Everything old is new again...

So I gave my 10 weeks' notice today at the library. Of course, as it was pointed out to me when I made the joke about 10 weeks, I'm working on contract and am not actually obligated to give any notice. But that wouldn't be proper, and since I know how slow the library can be at hiring people, I figured 10 weeks might be just about right to get someone in to replace me. Besides, I'd recently been told that my contract was being extended for another year, till September 2009, and I bet they'd wonder where I was when I didn't show up for work after August 29 (the end of my current contract).

But I digress. Where am I going, you ask?

Back to my old (pre-Japan) job: I have accepted a contract position[1] at the University of Ottawa, at the law library. It's basically the same job I had there before, providing reference services and teaching legal research classes, except now there's more classes to teach (used to be just the civil-law students, but now the library provides research courses for the common-law program, too). And, well, thanks to recent contract negotiations, it pays much better than it did the last time I was there. And I will no longer be a lowly Librarian 1, having merited (in someone's eyes) a Librarian 2 ranking. I've also been told that, were I to stay on at the university following the end of my contract[2], I'd likely be up-ranked to Librarian 3.[3] Currently the position runs till the end of September 2009, but I have been told that the chances of it being extended at least a few months more are very good.

I will miss the Library of Parliament - I really like my job there and I really like all of my colleagues. A lot. It's some of the most interesting work I have ever done, even more than when I was articling, and mostly because, while largely legal-based, it is incredibly varied and often challenging. But it will be so nice to be back at an academic library, and teaching! As annoying as the students can sometimes be[4], it's what I love to do.


[1] Oh, that someday I might have a position I can wholly and truly call my own...

[2] There are some potential possibilities, though nothing is guaranteed, of course.

[3] For those of you not "in the know" with librarian ranking (mostly academic, but other library folk likely have an idea what this entails), just take my word for it - Librarian 2 is good, but Librarian 3 is even better. That's supervisory/management level stuff, or pretty darn close.

[4] I'll begin with the more mundane example of the students who query why they need to learn how to properly note-up (get the history of) and cite (reference) a judicial decision since they'll *for sure* have a secretary who will do all this for them once they graduate (haven't they heard of articling? what about law firms without - gasp! - a librarian, let alone perhaps even a *library*!!!), and let your imagination take it from there.