Sarah the Librarian

Today's day in the library is pretty brief. I applied for more library jobs. This afternoon I visited my local public library to pick up some books I had on hold. When I got back I discovered I'd received an ARC in the mail. If any of these books end up being notable, you'll be hearing about them in Friday Reads.

I learned some things today. #1: I tend to forget that I'm allowed to not love things. I've always been a hardworking, willing-to-pitch-in-wherever-I'm-needed type of person, so it's nearly impossible for me to admit that I don't want to do something. But the truth of the matter is, there are parts of librarianship that I do not want to make the center of my career. For example, I love helping kids whenever they cross my path, but I knew early on that I don't love them enough to pursue a career in youth services. Rather than working with just kids, I prefer the variety of helping all ages at the reference desk. This is something I've been able to admit I don't love, but there are plenty of examples of things I haven't simply because I haven't stopped to realize that I don't really love them enough. #2: I still care far too much about what other people think. I spent today preparing for an interview I didn't want to go to, bu...

I've alluded to the fact that I've been interviewing for librarian positions near my new home and someday when I'm not feeling so discouraged maybe I'll write more about the challenges of searching for a job in my particular area in this economy, etc., but for now I have to tell you all about my least favorite interview question. I realize that I'm probably being a little oversensitive here and I fully admit that this is my particular pet peeve and probably not shared by the general population. Still, I just have to get it off my chest. What makes you the best candidate for this position? I know this is a pretty standard question and as easy to prepare for as "What's your biggest weakness?", so I always have a prepared answer for it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I often bomb it because it's so hard to keep my hatred of this question under wraps. My hatred of this question is very specific to librarianship. I got into this field in ...

I'm currently working my way through three books. With all the personal challenges facing my family over the last year, I've revived my faith and reexamined it as we've gone through these trials and tribulations. So I've read a lot of books relating to Christianity. Last year I received an ARC of Brian Liftin's The Sword , which is the first book in a post-apocalyptic Christian fantasy series. Hundreds of years after a plague and nuclear apocalypse knocks out 90% of the human population, the world is reset to medieval times. What happens when a scholar discovers religious writings from the people who came before? With the intriguing premise, I was especially disappointed that I couldn't get into it when I first received it. The second title in the series,  The Gift , showed up in the mail this spring and I decided to give the series another try. I'm still on the fence. Liftin is another one of those theologians trying to write fiction and connect Christi...