Moving On
There is a good article at Library Journal
about assessing where you are in your career and if your current
positions still meets your needs. The advice which Rachel Singer Gordon
gives in this article is very helpful. As a gen X librarian, I have
gone through (and am going through) some of what the article discusses. I have been in my
current job for almost four years. I love what I do but we are small
enough that there is little stratification (in terms of management). As
a result, there are really isn't any place for me to go in terms of
taking a new position where I currently work. If I want to run a
department and supervise staff I will have to go elsewhere.
Fortunately, my boss understands my situation (my restlessness and need
to do new things) and has tried to have my job grow with me. I've moved
from being strictly in charge of the library's website when I started
to coordinating all aspects of the library's electronic presence now.
In addition, this semester, due to a sabbatical, I was the acting
systems librarian. All of this experience has helped me to broad my
horizons and grow professionally. Still, part of my knows that I will
likely outgrow where I am. So I am constantly trying to objectively
assess if
that has happened yet. As RSG says this is difficult to deal with
because of the personal
relationships that you build when you are at a particular place. There
is also a comfortability of the known versus the unknown. It is nice to
know that my experience is not unique and get some advice on how to
deal with my ongoing situation.
