the different jobs of your coworkers and how all of them put together make the library system work as great as it does.

9. No one is in a rush.  Unlike retail, the patrons (customers) aren’t necessarily in a rush.  People who come to the library plan on spending a while here just browsing through books and our other resources, and when they are ready to check out, if they do so, they’re not particularly in a rush to get moving.  Very seldom do we get the “get in, get a book, and get out” type of patron who gets annoyed if there’s a line at the front desk.

10. It’s a creative space.  Librarians can actually very creative people.  Think about it, we have to make signs, displays, and come up with programs for our patrons.  I’ve had the pleasure of helping with and doing some creative projects already (including redesigning our job application because we still do old-school paper ones).  It’s nice to come up with our own ideas or work off of ideas we find online and give them our own personal touches.

Do you enjoy your job?  What do you think you would really love to have?