The Unemployed Academic Librarian

For almost two months now I've been an unemployed librarian. This was a situation I was prepared for. Like many of us, I was on contract with my employer and I was well aware that there would be almost no chance of an extension of that contract. And, like many of us again, I am limited in my job search due to a partner who has an excellent job neither of us want him to give up. So, what's a newly unemployed librarian to do? Surprisingly lots! I'm taking this unexpected break to work on some papers I intended to write while I was working but always seemed to have a reason to put on the back burner. I'm reading all of those blogs that have been cluttering up my feed reader and I've been catching up on the seemingly never-ending listserv discussions that somehow always got deleted before. I've even had a chance to tackle that huge pile of articles I printed off and never read. My goal is to try and keep on top of the goings on in our profession so that I can be prepared for my next professional challenge - whether that be next week or next year.

In a way, this "time off" is providing me with opportunities I didn't have while working. I now have the luxury to slowly read an interesting blog post and then carefully consider my stand on the issue at hand. I have the time to learn about issues that otherwise might have been put off for that elusive "rainy day" at work.

I'll admit that sometime motivation is hard to find. Daytime television is a seductive siren (it's all Daily Show reruns I swear!) and EI isn't as glamorous as you might think! I do miss the routine of my job, but I also enjoy the freedom I currently have to explore this profession in any direction I wish to. I haven't had this kind of freedom since I completed my MLIS and it's been nice to reconnect with it over the past seven weeks.

So, since I have all this free time I'm going to solicit our faithful readers for suggestions on what I should learn about next. What new issues have caught you attention lately? Is there a great debate happening on a blog or listserv? Let me know! I need to learn more.