Yup and yup. The sarcasm was there but I still don’t think it’s helpful in a session aimed, presumably, at encouraging people to think about non-library-based career choices.

Sorry we missed each other at NASIG and glad you’re enjoying the blog!

I’m sorry I missed you at NASIG. I passed you in the hallways a couple of times, but either you were busy talking with someone or I was. I wanted to say hello, tell you that I’m enjoying your blog, and ask how you’re finding the new job.

I didn’t attend that alternative careers session at NASIG, but I can speculate as to why the panelists referred to “the dark side”. First of all, it’s usually said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Maybe that didn’t come through from some.

Second — I doubt if any library-based librarian would be so crass as to say so out loud, but there really are folks out there who think that those of us who are librarians and have chosen to work outside of libraries (for booksellers, systems vendors, subscription agents, etc.) are suspect. We work for profit-based companies; surely the bottom line is all we care about?

Nope. Not me, and not lots of non-library-based librarians I know. In fact, one of the *nice* things about working for a vendor is that I get to serve many libraries, not just one!

I can pretty comfortably guarantee that you will experience this attitude from librarians sometime during your tenure working outside of a library. Not often, I hope.

And you’re probably right; we should probably stop making comments like that out loud, in public forums.

Cheers!