I was thinking about how many aspects of a librarians role are not specifically taught when you study. I’m in Australia and my postgrad qualification that made me a librarian was half archival and half librarian. In terms of being a public librarian I did learn some good stuff about running projects, creating proposals and using data, but honestly so much of what I use day to day comes from active listening and motivational interviewing skills I learned studying mental health, and tech + marketing skills I have from being a web designer most of my life.
I have also been thinking about librarians who I’ve noticed seem to dislike helping the more vulnerable or “difficult” members of the community - but I mean if you’ve trained predominately in cataloguing and reference interviews should helping the homeless be in your skill set? Should you feel confident in helping a senior who is fearful of technology, cranky and stressed but needs your help? I’m wondering if the job is too wide or the schooling is too narrow? What do you think?