when i was 19 i had my palm read and was informed that i have a very short life line. i would die, the palm reader told me, “tragically young.” it’s no wonder, then, why i am the way i am; i have a lot to get done if i’m on my way out soon. a few years later when i was in grad school a professor wrote a letter of recommendation for me and noted that i didn’t fall prey to the many culs-de-sac in academia. i took that comment to heart and still replay it for myself when i find myself tempted to join in on the cause of the moment. i run through this little decision tree in my head:
there are plenty of culs-de-sac in the profession of librarianship. for example, i asked myself if adding to the rant about an anonymous author in a popular library magazine contributes to moving librarianship forward and my answer was “no”. i know this is a simplistic example, but it gets at the heart of how i choose to use my time. if my participation helps move things forward, i’ll consider engaging. if it doesn’t add value, i don’t do it; it’s off my radar.
