That looks really good, Kathy. The only thing I might change is the intro:
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a librarian. When I was young, I was sure it would be wonderful to be surrounded by books all day long.
When I was putting my statement together, this is something that across the board people said not to do. The reason was that almost everyone does it. You have a lot of interesting, engaging info in your piece and you don't want to lose them because they've seen this intro in so many other statements, you know?
Good point. I guess it is a bit cliched, even if it is the truth.
Thanks, Vortex! Every word in that paragraph is the complete truth.
I'm glad I posted it here--I found I missed a word in the last paragraph. So much for my proofreading abilities...
Good point. I guess it is a bit cliched, even if it is the truth.
You should make up some story about how a mysterious stranger introduced you to a love of libraries....
Kathy, I second Vortex's LOVE for that paragraph, and in general, I think your statement hits just the right note. What I always hear from lib school types is that they really dread the sort of starry-eyed "I want to be a librarian because I just LUV books and want to play with them all day!!!1!1" essays that a lot of people write; they're looking for applicants who have some clue about what librarianship really entails. Yours has the genuine enthusiasm of the scary essays, but with a nice transition to "I really do know what I'm getting into -- and I'm even more into this thing because I do". Plus, better punctuation.
You should make up some story about how a mysterious stranger introduced you to a love of libraries....
Or how
Party Girl
is your favorite movie?
Or how Party Girl is your favorite movie?
Good one. Except you'd have to add, "...but I
totally
would not have sex in the library and leave a window open and let a bunch of rare books get rained on."
How about this for the opening paragraph?
In my childhood, libraries were a refuge, and I idealized the people that worked there. But, as I grew up and started working in libraries, first as a volunteer, and than in college as an employee, I became aware that there was a lot more to the profession than just reading and recommending books all day long.
Basically, the same thing, but in a less cliched fashion, right?
but I totally would not have sex in the library and leave a window open and let a bunch of rare books get rained on."
I have to say that the most horrifying thing I ever heard in a library was during an interview at a theological seminary's library, when they told me that they had to save money in the summertime by having all the employees off work on Fridays (yay!), and turning off the A/C for the three-day weekend. They had a bunch of rare 16th and 17th century books there that were getting ruined in the humidity of a non-controlled environment!!!
Huh. Despite the fact that I am sleep-deprived and coffee-impaired, I had a "you know, if I just did it
this
way" epiphany about a monthly task, and --
-- then my cube was invaded by some random dude wanting to know where some other random employee was, while someone else was knocking on the door, and after I made him go away, I had a conversation with my supervisor about what a clusterfuck our lack of a receptionist is, and oh my god, EVERY SINGLE PERSON who walks through the door asks why the door is locked, and there are a lot of people walking through that door, and sweet baby Jesus, point me to the bitch I have to choke.
