My Small Introduction

In the middle of my last semester at Washington State University, I was struck with the knowledge that I had no idea what I was going to do with my shiny new Bachelor's Degree. My major was to be Humanities with a minor in Political Science. It's a great general degree that would serve as a background but nothing that would establish myself in the art/literary fields I enjoyed. I had no experience  to back up my passions and no clue of how to proceed.

My work experience had always been (and still is) in retail. I spent many years working as a clerk, and later as a manager, in various bookstores. When my boyfriend, now husband, and I moved to the San Diego area, I began a new retail career with Starbucks. It was a drastic change from books to food retail. In the beginning I enjoyed my new position, but over time I realized that it was not the career that sparked my passion. This lead to a revealuation of what my passion had been, books.

One of my favorite parts of working at a bookstore had been the conversations with customers. The ability to discuss their loves and translate that into a book suggestion has always been one of my great retail skills. That and my absolute honesty if I don't agree with a sales pitch. I cannot sell something I don't believe in.

The problem with returning to the book world was that I didn't want to return to the world of book retail. I needed something new, a challenge. I wanted to be a librarian. I want to change the world through words, conversation and information.

I wanted to be say with pride, just like Rachel Weisz's character in The Mummy, that "I am a Librarian."

So here I am. Fresh off the boat starting my Master's program at San Jose State University. And like any overachiever, I have my next two years plotted out. It is my aspiration to study Youth Librarianship. There is something so endearing when children, tweens, and teens seek literature as a passion instead of a chore. Maybe that the idea that our future isn't complete lost in the chaos of the public school system.

To be honest, this passion sounds great on paper. It sounds even better when I talk about it with friends, family, and the library connections I have established in the past few months. The problem with this passion, and one of the reason for this blog, is that my knowledge of children/teen literature has dwindled since I left book retail. A few days ago I strolled through a Barnes and Noble to look at current Young Adult trends. I knew that Twilight series had been the "hot" read for awhile. I didn't realize how the series had now inspired a larger influx of Young Adult Paranormal Romance titles. Clearly, I felt out of my depth.

I want this blog to become an examination of these Young Adult titles and trends. I want to explore how the growing eBook world will effect the manner in which Children/Young Adult literature is now perceived in bookstores and in the world of education. I also want to use this blog to explore how a new MLIS student can use this challenging time of technological growth to her advantage. 

Basically, this is the story of how I survive my master's program and emerge as a Librarian.