Welcome

It’s been a long day, or a long night, or both. Your shoes hit the pavement- left boot, right boot, left boot, right boot- until up ahead, in the deep fog, you see a little blinking light and an arrow pointing toward an open door. When you peer inside you see books, and gizmos, and shelves of trinkets, and papers, and photographs, and a cozy place to sit with a cup of steaming tea and a contented Dachshund curled up on a pillow. You take a delicious sip from the teacup and see a little sign propped up in the corner of a bookshelf: The Broken Glass Club. You don’t see any broken glass lying about, but there are plenty of things that can be broken. The visitors here are mainly Librarians, and they are well versed in figuring things out, finding treasure, helping others, picking up pieces, and sweeping up glass. Sometimes they even break glass because they need to get into a locked cupboard. The Broken Glass Club is a place to wander into, peruse through, explore about, and rattle around in. Along the way you may find napping nooks, a room full of ravens, and even a poetry corner. Don’t forget to pet the Dachshund. And so, we start this journey!

My name is Tara. For 5 years I have worked as a “Library Technician” at a small public library in California. The “technician” part means that along with performing standard library tasks- assisting patrons, processing materials, circulation desk duties, and so forth- I get to create programming. (My current contribution is called The Poetry Corner…with a total of 11 members :D) Being of service to patrons and community members, in all the ways that working in a library presents, is a true joy. It can also be challenging, frustrating, and downright depressing, but I embrace these facts about the work as well. Without wanting to sound trite, it is both the positive and less-positive aspects of this field of work that motivate and inspire me; outside of the library (in the real world) I am a true introvert through and through- inside the library I turn into a people person: eager to engage, collaborate, and assist in whatever ways I can. For these reasons I made the decision to return to school for my MLIS degree. I know it’s my calling.

So armed with a spontaneously (and rather oddly) named blog about emerging library trends, here I begin. I’m approaching this process with a sense of fun, whimsy, and creativity- elements that help with the way I process learning and discovery.

Here’s to looking forward and exploring ideas with you!

Tara