The other day I set foot in a good old-fashioned mall for the first time in several years. It was almost lunchtime on yet another 90-degree day, and the mall was relatively empty save for a handful of folks meandering in and out of the stores. I basked in the air conditioning while strolling past old teenage haunts like American Eagle, Finish Line, and Abercrombie & Fitch (ugh). While standing in the Verizon store waiting for a phone repair, a sign near one of the mall entrances caught my eye: “We are committed to making our malls a greater part of each community they serve.”
The first thing my librarian-in-training brain did was to replace the word “malls” with “libraries.” Which then made me think, how similar is a mall to a library?
Well, both are free for people to enter and look around, both are spots for congregating or hanging out, both revolve around customer service, and both are mainstays of their communities. People frequent libraries and malls to find a specific book or item, to browse or window shop, or to do personal or market research. When I sat back and thought about it, the number of similarities surprised me.
So why don’t I save some tuition money and just apply for a job at the mall? I suppose I could. Frankly, I’m sure that a lot of cynics would urge me to abandon my library studies to pursue a job in retail. But for my skills and interests, I think I am much better cut out for librarianship than retail. Personally, I prefer to help people who are looking for books and information rather than clothes and appliances. Despite what libraries and malls may have in common, their differences make all the difference. For me, a library job is better than the mall, and the best job of all.
3 Comments
No – don’t get a job in retail! It’s terrible. Working in a library is much less stressful, and a whole lot cleaner.
I actually loved my retail job in a “Kitchen” store twenty years ago because I love to cook and I loved advising people on the right gadgets — not that much different than advising patrons on the right information resource. The biggest difference I see is that a library is an environment where librarians evolve and are always learning new technologies, new resources, etc. whereas retail is more stagnant and less inspiring! The excitement on a child’s face buying a new teddy bear is fleeting, but their excitement after reading a new book, visiting a new magical place between the covers of a book , stays with them forever!
I’ve always thought it would be cool to have a job at a library, ya know a big one with lots of great historical records and such.
Eric