Monday 3 October 2011

Thing 20: Library roots/routes

I grew up in Vietnam without reading a story book until I was 11 years old.  I did not know there was such thing as a library or books that are not school textbooks.  One day I was chatting to my lovely neighbour, who turned out to be a librarian at my school, about having to write a story for my language class. I told her that I had no idea what to write and she suggested that I visit her at the school library where she can lend me some books to give me some ideas. I did exactly that the next day and borrowed Cinderella.  I have not stopped reading since.  I borrowed book after book and after I read them I told the stories to my little sister.

Years later, after we migrated to America, I visited my local library and knew instantly that I wanted to work there.  I applied for a job as a shelfer and started part time work while I was attending college.  By the time I got my bachelor degree, I knew I wanted to work in libraries for the rest of my life.  I enrolled to study for a master degree in Library and Information Science and qualified in 1998.  My first professional post was reference librarian in a public library.  In 2000 I moved to England and started working for a charity as an assistant cataloguer.  I am now a cataloguer and technical system support librarian at the same organisation. 

That's my root/route and I'm hoping to continue working in libraries for a long time to come.

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