Librarians Are All Just About Books, Right?

Our experiences help make us, help to shape and define the choices we decide to move forward with every day. At 23 years of age, I was homeless and living out of my car when I managed to land a job at my local public library. A space that I had been using as a Haven became a job site. For that reason and more, I could not think of the library as a work place alone. In many ways, it was also a home. Sticking around after my shift was over allowed me the freedom to explore the parts of the library I did not touch during work. After some time, it was the patrons that I started to pay more attention to. There is a sense of comfort in the library that I stepped into by spending so much time there. Watching people and my own personal connections to libraries brought me to the choice to attend UBC’s MLIS program. 

Among the many other schools and programs to consider, UBC’s stood out. While location, the culture surrounding the area, and the cost play their own parts in the decision making; the program offered is what clinched it. It had everything that I was looking for, a worldly education that provided opportunities for practicums and professional experience. It also held the specializations I was most interested in, community and archives. More than anything, from the days in and days out that I spent coming to know the patrons of the library that I worked for, I realized I wanted to have a hand in the stewardship of collections and services that directly impact communities. I thought the Archival profession would fuel that drive. Archives illuminate how important ‘what’ information gets preserved remains an incomparable truth. UBC’s focus on what I consider to be my passions made it an easy choice.