On becoming a librarian...and a writer

Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman is about books, reading, and writing. It is one of those books that is so beautifully written a writer may give up in despair of ever writing anything so well. Or, in a more confident mood, this book might send an inspired writer scurrying to the keyboard.

Here might be a good time to tell my other story about why I want to be a librarian, the one I tell at parties and interviews. For an embarrassing number of years, I was an aspiring novelist. "Aspiring" because I never completed a single novel. My pattern was to research a novel thoroughly. Then, I wrote two or three chapters. Then, I had a new, better, idea for a novel and went off to research it. After about six times, I realized that I preferred the research over the story telling. That realization led me to library school.

When I started library school, I was actively trying to disconnect myself from my "writer" identity. That lasted until I wrote my first paper and remembered just how much I enjoy putting words on screen. Looking for more venues for my writing led to this blog and to other writing opportunities. Now I think of myself as a librarian and a writer.

I may never attempt to write a novel again. Then again, maybe having plenty of outlets for my research skills will free my inner story teller. Perhaps, a more realistic goal would be to write an essay somewhere near as lovely as one of Fadiman's. Although, I'd put my money on the Free Range Librarian as most likely to succeed among blogging librarians in writing creative nonfiction.     #

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