It’s hard out there as a librarian to find a job. There are just way too many librarians applying for too few jobs. It’s kind of disheartening for a lot of my friends who have recently graduated. I’m not really at liberty right now to speak publicly about what is going on with my job search (it’s not that I have a gag order, but that I’d much rather not discuss it openly) so instead I’d like to talk about something else that I’ve been thinking about as a supplement: being a freelance librarian.
This really all started when I found out that Oracle, from the Birds of Prey series, is an information broker. That got me thinking, I could do this. I could be a freelance information broker, finding information for people, doing research for people, all independently and on my own time. Apparently, I’m not the only one who has thought about this. There is even an organization for Independent Information Professionals. I haven’t really put that much more thought into what I would do as a freelance librarian, but the possibilities really are exciting – I would not be tied down to one location, I can travel more, meet more people, and still perform the duties that I enjoy – finding information for people, doing research, maybe even doing a little bit of teaching on the side. Wouldn’t that be an exciting life?
To do this would also require some work, like how to setup your own business, what needs to go into being a freelancer, finding clients, etc. It could be much more work, but in the end could also be really satisfying. I’m really just throwing ideas out there and hoping it sticks not only for me, but for others who are trying to figure out what to do now that they are out of school.
Has anyone else considering this as a possible career path? I’d like to start off as part time, and maybe eventually have this as my full time job.