I Am Officially a Librarian!

Pic by Ian Simmons

I just finished my Masters in Library and Information Science. (Didn’t know you needed a Masters to be a Library Scientist, huh? I didn’t either when I started! Imagine the horror when I learned my hard-earned Bachelors wasn’t good enough!!!) I will say that despite all my crying and complaining these two years have flown by and now I am done. MUAHAHAH!

In another cruel twist of fate, I am the Children’s and Young Adult Librarian at the JFK Library. This is only ironic if you’re privy to the fact that I grew up coming to this library. I used to steal (um, borrow and then forget to return) the comics, I used to skate in the parking lot and front steps to the detriment of older patrons who were afraid a stray skateboard would crush their weak ankles, I used to play games for hours on the computers and argue with the staff, and most importantly I supplemented my crappy Dade County Public School education at JFK.

And now, I am forced to track down and replace conveniently forgotten comics (called manga now) with an ever-shrinking budget. I have to shoo away the rowdy skaters and threaten them with the police, while secretly admiring their awesome Kick-flips or Ollies. I have to tell the geeky kid, ready for a day of gaming, that PC Reservation won’t allow him to use the computer because he owes $5.20 (for that manga he’s yet to return.)

Of course, I turn a blind eye a lot of the time because these little bastards are inadvertently learning something while they hang out at the library (Lord knows I did!) and you never know which one will be the next Library Scientist.