A few days ago, I saw a tweet that made my stomach flip.
In the tweet the writer asked if other people in their mid-30s had experienced that 'in-between' state in their professional lives; too old to be a new starter but not where they thought they'd be by this point and still establishing their career path.
The Siren of Existential Dread
Perhaps it was all the Ally McBeal I watched growing up – where turning 30 was the equivalent of being dropped into a bin and set on fire – but age had always been a big issue for me. I had long since aged out of the young professional bracket, but my career was still in its early stages. Usually this tweet would have pressed the anxiety button, set off the Siren of Existential Dread (this is a silent siren, much like an anti-youth alarm). Fortunately, I had recently attended CILIP North West’s Library Careers Panel. I now had a secret weapon.
A Bit About Me..
I got my first library job at 26. Having spent the first chunk of my twenties assembling towers of discount cookbooks under the supervision of teenagers in WHSmith, I felt like an ancient crone. In my public library authority, however, I was one of the youngest members of staff. Suddenly I had ideas again, youthful ideas. It was exciting to feel like I was at the start of my career. For the first three years, it was a dream job. I helped people. I led Rhymetime sessions. I dressed up as a witch, a Hogwarts professor, and an Anglo-Saxon peasant (I still say, in the style of RuPaul, ‘Bring back my sack!’). And then I was nearly 30, exactly where I started, and time started to do funny things again. The panic hit. After several disastrous interviews, including one where the interviewer went from saying, ‘You look just like Miss Honey from Matilda’ to ‘You’re going through the wrong door’, I secured a librarian position at a school library service. This was it – serious job time.
Feeling the Itch
Skip to lockdown. After seven years of working in libraries, I was feeling the itch. While working from home enabled me to expand my job role, finding new ways to develop our digital outreach and collaborate more closely with colleagues, my focus had narrowed. My daily routine – work, walk the dog, eat biscuits, hate-watch Married at First Sight Australia – left a lot of thinking time. I thought about the things I needed to finish, like my postgrad degree, my Chartership portfolio, weeks 4 to 9 of Couch to 5K, and how I probably never would. With public libraries closed, my love for them grew. They were the one that got away. I marvelled at the online content my old library authority produced. The storytimes and the craft sessions and the coding activities – they were living their best life! I worried that I had made a mistake in changing sectors. But wait: did I even want to work in libraries? Maybe joining LinkedIn and comparing my career with those of old classmates would help?
Hitting the Reset Button
Thankfully library people are generous with their time and expertise. I signed up for free webinars and online events. I discovered how other library services and sectors adapted their services during lockdown, finding inspiration and ideas to incorporate into my own workplace. Hearing other people talk about libraries – people who were not me – was a relief. It was like hitting a reset button, clearing away months of self-indulgence and procrastination.
The CILIP North West Library Careers Panel
The most recent of these free events was the CILIP North West Library Careers Panel. Chaired by Professional Registration Support Officer Victoria Treadway, the 90-minute Zoom meeting featured six library professionals from a variety of sectors across the North West. Each panellist began by detailing their career in libraries, before moving on to talk about their current role and organisation. Coming from a public library background, I found the respective career paths of Zoe Collyer – who started in public libraries at 16 – and Marg Charlesworth – who joined Cheshire East Libraries after a career change – the most relatable. Given my doubts about changing sectors, I was relieved to hear how Zoe transitioned between public and academic libraries, taking advantage of situations, such as redundancies, to further develop her skills and find her next role.
As health libraries were the sector I knew least about, I was interested to hear about Gil Young’s role as Knowledge and Library Services Development Manager for Health Education England. I previously considered library jobs to be relatively insular, based in one location or limited to one set role, so it was eye-opening to see the breadth of Gil’s position. I was similarly impressed by the work of academic librarians Sinead English and Anna Theis. It was clear that both Sinead and Anna had built strong relationships with colleagues and library users, quickly adapting their student outreach and remote teaching programmes during lockdown. The final panellist was my colleague Alex Bamford from Cheshire Education Library Service. While I was familiar with the service, it was useful to see how Alex promoted it. As an audience member, I was able to appreciate my workplace – and the excellent service it offers schools – in a new light.
The Secret Weapon
The panel concluded with a Q&A session. Covering subjects such as imposter syndrome, diversity (or lack of) in library workplaces, job hunting, and navigating the jump from library assistant to librarian, the panel gave thoughtful answers and practical advice. I found Anna Theis’ defence against imposter syndrome – namely preparing for situations, including worst case scenarios, and utilising the support of colleagues – to be especially useful.
And the secret weapon? Perspective. It turns out that listening to people who are extremely good at their jobs talk about their jobs is a powerful motivator. The panel reminded me that there is no set route into libraries, no timeframe that must be followed. My preoccupation with age could get in the bin.
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