I’ve been an avid reader all my life and I guess some people assume that I want to become a librarian because I love books.
But they are wrong.
Well, sure, it helps to like books and read books, especially if you work in a public library. But that’s not why I want to be a librarian.

The main reason I want to be a librarian is because one of the things I am really good at is connecting people with the information they need. If someone needs some information I know the answer or (more importantly) I know where to look for it. I have good Google-fu as my husband would describe a talent for choosing the right search terms to land on the result you are looking for.
Another key reason is my background. I’m a trained early childhood teacher and the two areas of my training as an early childhood teacher I was most passionate about were literacy and special education.
Literacy has an obvious tie-in with librarianship. Librarians want people to read books and you need to be literate to be able to read. Literacy is essential for getting by in our “Information Age” and those who are illiterate face significant disadvantages in all areas of life.
Special education doesn’t generally spring to mind when someone thinks of libraries and librarians, however, I believe that there are strong connections. People with disabilities are among the most marginalised people in our communities. Libraries can and should be a major part of reducing as much disadvantage these people face as possible. A library can be a safe place for all people, it can provide specialised services to patrons who are disabled or disadvantaged and it can be a massive tool for creating awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities through careful, conscious collection development.
These reasons, far and above enjoying reading, are why I want to become a librarian.
Images my own, photograph is a collage of photographs taken of the Macquarie Dictionary (5th Edition) entries on “librarian, librarianship, library, library binding, library book and library edition”.