I am a librarian. I AM a librarian. I am a LIBRARIAN!

Yesterday, I finished barcoding what seemed to be a kajillion cameras and headphones, covered a couple more books, and completely cleared off the top of my desk.  Emails were exchanged, last-minute staff checkouts were made, papers filed.

Then I turned off the last two plugged-in computers, locked all the doors inside the library, turned off the lights, and locked the outside door behind me.

My first year as a librarian is "in the can", as movie makers say.  It is also the end of my twenty-first year in the education biz.  I've worn many hats during that time, but I don't think any have fit me so well as this librarian's chapeau.

Several times over the course of the year, I've turned to my library assistant and asked, "I did work today, right?"  To which she adamantly replied, "Yes, you've been running all day!  Let me reintroduce you to your chair!"  I think this quote best fits what I've finally found:

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."

-Francois Auguste Rene Chateaubriand (1800′s French Writer & Diplomat)  

Here's to finding work that seems like play.  Right now, I'm thinking I'll retire as a librarian...in a couple of decades.  Happy summer, friends!