“And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 b (ESV)
My first year of full-time librarianship was a wild one. Within twelve months, we had three different library directors and two different acquisition librarians. What had once been a thriving team of 5 full-time librarians and a part-time cataloger had dwindled to two full-time librarians and a part-time generalist librarian who helped us keep up with the ever-flowing stream of interlibrary loans. I felt overwhelmed as, after 3 months of distance work over the summer due to library renovations, which left us at half our previous square footage, I returned to campus shortly after the beginning of the school year to become the senior member of the full-time staff.
In addition to and partially because of the renovations to the library, our space was rebranded into a library and learning commons to better reflect the new intended use of the space and the additional departments that had moved into the building, as well as with an official name to honor the donors who had funded the renovation. This coincided with the rebranding of the university that took place the month we came back for the fall semester, intended to unify our university brand and help us become more well-known. This meant extra work for our small team while most of us were still figuring out our positions, in addition to fighting against policies and practices of the other departments, now in the building, that conflicted with library policy and best practices of the library.
When it felt like too much, Mordecai’s words to Esther would echo in my head: “Who knows whether you have not come to [this library or these students] for such a time as this?” Not only was this my first full-time library job, but this was the library I had worked in as a student worker under the previous team. I had spent many hours of study in the library as a student as well as observing other students’ needs and preferences, since often the student workers are the ones who interact most closely with the library patrons and have a front row seat to when the library and especially the study rooms are busiest and how the spaces are used. Knowing I wanted to be a librarian, those current librarians provided me with extra training and learning opportunities that other student workers hadn’t had. I was able to learn and practice cataloging, book repair, as well as assisting with weeding and various other projects that better prepared me for this role. Having attended the university where I was working as a student, I already had connections with many of the professors, which enabled me to form deeper relationships with the different departments, and this has allowed the library to have a more open dialogue about their needs and expectations from the library and its collection.
Through prayer, the strength of the Lord, the support of my distant library mentors, and the support of ACL, I was able to not only survive my first year of full-time librarianship but have moments of thriving before being called elsewhere. God provided through me for the beloved library of my alma mater. The library was able to pass through over a year of turmoil that might have made any other first-year librarian want to quit or cry, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” All of this was managed with limited disruption to the students and library services. When life feels overwhelming, remember that maybe God has put you where you are for such a time as this.
Arianna Keyser
Arianna is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Weber State University. She has been an ACL member since 2023 and currently resides in Ogden, UT.