When I tell people that I’m a librarian, I can practically see the many stereotypical images that come to their mind in terms of what my day-to-day duties involve (and no, librarians do not get to sit around reading all day). I like to quickly dispel those stereotypes by describing all the fantastic projects that I get to be a part of thanks to my job at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, in my role of bringing a variety of services and learning opportunities to the residents of the city.
These were just some of the things that I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to do this past month alone:
- Present on a grant and related library gardening programming at the Farm to Table Conference
- Sit in on a library webinar on the topic of racial and gender microaggressions
- Provide financial literacy and conduct a discussion with inmates at the Allegheny County Jail participating in the jail’s Re-Entry program
- Provide computer instruction to residents at Veterans’ Place home for residents
- Learn how to solder and fine tune my portrait photography skills thanks to colleagues in The LABS department of CLP
- Conduct a conversation with CLP staff and Pittsburgh organizations on the topic of sustainability as it pertains to libraries in communities, and library programming
- Provide library card registration and a small collection of materials for circulation to the residents of Wood Street Commons, a downtown homeless shelter
- Interact with gallery crawlers at the opening of an exhibit at the Pittsburgh Glass Center by taking green screen photographs with attendees
I know, I know – I’ve just blown your mind! So next time you meet a librarian, you may look at us with a different image in mind – not one of someone dusting off old books, but maybe with a soldering iron in hand instead!
Maria J. – “jack of all trades” librarian
Eleventh Stack 