Librarian nostalgia (oh and it happens to be Thursday! Coincidence)

I love my job. Before I became a librarian, I can remember exactly when  I wanted to become a librarian. I was visiting the Atwater Village Public Library after a rough day at work (I was a customer service representative). I had studied journalism and French and I felt like I was going nowhere. Surrounded by books, the place was heavenly. There was a lone librarian working in front of a computer and I immediately wanted to be that person. I imagined what her day was like: park her car, go in, order books, talk to people what books they want to read, help them find things, look at databases, surrounded by books and knowledge...I already felt confident about my communication skills, even though English is my second language (I have to remind myself that sometimes) and I'm tenacious with research and discovering. I just knew that I wanted to work where I had something to do with books and people. And here I am, after a decade of working as a librarian (I had a short stint at a law firm as a digital content librarian - tons of fun but I'll write more on that later) and I don't take anything for granted.

Yesterday, I received this in the mail:

Through the years, I've had the opportunity to attend annual ALA conferences and I've met some fabulous folks at the publishing houses. In one of the talks that I've attended, I found out that librarians all over the country talk about books even before they get published. I got on their mailing list and now I get all these books to read before publication so I can order and recommend them to patrons.  How cool is that? I've reviewed quite a few books and have gotten a few featured on Library Reads - what a thrill! More importantly, I have recommended lots and lots of books to patrons - I enjoy hanging out near our new books section and just chatting with people: asking which authors they follow, asking them what they're currently reading, and asking them what their favorite books are. I look back and it's quite fitting that I found my dream job in the very place where I get to work!

Do you find libraries useful in your life? Share below!