Reflections of an academic librarian

摘要

The day I submitted this essay to C&RL News this spring, I'd been a librarian for one short month. You read that right, a mere 31 days. Because I am working on my MLS, yet carry the title "assistant librarian" I inhabit a strange, liminal space that affords me both a growing familiarity with academic libraries and the objective eye of an outsider. These liminal spaces can be difficult to occupy-awkward and bumbling. ("Sorry guys! I accidently sent that email to the whole library listserv! Don't mind me!") Yet I'd like to think that it affords me a fresh enough perspective on the academic library to have something worth saying. I should disclose that I've worked in academia before, teaching literature and writing courses as a full-time faculty member at my current university for several years. Since my switch to the library, however, I've noticed several things that I find intriguing, surprising, and even confusing about my new field. I've recorded these observations here and wonder if you seasoned readers will agree with my forming opinions.