And now for something completely different
It’s been very quiet around here, because I’ve been doing lots and lots of thinking.
Out of that thinking came a decision: I’m leaving.
So wait, what does that mean?
I’ve given a month’s notice at my library. My last day is September 5, 2008.
What are you going to be doing next?
Something different. My goal is to head towards some sort of client or project management role, in the Metro Boston area, with a preference for technology and social networking/media/software. But really, I’m open to just about anything that strikes my fancy, pays a decent wage, and excites me intellectually (I have a few irons in the fire already). In an ideal world, I’ll be back at work somewhere as early as October, since I’m looking forward to a month off before I do anything real.
But why?
After a long, hard assessment of my professional life, I’ve found that library profession is not a cultural fit for me. I’m a lifelong patron and a fan of libraries, but I’d like to be in a different work culture where people are truly, deeply tech- and geek-minded, because I miss that a lot. I’ll definitely be able to apply the valuable skills I’ve acquired from my 5+ years in the library world to future professional endeavors.
Is this a permanent goodbye to libraries?
I’m not sure yet. We’ll see.
What will happen to your blog?
I’m still thinking about that. I am interested in using it to launch a social networking experiment to help me find a job, much like this one, since this is a shift that might be interesting to carefully and diplomatically document. Other than that, I’m not sure if I’ll just keep posting to it as-is, leave it up as an archive somehow, move myself to a new domain altogether, or hand it over to someone else. Figuring it out will be its own adventure.
I’m feeling confident about my decision, and I’m looking forward to what the future will bring. I’m in a debt of gratitude to the people who helped me throughout my decision making and exit strategy formulating process, which has been many months in the making. You kids know who you are, and you rock my socks. I’m also hoping to keep in touch with the many colleagues who have become friends. 
Tags: departure, goodbye, librarianship, me
Our profession is losing one of the good ones. Best of luck in your job hunt.
@Blake: Thanks, Blake. You’ve always been awesome, and I’m totally hoping there will be lots of keeping in touch between us.
If you start a job hunt using social media, I recommend several things. First, be patient. As with any job hunt, you want a better job. Don’t discouraged by the results either. I thought my blog traffic would skyrocket. While I saw a surge the first we, the second week of traffic has been meager — average though for my blog. Finally, be creative. I took my video camera on the road and will compile a segment of endorsements. Then, if all goes well, I might try something new to keep people interested. Along with My Going Social, my content is slowly chaning too. More service journalism than anything else. If you’d like to collaborate, let me know. Thanks for stopping by Your PR Guy. Come back again.
@Rodger D. Johnson:
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I don’t think that I would use the blog/social networking experiment as my only job hunt mechanism, which, granted, might taint the experiment. Or not.
Since I’ve been in the social sphere a while, I know it’s very much a hurry-up-and-wait sort of thing, but that’s a good point to make. I still have lots to do to get ready for that (linkage to my LinkedIn profile, a downloadable resume, etc.), but I think I’ll start on that after the Labor Day holiday, perhaps even later.
Thanks for the tips! I’ll likely hit you up for more information in the future…
Good luck with the job hunt, Andrea, and I look forward to more blog posts! Miss you!
Good for you! I’m surprised that more of us don’t follow that path. I’ve enjoyed working with you and wish you the best!
I’ll be happy for you soon. But right now I’m in shock mixed with sadness. There wasn’t anyone I was more looking forward to seeing at this past ALA and no one I learned more from in Anaheim. Your blog is one of the few library blogs that, when updated, makes me stop what I’m doing to read what you’ve written. I’ve learned so much about our profession from you and I’m really sorry to learn that you’re leaving it. Of course you’ll be great at whatever you do next, and I’m sure you’ve made the right choice. I’ll be happy for you soon. Just not quite yet.
@Kirstin: Awww, thanks! You’re awesome.
@rochelle: I’m kinda surprised, too. I’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of librarians who dig their heels in and do the work hoping it’ll get better someday, but who are also really, really unhappy.
On a certain level, I admire the tenacity… but when you’re that unhappy about what you do for a living all the time, for a long time, what difference does tenacity really make for oneself, or for the profession overall, especially if the profession is changing at a snail’s pace?
With commercial companies, consumer unhappiness generally leads to consumers abandoning the product/service, which will either lead to the company failing, or to significant changes in the product/service. I wonder sometimes: if more people left, or if more people were vocal about leaving, instead of just plugging away unhappily, would it make enough of a difference in the profession to spur a real change? It’s not why I’m leaving (I honestly don’t think I’ll make a dent in that respect), but it’s an idle wonder worth considering.
@Brett Bonfield: I will take your happiness when you’re ready to give it.
In the meantime, I’ve often said that people in the library world really need to reach out to more people in other industries to find ways to make the profession better, and to enrich their professional perspectives. Just because I’m not working in libraries anymore doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of your professional development! I’m a problem solver and a good listener, and I find that those characteristics take me far in talking to people, not matter what industry their in. If nothing else, you’ll have an active patron perspective with the bonus of having been on the inside…
So yes, be happy sooner. It’s all good.
Andrea…strangely enough, you appeared in a dream of mine last night and I awoke to find this in my reader. We were at a PodCamp somewhere and meeting for the first time.
What I always offer those looking for new work in a new field is a book reference that served me well. It is not Social Media (which I am really interested in watching should you do it) but it is decidedly non-traditional and I attribute finding my current position to its methods and advice. the book is “Supernetworking” by Michael Salmon. At times throughout the book, I actually emailed the author with questions which he was happy to answer and later sent along my comments on his book.
I was continually amazed at how generous people were with their time in helping me, perfect strangers willing to spend 30 minutes on the phone with me and some, helping me to craft my resume to suit my industry (something that Social Media culture supports).
I wish you all the best and congratulations on a brave move.
I’d say I’m surprised, but we already had this conversation. It’s probably the right decision for you. I won’t make any comments about social networks and job hunts–because my experience says more about my own lack of networking skills than anything else.
Good luck with the change, don’t drop out of sight completely, you’ve done great work and it’s been a pleasure…
@Rob: Sorry to take so long to get back, I was away enjoying Labor Day weekend, mostly unplugged.
Dream: Eery. Yet kinda cool.
Book: Thanks for the rec, I’ll definitely check it out, and I’ll be sure to mention you if I pop a note to the author.
It’s been interesting talking to people about my current Unplan and subsequent what-next musings, and I feel really fortunate to have such a diverse network of people to bounce things at and with, from social to tech to library to everything else. If there’s anything I’ve learned about networking, it’s that if you present yourself well, the *worst* that someone can say to you is no; it’s always worth asking, whether or not you know a person or anyone at a company.
Thank you for all the kind words, and definitely stay in touch.
@walt crawford:
“Good luck with the change, don’t drop out of sight completely, you’ve done great work and it’s been a pleasure…”
Thanks Walt. I must say, while I do get the urge to write things up, I don’t act on it nearly as much anymore. I would say I almost dread the idea of the work involved. I fear I may be suffering burnout on multiple fronts, which may keep me out of the blogosphere for a little while. I’m going to be taking some time to think about that.
On the flip side, I’m looking forward to taking a completely different direction in sharing online. I don’t know what that means yet, though. Either way, I’m sure it’ll be easy to find me somehow.
Hi Andrea:
Well, welcome to the club. In my case I found it was time for me to break away from law firms as opposed to libraries specifically, but I can definitely relate. Once you get going I think you will find you are in demand. I am happy to share anything I have learned with you.
If you drop me a line as to what kind of projects you are thinking of, I can keep you in mind with anything I come across.
All the best!
Connie
Oof! The library envelope is about to snap back to a less-pushed state. Our loss! Best of luck to you, Andrea.
@eli: Thanks for the kind words, and do keep in touch!
Hopefully, someday, “pushing the envelope” won’t feel a whole lot like spinning wheels in one place. Maybe then I’ll think about coming back. But we’ll see.
@Connie Crosby: My current plan is actually to find full-time, standard, 9-5 employment of some sort, or part-time employment that doesn’t require nights and weekends, because I’d really like my life back. I’m actually thinking I might take myself off the project/speaking block for a while, see whether or not I miss it, then make a decision one way or the other about that, as well. All the travel and constant work make me miss my husband, my friends, and my lifestyle extracurriculars.
I didn’t realize how much speaking and outside projects you were doing. For me, that is what I pretty much turned into my new business when I left the law firm. I didn’t realize I was almost doing another full-time job! It is good to stop and talk stock every now and then. I have given myself this year, before I get too many clients, to do the conference circuit and as much speaking as I can do. I figure next year I will hopefully be busier and so may have to also forgo most of that scene.
Good luck! And best wishes! And I hope you do stay in touch on this blog and twitter–I admire your tenacity and can’t wait to see what you do next.
Quoting Brett: “Your blog is one of the few library blogs that, when updated, makes me stop what I’m doing to read what you’ve written.”
I understand about the “having your life back.” As a Children’s librarian who works hard all summer (when the rest of the world plays), I too am wondering. I’ll keep you posted.
xo,
Suzi
Good luck with your job hunt. I vote in favor of innovative social networking job hunting approaches (especially if you are trying to put yourself in a new position with people who appreciate such things).
I also vote in favor of you continuing to blog, in whatever manner appeals to you — maybe a name similar to your one here, but clearly new… like ideatechtonics perhaps?
@suzi w.: Thank you ever so much for your kind words about me and my blog. You’ll always be able to find me on Twitter, and whenever I’m on the chat machine with a favorable status.
I plan on changing the subtitle of the blog from “A librarian riding the shift” to “A librarian making a shift.” I should do that now, while I’m thinking about it. So hard to juggle wrapping up my job with everything else, as I backup files, emails, and sort through folders, basically packing up the past 3.5yrs of my career and leaving projects in a good place.
I must say, the reactions about how my shift has affected how other librarians are thinking about my career are surprising, yet not. Several people have reacted, albeit privately, by saying, “You’ve got me thinking, too…,” and it’s totally fodder for an entirely separate post.
I will say, however, that if it’s got you thinking or wondering, then you should really give it your time. Life is too short to be unhappy just because you feel like you’re *s’posed* to be doing something, and it’s not something you love. I wanted to love it, and the skills were right, but the chemistry and spark just aren’t there.
Either way, definitely keep me post.
@Jeanne: I started out the final segment of my decision-making process by hitting up my network for a sense of vibe… who was hiring, for what, what were their takes on my skills/professional personality, etc. Being from tech originally, it was the natural next step. I’d like this blog to be a documentation of the hunt, plus anything else that strikes my fancy tech-wise. We’ll see how motivated I am to keep writing after The Break.
“IdeaTechtonics”… leave it to you to always have the super awesome clever ideas.
I’ll run off and see if that’s available… I was thinking I’d go with andreamercado.info, but I like that much better. It’s no wonder your SAA presentation was fantastic! *hugs*
I’ve also been toying with the notion of a food-n-crafts blog/vlog/podcast, or something like that. Anna and I talked about that a while back, and I know she’s planning on leaving the country in a year or so, but maybe this could be a pet project until then.
So. Many. Possibilities.
Just read this today. BEST OF LUCK in everything you do Andrea. Decisions like this are tough and not easy to come to (especially when the path ahead isn’t clearly marked) but sometimes it takes a bold move to make a big change.
I know you’ll conquer whatever lies ahead with flying colors.