When I first started working in the library, I was a little surprised how the system worked. The librarian and her assistant helped me out a lot. There was no question too big or too small. No matter how many times I asked a question, they are patient enough to answer that question and give an explanation if needed. I have learned a lot since I have been employed at Delgado’s library.
-Rachel Mitchell
Westbank Campus
Librarian Clerk
Why Did I Decide To Become A Librarian
I became a librarian because of my Mother.
At a young age, my Mother (the English teacher) instilled in me the love of books and the inquisitiveness for knowledge. I remember the first time that she took me to the public library and I was able to actually get my own library card! During the summer months, I would check out the maximum number of books for each week that the library allowed (12). Then, I would take my library books and lock myself in the car so that my imaginary world would not be interrupted by anyone! The thicker the book, the better because the imaginary world lasted longer! My Mother is 95 ½ years young and to this day whenever she enters a library; she will stop, stand in awe, and let the surroundings engulf her as though she were entering a “temple”. I guess she is-a “temple of knowledge and wonderment”! For that gift, I am forever grateful!
-Carol Craft
As a child we did not have a lot of money to purchase books and therefore during the summer we made weekly trips to the library. We often walked with neighbors to the Gentilly library near Dillard University. We lived near the race track and that was quite a walk, especially considering the fact that my mother had only one leg and walked on crutches. Those books transported us to foreign places and adventures and a great love of reading developed. Books can take you everywhere even if you have to walk to begin your adventure.
-Melanie Deffendall
Director, Irma Thomas Center for W.I.S.E. Women
Coordinator, College & Career Success Skills
Sociology Instructor
Growing up, I always had my nose in a book. Family, friends, teachers, and everyone I met told me I should be a librarian, so I could read books all day. Oh boy, were they wrong! As a librarian, I never have time to read. At least I get to help others discover the pleasures of intellectual pursuits!
-Ariella Shaffer
East Jefferson
As a graduate student from out of state, the Delgado library played an important role in helping me complete my master’s thesis. Without the professional staff and large collection I would have never been able to make my deadline for graduation.
-Eric Stortz MLA, East Jefferson Campus
*Why did you decide to become a librarian?”
I became a librarian because it matched my value system, skills and interests.
A little history…
It seems as though I was born with a natural interest and curiosity in technology, more specifically at the time, electronics. In my early teens, I actively demonstrated this fascination by dismantling shortwave radios and telephones to see how they worked. One summer I talked my mother into ordering one of those Heathkit 4-band shortwave radio kits so that I could assemble radio from scratch. I succeeded!
Later on in life, as I progressed through additional years of education, I decided during my college years that I wanted to help people too.
I tried social work, which didn’t satisfy my hunger for technology. After graduating with a degree in Social Work, I went back to school and earned a certificate in electronics from ITT and later found work in that field.
For years I pondered the dilemma of how to get two seemingly opposite worlds together as a career.
In a constant state of restlessness, I moved to a number of different cities. Upon my return to New Orleans, I reassessed my career options and discovered the field of Library and Information Science. Returned to school, got my MLIS… which now affords me the opportunity to serve and help others via computer based technology!
-Rodney Clare Jackman, MLIS
*Why did you decide to become a librarian?
Most people think librarians become librarians so they can read all of the time. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is little time to read on the job. In fact, most reading for the job is done on personal time. What librarianship does provide is an environment of cognitive challenges requiring physical mobility and constant adaptability. It is a safe place to find what is needed without prejudice or judgment. Librarians never know what or how information will be sought. Finding accurate Information is complicated and requires many skills: deciphering the information being requested from the user’s statements or questions, knowing where to go for the best source, determining the best format, or finding an economical way to get what is needed. A good librarian can guide a user to accurate information by carefully listening to the user and asking questions. There are many behind the scenes tasks that make a library relevant and usable. Items have to be chosen for multiple users and within a budget. Then the items are processed so that they can be located using a classification system with labels or pathfinders for electronic resources. Librarianship is always stimulating and plays an important role in having a knowledgeable and informed society. It is a profession that requires a multitude of skills with challenges every day. The rewards are quiet and often unseen like having satisfied users finding what they are looking for, getting the information needed, or providing a safe place to find help. I became a librarian to be the face for these services.
-Sharon A. Robinson
Head Librarian
Charity Campus
I decided to become a librarian after volunteering in my neighborhood library. The librarian and her assistant taught me not only the mechanics of librarianship but the “heart” of it too! I value and practice these lessons today.
-Gera Bridgewater/Slidell Librarian
Why I want to be a Librarian
Story teller
My mother read a lot to me as a child and by age twelve I knew what I wanted to be in life: a writer. For as long as I can remember, stories have shaped my life, both on the screen --movies and on the page. I’ve never felt comfortable in front of people, or confident to judge other’s writing so I knew becoming an English teacher was not for me. I had never thought of possibly becoming a librarian until my last semester at Loyola. I was doing an independent study on slave narratives, specifically Solomon Northup’s biography Twelve Years a Slave. There was not much information to be found on Northup and the only scholar who did an intense study on him, Sue Eakin, unexpectedly died in 2009. Nearly all of (Ms) Eakin’s research was in Alexandria, Louisiana where she taught. It seemed everywhere I looked, I ran into a wall. I went to the library seeking help which I found teaming up with a reference librarian. This guy, I forgot his name, found everything I had been looking for during the course of a week, in a half an hour! I was SO JEALOUS! The next day, while in a meeting with my career counselor, Jan Moppert, I recited the previous story. She asked me, “Have you ever thought about becoming a librarian?” The rest is history or I should say the present…
I need my library because it gives me a place to study, check out books, and do research. It is quiet, comfortable, and also helps me with my reading. Reading increases my knowledge and inspires me to learn more.
-Kia McFarland
Student Worker
My name is Luisa Mejia and I’m a student library aid at DCC, City Park Campus. I need my library for many valuable reasons such as is a pleasant place to work, it’s a big resource for students to get their assignments done with not much effort since the library is so necessary.
-Luisa Mejia
Student Worker
It all began on May 12th of 2003, my first day at work. I never saw myself working in a Library setting but here I am almost 8 years later and I love the atmosphere that Moss Memorial Library at Delgado Community College City Park Campus and my coworkers bring to my working environment. It has been quite the experience and I'll do it all over again. The library is a plethora of knowledge and to miss out on it, is like missing out on your future. Never underestimate the power that a library has in order to shape your future. Don't miss out...I'm glad I didn't.
-Gifford Ann Davidson
Library Specialist 2
Technical Services
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