Me: the Library technician

There is always a stigma attached to different jobs - the accountant is a genius but quiet, the doctor is uptight but caring, the business man is a go-getter.. a librarian is .. well.

I feel that when I step into the library, I become someone different. It's almost like I'm entering into a play of sorts. I have a role, library patrons have a role, educators that use the library have a role, the IT guys that come in to fix the library computers have a role. We don't really go by first names, we go by role titles: "Ask the librarian" or "I'm sorry, you can't use that computer as the computer technician is working on it" or "Ask your teacher". I'm not even really "Miss Epp" and I'm certainly not "Sheryl". I'm the Library Technician (or to most people, simply the Librarian or the "other" librarian). So being the library technician, I imagine I step into the role that I think a library technician would play. In movies, the library technician is quiet and studious. She wears cardigans, has her hair pulled back in a neat and servicable bun. She likely wears glasses, a skirt and flat shoes (because high heels are too uncomfortable). She is usually busy working at her computer and will only look up at you if you are making noise or you come up to her desk.

That's part of what I think makes a good Library Technician, for some reason. This picture is burned in my memory.

I'm doing a pretty good job of my role, I believe. I keep an eye on library patrons. I chastise them when they are too loud. I often pull my hair back out of my face. But I rarely wear flats. That's my secret rebellion.

The last couple of weeks, too, I've noticed that I'm turning into a very dorky librarian. I try to connect with library customers by being friendly but the conversation usually ends in awkwardness. The other day as I walked into the library building, I slipped on the floor (there was snow on my shoes) and almost slid right into the centre bar of the double doorway. That's dorky. On a different day, a friend and co-worker of mine walked in and out of the library and though I saw her out of the corner of my eye, it was only after she had walked out the door that I said (for some strange dorky reason) in a small, strangled voice "Hello Joanne..." Of course she didn't hear me. I hope no one did. That was dorky.

So I suppose my dorkiness only enhances the "role" I play as a library technician. No one really expects us to be socialites. So, I'm resigning myself to the evolution of my character the moment I step inside the library.