Seasoning Librarianship: Seeking Nourishment on the Tenure Path

Abstract

It all started with a craving, a deep-in-the-belly knowing that becoming a tenure-track librarian was the step I wanted to take. There was a potent mixture at play: a longing for a chance for security, the lure of deep dives into ideas, and an amplification of the work I loved in my previous staff and non tenure-track positions at an academic library. So, when I edited (again) my curriculum vitae and professional statements, read through the job description one more time, and prepared for the interviews and questions and conversations about why and how I could show up in this new space, grounding me was a sense that I was embarking on something that would feed my hunger. Now, two years into my new role, I have found that I must intentionally hold on to that grounding, that I must seek out the connections that feed me, and that this emerging practice has allowed me to be more present for the daily work of librarianship.