You say potato, I say I don't know what librarian I want to be!

Nov. 10 is drawing near. It’s a day that could determine our future as librarians. It’s intimidating, yet thrilling. It’s class-registration day.

The events of this day have been on my mind, as well as some of my classmates. The past few weeks, we have been presented with a number of speakers from special, school media, academic and public libraries. Each speaker has brought something interesting and unique to the table, and I am not sure of which dish to dip into.

Because I am intrigued in each different library career, I’m not sure what courses to take, or even if I want to pursue a certificate of advanced study in cultural heritage preservation or digital libraries. I know I have three semesters left after this one, but choosing electives actually can determine which area of librarianship I’m interested in and what jobs I will apply for in a year in a half.

Working in special collections and archives would be fascinating because I would get to work with old manuscripts and preserve the past. Albeit, digital libraries produce cutting-edge technologies; it would be beneficial to have digital skills because that’s where part of the field is heading. But, school librarians help students conduct research and provide a place where social activity and community happen. A public reference librarian interacts with new people and helps find answers to fascinating questions.

See what I mean? So many decisions to make.

But then why not take a class in each discipline? Who says I have to have a specialization or cultivate a specific knowledge-base?

After looking at numerous job ads, I have concluded that employers are looking for librarians that know a little bit about each field of librarianship. True, there are some jobs that specialize in metadata, information technology or cultural preservation, but it’s important to have a foundation based on the cores of librarianship and acquire knowledge about everything, ranging from collection development to cataloging to literacy in schools.

If worse comes to worst, and I don’t what type of paper preserves books the best or what is the newest social-media trend, I know have taken a reference class under my belt, which will help me discover the answer.

Bring it on, Nov. 10. I’m ready for you.