I have always identified libraries as a comfortable space, whether it was in primary school where I volunteered as a Library Monitor or my first job after high school as a trainee at my local council library. Although I have never been much of a library user per se, I have always been drawn to them and have admired librarians but never aspired to be one myself. My job has a huge impact on my identity and I am always excited to talk about what I am doing at work. So when people ask me what I do for work, or what I was studying, I sometimes struggle to find an answer. "I work in a library, but I am not a librarian", "I am studying information management, but I don't want to be a librarian". I wonder whether people outside of the GLAM sector even understand what I am saying with words like "digital preservation" and "digital collecting" and I generally keep talking in the hope that something makes sense.
This post is my contribution to the GLAM Blog Club July 2017 theme: "Identity".
Cover image credit: Yes, I still have my library monitor badge.