Sunday, February 14, 2016

Well, I've reached my MRD*...

*MRD = Mandatory Release Date: the date where an offender's sentence is complete and they must be kicked out of prison, or the joking reference to a prison staff person's quitting/retirement date

Greetings, Dear Readers!  It's your friendly neighborhood prison librarian coming to you for the last time as a prison librarian.  Some really positive changes have happened in my life recently and my HB and I have made the big decision to pull up our roots, load up our dog, and move to a land far, far away where we have shiny new jobs.

It's weird thinking of myself as anything other than a prison librarian because I have spent so much time crafting that part of my identity.  Once I realized that getting a job outside of prison was not what the universe wanted for me at the time, I threw myself into being the best prison librarian I could be and I endeavored to be the role model and mentor that was not there when I ended up in prison six long years ago.  I must also admit that all the attention was fun when I was introduced as the prison librarian at cocktail parties, haha.

Landing my new job as a supervisor at a small public library was so whirlwind that it was hard to ignore the sign that it was time to turn to the next chapter in my life.  It also proved to me that my job application tips are on point, so pay attention and review all the posts about hiring tips, future prison librarians.  :-)

Spending six years in the unique, interesting, and oftentimes crazy environment that is a prison library changed me as a person.  I overcame some extremely difficult personal struggles and learned what it is that really brings me joy: helping people.  I know that I would not be where I am today without that amazing experience and the amazing people who mentored and challenged me along the way.

Leaving Mintern is the hardest part of this transition.  She is one of my favorite people in the entire world, and I have never laughed so hard at work before she came on board.  My dream is to poach her from prison and bring her with me into the public library world, because any library would be extremely lucky to have her on their staff.  I am truly blessed to know her.

I am intrigued to see how my prison skills will play out in the public library world, so I tagged this post Goodbye but it is more of a See You Later.  If any of you loyal readers have questions about being a prison librarian I am still more than happy to answer them for you.  And I am still going to be in contact with Mintern so if you really need a prison insider perspective, I can forward your questions.  If any situations are as hilarious, or are relevant to the blog, then I will still keep posting.

Thank you all so much, dear readers, for your continued support of this blog.  I wish you all the best of luck in your quest to become prison librarians.  It is indeed a noble profession and you will touch more lives than you ever thought possible.  The library patrons you meet in prison will try you and test you and make you so frustrated, but they will also be the most thankful patrons you will ever meet, and you will definitely make a positive impact on them and in the world.

Until next time!