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From lawyer to librarian: one woman’s journey

Many paths can lead to the same destination. Though it might seem like a cliché, this statement proves to be true for Isabel Hermida Cornelio, a lawyer-turned-librarian from the Dominican Republic. In the post below, she shares the story of her career journey from the court houses to the circulation desk.

In our household, reading came as easily as breathing. It was a part of our identity, ingrained and passed down through generations of scholars, writers, and thinkers in our family tree. It was a joy and it felt necessary to life. Bedtime stories, visits to the bookstore, talks about books, and buying books on trips abroad with our parents were second nature to my sister and me. What was noticeably absent from this literary childhood were trips to a community library.

In the Dominican Republic of the 1990s, community libraries did not abound. Suffice it to say, my knowledge and awareness of libraries were given to me by my school libraries as I studied throughout the years, in some of the best private schools my country had to offer. Thus, my knowledge of librarians was also quite limited–except for Rose, the librarian of my childhood school, who would always point out good books to read to my sister (and later to me as I moved into the elementary grades). She always knew which books to recommend next. It never occurred to me that I could become a librarian; so, with a deep love for books, I thought I would become a writer.

As the years went by and my love for literature and reading grew, so too did my desire to study something related. Although we had excellent universities in the Dominican Republic, they mainly offered traditional career paths and so, having chosen to study in the DR, studying Creative Writing or Literature was not really an option for me. The adults in my life, and my vocational exam results, suggested Law. I had good writing and oral skills; I loved reading; I could make a good living out of being a lawyer; and, I could always read and write on the side, if I so chose. So I did. I went to college and became a lawyer, and worked for almost two years as an assistant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of my country–an incredibly rewarding growth experience, but one that did not offer the vocational fulfillment I expected and desired from my work life.

“It never occurred to me that I could become a librarian.”

My mother was an educator, and had watched me over the years work in summer camps and afternoon tutoring programs, but had wisely allowed me to make my own choices. It finally dawned on me how much I loved working with children and young people while teaching Sunday school at my church. I asked for advice from my parents, and from my former high school principal, then promptly accepted a job working as a substitute teacher at my old school. I loved every minute of it. I loved teaching because it combined the intellectual and creative aspects of my personality, and it spoke to me in a way law never could. I probably would have become a classroom teacher had I not met and spoken with the librarian of the school at that time. She was the one who first explained to me the science and art of being a librarian, of being an information maverick and a literature savant. She left halfway through the school year; and, as a substitute, I had the privilege of stepping into her shoes multiple times for the rest of the semester.

I was hooked. I bided my time, completed a postgraduate program in education so that I could teach, and I waited until the position of librarian opened up at our school–and when it did, I jumped on it! I completed the credits necessary in school librarianship through an online program and I submerged myself into this magical and little known world that is librarianship. I read everything I could–books, magazines, and blogs. I watched webinars. I scoured the Internet for ideas and information.

What I discovered, once I dove into this profession, was how different it was from anything I had ever sought for myself. I never thought I could become a librarian. At most, when I was younger, I thought I could be a like Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail and become a bookstore owner. I loved how I could bring to the table the critical thinking and information skills I had acquired while studying law. Furthermore, I had first-hand knowledge of copyright, plagiarism, and ethics in the use of information, which I could impart to my students with the authority that I was, in fact, a lawyer, and the weight of the law was backing me up as I instructed them on how to become ethical information users.

“What I discovered, once I dove into this profession, was how different it was from anything I had ever sought for myself.”

I never realized this enriching career path could be available to me. Others didn’t either. It was an interesting conversation, having to explain to my father that after becoming a lawyer, then a teacher, that I now wanted to be a librarian. He thought I would be stamping books in a forgotten damp room somewhere. I had to explain that in the 21st century librarians are so much more than that – that we teach children how to access information in a way that is reliable, safe, and ethical; that we cultivate in our students a love for reading throughout their years at our school, celebrating activities and programs that allow them access to realities both foreign and familiar in an effort to give them a peek into the world through reading; that we train students, teachers, and staff members in good information practices and other literacies needed to be successful in their careers and in life; and, that we teach empathy and friendship through the stories we share and the communities that we build in our libraries.

Furthermore, our libraries are so much more than book depositories; they are alive as places to feel safe and make friends, to collaborate with others, to read, to work, to study, and to create. The best part, on this my 5th year in this job, is listening to my father explain to others in our community what it is that I do, and having him and my mother support this incredible career path that I have chosen to take.

Libraries are changing, and my country is as well. There is a beautiful public library for children and young adults that is working to give them access to not only books and information, but to a world so much larger than our beautiful island. Much work is being done in the public sector as it is in private schools like mine, where libraries and media centers are taking center stage and being given the opportunity and resources to flourish into the 21st century. Now, my greatest desire is to open windows for my students so that they can really explore all the different career and life paths that can be available to them, and – who knows! – maybe, one of them will come back and become the next librarian at our school!

Featured Image Credit: “roads-320371_640” by artvertau, CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay.

Recent Comments

  1. Rowena Sharpe

    Hi Isabel. Great story! It is good to know that you are satisfied with path you have taken in your professional life. I am sure every moment of the journey was a great experience for you. I enjoyed reading it!

  2. ROSEANNE SCHOPFER

    Hi Isabel, loved your story! Thank you for sharing!
    Blessings
    Roseanne

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