Librarians and Imposter Syndrome: afterthoughts.

So, I've had a couple of days to consider my quickly-jotted thoughts regarding librarians and Imposter Syndrome. I stated that we shouldn't pretend that we're better or worse than we actually are, and that delusion achieves nothing. However, Katie made an important point in her reply - it's not really about pretending, but believing.

Of course, when I lived in Japan, I met a number of people who would pretend that they couldn't speak English - but it turned out that they could, but were just afraid of looking bad for not being fluent. They just didn't believe in the skills that they had. Having more conviction in our skills - owning them - and believing in ourselves is certainly one way of overcoming Imposter Syndrome.

Similarly, there are still librarians out there who will "get the tech guy" to come and do an online task that they themselves should very well be able to do. Whether this is "pretending" that they don't know, lacking in confidence in what they actually do have the skills and knowledge, or they're actually incompetent depends on the situation. But the worst thing that they can do is say, "Sorry, I'm just the librarian - I'll go call the guy who knows stuff about computers." After all, they're they ones with a Masters in Information Management.

At the same time, there are the ones that will proclaim their expert via their Masters in Information Management, but never deliver an expert service. Are they the actual imposters? To some of us, it would seem that they are. And it's working in an industry that sometimes breeds this attitude that makes the rest of us doubt the value of our own skills.

One factor is that it's a diverse industry, and not every job is going to work to our strengths as an information specialist. We need to be mindful of what we're good at - whether you've got the meticulous mind for classifying and cataloguing, or the people skills for working out exactly how their information-seeking behaviour operates, or the creative expression skills for engaging an audience, or the super-brainiac skills for processing and organising huge amounts of data into accessible knowledge, and so the list goes on. If you take on the wrong job, then you're going to feel like an imposter. Unfortunately, we have an industry where we tell graduates to take on any work that they can, because you have to get whatever experience you can get. I disagree with this. You need to be mindful of your strengths, and capitalise on them.

This leads to another contributing factor: the idea of being "industry-ready" when we graduate. Frankly, almost every job that I've had has been a severe learning curve, because we live in a diverse industry with diverse clientele, and no two jobs are the same. It's in these situations that we most need to believe in our skills and knowledge - especially when we have to think and redefine our own roles. Again, in almost every professional role I've had, I haven't had the convenience of a mentor to guide me in my role. I've had to use my brain, take initiatives, seek out partnerships, and often make mistakes.

And the reality is that any so-called "information imposter" (as they henceforth shall be known) can follow a procedural manual. But not knowing how to do your job - and then using your information and knowledge management skills to define your role and tailoring it to the context of your clients and improve the way your organisation uses information and knowledge - that there is called being a professional. And you're not going to be able to do it unless you believe you can.

Just don't expect to be able to do it straight away either; also accept your limitations.

And, to rephrase my initial statement - let's not delude ourselves in believing that we're better or worse than we actually are. Be mindful of our skills. Work to our strengths. Accept our weaknesses - and if they us feel like an imposter, then do something about it. Develop those skills that you lack, or seek out opportunities that work to your strengths.

Librarians and Imposter Syndrome

There have been quite a few #blogjune posts about Imposter Syndrome, which is something that I have a lot to say about, and will elaborate more on when I have more time, and not travellin. But for now, a few thoughts...

- There is an oft-emerging discourse on whether libraries - and librarians - are still relevant in society. Of course, we advocate for the value of our services, and the professional status of our calling, but at the same time, it's always possible that the naysayers might be right.

- As librarians, we spread ourselves quite broadly across a diverse range of specialied duties, and whilst there are often affirmations on how we are the experts in information particularly with skills in digital delivery of services, the reality is that we're often "jacks of all trades" but there are other professionals who might be better at things like, say, events / arts managers, or web developers, or social workers or teachers, or journalists, or social media experts and so the list goes on...

- As professionals, we feel entitled to a certain level of respect in the industries we work in, but we're not always very good at asserting ourselves as such.

- In fact, some libraries and librarians just suck. No offence, but it's true. And sometimes we worry that we might be one of them.

- But mostly, the world deserves better than what a lot of libraries currently offer. And if we're unable to deliver this, maybe somebody else should be doing our jobs.

So, how do we stop feeling like imposters? Lift our game, be proud of our achievements, and stop pretending that we are either better or worse than we actually are. Self-delusion achieves nothing.

Prague

Just arrived in Prague.
Why would I be blogging right now? There's exploring to do!

Don't Blink in Skopje.

I'm travelling at the moment, so the next few blog posts will be mostly pictorial. I'm currently in Skopje, the capital af the Former Yugoslav Republic ot Macedonia. One of its defining features is its abundance of statues present.

So what did I do to pass the time? I attempted to not blink...

I could sense something out of the corner of my eye..

I could tell when they were near

But then it was too late!

The End

In mourning...

Can't blog today. Just watched the Game of Thrones season finale.

That's all.

Monday Meme - peeling the onion.

Okay, this week's Monday Meme is once again from Fiona... and this one has layers.

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE

1. What’s your preferred name? Andrew. Not Andy, or Drew, or Ands (which is just weird).
2. Do you wear glasses? Yes. Except for that time when I wore them to the beach in Hoi An, and they disappeared into the ocean. Then I wore contact lenses for a few days.
3. How would you describe your fashion style? Modern vintage fusion. I like to have elements of vintage stylings - especially to go with my swing dancing habit - enough to have some character, but without being overly eccentric.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

1. What do you fear? Missing out, especially when it's my fault, because I was too lazy / apathetic / distracted to take the initiative.
2. What is your guilty pleasure? The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It's very silly, but I find it extremely charming.

LAYER THREE: YOUR THOUGHTS

1. What was your first thought when you woke up today? Why am I awake? My alarm hasn't gone off yet. (And then I almost slept through my alarm when it *did* go off and almost missed the bus to work.)
2. What you think about most? Where my life is going.

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

1. To be loved or respected? Respect. If people stop respecting you, it's probably because you deserved it.
2. Dogs or cats? Cats are better than dogs. Fact.

LAYER FIVE: BELIEF

1. Believe in yourself? Cogito ergo sum. I can't argue with that.
2. Believe in love? I believe it exists, but despite what the Beatles might say, you need a whole lot more.

LAYER SIX: YOUR TALENTS

1. Do you play a musical instrument? Yep. 
2. Do you enjoy cooking? Yep.
3. Are you any good at gardening? Actually, no. This is something that I'm quite bad at. I am good at inadvertently killing plants, though.

LAYER SEVEN: YOUR FAVOURITES

1. Favourite animal? Pangolin. I've never met one, but I think I'd like to.
   
2. Favourite movie? Lost in Translation or The Big Lebowski (I cheated and picked two.)
3. Favourite book? On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.

LAYER EIGHT: AGE

1. How old are you? 36
2. Does age matter? Yep. It matters to a lot of people. In many cultures, the nature of our relationships are based on who the older person is. I often feel like I'm not taken seriously enough, because people assume I'm in my 20s. At the same time, I often feel like my age is starting to slow me down, and I can't keep up with my 20something year old friends who are all footloose and fancy-free. Whatever. I'll go read my book and adopt some cats.

Staying connected to the community.

Just a short one, since I've fallen behind schedule (but will catch up tonight!)

I spend a lot of time in an office these days. I evaluate computer file systems, read policy and procedure documents, update online content, scrutinise draft reports, etc. It's all interesting work, that contributes to a worthy greater goal of the organisation, but sometimes it's easy to feel disconnected with why we're here and what we're trying to do.

Then last week, I took an opportunity to meet with a librarian at the National Library of Kosovo (hello, if you're reading this!) and learn a bit about what they do there - which I will get around to blogging about soon, I promise. That afternoon, I also visited the American Corner with a few donations, and chatted with the staff there. On the weekend, I travelled to Macedonia to help a friend share our love of swing dancing with the community with some workshops and an evening social dance.

And it reminded me of how important these personal interactions are to me, especially in the work that I'm doing. It helps us better understand the issues that we're trying to address in our operations, it builds connections within the community, and it adds a personal touch, reminding us that we are all human and we're here to share our knowledge, experiences and culture in order to build a peaceful society.

And when it comes down to it, that's why we do what we do, right?

Right?