Earlier this year, I had lunch with a good friend who completed her dissertation in psychology around the time I was finishing my MLIS. Now a practicing psychologist, she also teaches psychology at her alma mater. Nothing, she said, has done more for her professional development as a psychologist than revisiting the professional material as an instructor. She proposed that I would find the same was true for me as a librarian. She was right. During the day, you can find me working as an instruction librarian at Chapman University. In the evenings, I “moonlight” as a part-time instructor at nearby Santa Ana College. In fact, I recently gave my Library Technology 101 students their final exam, marking the end of their first step toward working in a library and my first time teaching a full-semester class in the field.

Discomfort zone

Teaching has been a challenging, sometimes exhausting experience. During the first class, I had students fill out informational cards, listing their backgrounds and future career goals. As an entry-level course, my class treats the material rather broadly (specifics come later in the program). I was surprised to learn that my students came in with strong preferences. Few wanted to work in an academic library. Public libraries and school libraries were highly favored. As an academic librarian, this presented a welcome challenge for me: I had to shift my center and continually think beyond my own work. At first, it was a bit intimidating. Preparing for my first few classes, I thought, “What if they ask me something I don't know?” I wasn't sure I was comfortable with the world of public or school (especially school) libraries. While initially daunting, the experience helped me better understand the profession in its entirety and appreciate the similarities and differences among libraries. Teaching offers an important lesson for librarians at any level of experience: there is nothing wrong with admitting you need to look into something before providing an answer. Not only is it okay not to be an expert on everything, it's impossible to know it all.

Lesson plans

Teaching is about informing, but it is also about learning. When I read my students' first collection analysis assignments, everything fell into place for me. The assignment required students to identify five core titles and five new acquisitions for subjects of their selection. Students' topics spanned a wide range: for public libraries, there were graphic novels, sharks, sewing, same-sex marriage, childhood obesity, autism, and C.S. Lewis. For school libraries, topics ranged from kindergarten readiness to books on elephants. For academic libraries, the intersection of sociology and technology. As I read students' rationales for adding the titles they identified, which included their understanding of the communities these libraries serve, I understood more than ever the significant work librarians perform at libraries of all types and sizes. Having never completed a collection analysis other than for an academic library, I learned quite a bit. The experience reminded me of one of my favorite literature professors, who once told the class, “I am here to learn from you as much as you are to learn from me.”

The big picture

As working librarians, I believe we should always keep the bigger picture in mind. Of course, most of us are busy and have little time during the workday to sit alone, or with colleagues, to muse about the role of libraries in our communities, or to consider the ethics of why we do things in certain ways. Teaching has given me the opportunity both to discuss the profession energetically on a weekly basis and to reflect on the practices and overarching philosophies in the field. In my class, we cover a range of topics: collection development, reference services, technical services, the impact of the Internet on libraries, censorship, freedom of speech, classification systems, professional associations, Web 2.0, and much more. Some topics I had not given too much thought to since library school have been brought to life again, and I now find myself referring back to the textbooks from my MLIS program.

Opportunity

Librarians are a fortunate group. There are numerous opportunities within our profession, such as professional associations, conference attendance, and reading the literature, to stimulate our curiosity and keep us engaged with new developments. In addition to these options, our skills, interests, expertise, and diverse backgrounds provide us with various avenues for “moonlighting.” Teaching within the field, I've found, can be one of the most rewarding, advantageous ways to continue to grow professionally.

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Stacy Russo is Instruction Librarian and Head of Reference and Instruction at Chapman University, Orange, CA, and part-time faculty for the Santa Ana College Library Technology Program, CA. She is the author of The Library as Place in California (McFarland, 2008).