Career Mirror -- by Mark Sproxton

Everyday the questions come from every angle, sometimes non-stop.

"Excuse me, is there a printer here I can use?"

"Have you seen anything relating to careers in working overseas?"

"Where is that job board on the website?"

"I just read a great book on counselling in the next decade, what would you think about ordering it for the resource area?"

YEC cybrarian Nancy MacKenzie does more than warehouse books.

For Nancy MacKenzie, resident cybrarian at the Calgary Youth Employment Centre, those questions and comments are key to her job. "Eighty per cent of the job is talking to people," she said. "How can you disseminate information if you don't know who you're talking to? You try and participate in what everybody's doing, and that gives you great insight into what the staff and clients need. Then you know how to present the information based on knowing the client base."

Although she has a Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS), calling her librarian is a misnomer. With the rise in importance of computers, databases and the Internet, MacKenzie serves as much more than a warehouser of books. Daily, she's on the 'net locating information for people at the centre, answering the phone, helping people locate information in the resource area, attending meetings, making presentations, and constantly evaluating the resources -- be they CD Roms, books, magazines, videos, or web-based journals. Plus, she's not the stereotypical sexagenarian with a beehive hair do, cat's eye glasses, and a ruler that was once synonymous with being a librarian.

While MacKenzie "loves" her work, she admits the path getting here was anything but straight. After completing a bachelor's degree, MacKenzie was tree planting in British Columbia one summer when someone mentioned they were going to investigate a library degree. "I said, 'A degree in library?'" She applied last minute to Dalhousie, one of five library schools in Canada, was accepted, and the rest is history. "I always knew I'd do a Masters, but (being a librarian) was not my lifelong dream."

Now working as a key player in finding and providing information, she takes the job seriously. "You have to be sure when you're giving someone information, it is accurate. If it's erroneous, it could adversely affect them. If you're in a medical, or law library, it's critical."

Not only do "librarians" work in schools and resource centres, many are also employed in public libraries, academic libraries (universities), and in the corporate sector. While MacKenzie works 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, those hours vary depending upon the place of employment. "Here, there's no typical day," she explained. "You're a front-line worker. You may have a list of things to do and not get to it."

Those wanting to work in libraries without taking a MLIS may also be employed as library assistants (you must have an undergraduate degree), or library technologists (you must have a two-year diploma). The key to being an effective "librarian" is a willingness to learn, MacKenzie added.

Being the lone cybrarian at YEC is the best, and worst thing about the job, however. "It gives you freedom to move around, but when you look to discuss ideas, I need to do it beyond my place of work."

With the changing face of technology, the place of work for "librarians" may also be changing. "This is a profession that has totally embraced technology," MacKenzie said. "People are always going off and doing other things. And with the development of the corporate Intranet, I think there may be opportunities here in the future. It's full of opportunities and possibilities."