Where do we come from

["Beth Pounds (904)329-0569" <POUNDSB@MAIL.FIRN.EDU>]

I am really enjoying seeing the various ways we have come to our jobs and
have yet to see anything like mine so-here goes.  I truly wanted to be a
teacher of accounting or bookkeeping and started out by attending a jr.
college.  In order to help pay for my tuition I worked in the library and
the librarian told me at our first interview that she tried to recruit
students for library school, but I KNEW she couldn't recruit ME!!

It took her 1 semester to hook me-she even helped me get monetary help so I
could go to Florida State and get my ALA accredited masters.  Not knowing
what I would be doing, I took enough education courses to qualify for my
teaching certificate-necessary to work in school libraries-just in case I
needed it.

I have worked in a large county public library system; a small municipal
public library; department head in a large university library; and taught
2-3 college level Library Science courses.  (I also have done cataloging-my
first love-for church and Synagogue libraries.)

After taking off several years (had a baby, worked for Disney, went through
a divorce), I worked again in a small county public library, married again
and had another baby.  By now my first child was in school and too old for
daycare during the summer, so I dusted off my teaching credentials and went
into the school system, expecting to stay until my younger child was around
middle school age when I would once again go back into academic or public
library service.  Wrong!  My baby graduated from high school this year and
I am very content to stay where I am.

I too prefer the term librarian no matter what the nature of the job.  I
too have seen my job change from helping teachers use 16mm projectors to
helping them produce multi-media classroom presentations.  I have seen my
students change from innocent to wordly.  I have been there before
computers were there and have embraced them both on the job and at home.  I
can't imaging what will be available to us in the future, but I eagerly
await it while all the time loudly reminding everyone not to forget the
books-they have been with us throughout all the changes and will be here
during all the changes to come.  They are our constant, and we need to
remember that.

Just another path taken.

Beth Pounds, Librarian
Beasley Middle School
1100 S. 18th Street
Palatka, FL  32177
poundsb@mail.firn.edu