Librarian no more?

So, it's the final day of BlogJune, and it seems like a fitting time for me to announce a change in my career. Four weeks from today, I will be departing overseas, and embarking on a new role, working with a human rights NGO for eighteen months. It's a very exciting opportunity, one that's well-suited to my skills and knowledge, which requires my qualification, and one that I wouldn't have been successful in attaining, were I without my current range of experience.

However, it's not a librarian role, nor are there any libraries involved. My position title will be "Organisational Development Advisor" - which could be used to describe pretty much anybody who works in international development. It could best be described as a knowledge management and communications consultant position, based on the job description, but until I'm actually performing the role, it's hard to say, really.

So, whilst I am thrilled to accept this amazing opportunity, there is a part of me that feels that this might be the end of my career of "being a librarian" (as opposed to "doing things that librarians do"). My work here will certainly open doors in terms of getting experience with NGOs and working in International Development, but if my experience of the library industry is anything to go by, it will be difficult to get a look-in for a librarian position, after eighteen months of not-being-a-librarian.

And that's okay. Because it's about what I'm doing with my time. I know myself well enough to know that I'm happiest when I'm engaged in special projects, and performing roles that have a start and a finish. I love that sense of accomplishment. Having been a librarian has afforded me with the skills to do some really interesting work, and now with this next chapter in my life, who knows where it will lead me.

But for now, that's me,signing off - no longer bibliotheque bound!