Moving on

Apparently my love for the word peripatetic knows no bounds. After five years at Kansas State University–more like 3.5, since I spent 1.5 of them in Germany–I am moving on to be the Associate University Librarian for Library and Learning Technology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. To say that this is exciting yields yet another example of understatement.

I look forward to working with new colleagues there, while keeping ties to some of the people at Kansas State. There are both drawbacks and benefits to building one’s career by moving on, and while for my part I tend to see the benefits as dominant, one of the things I value as a librarian is that I still have close professional ties to all of the libraries where I have worked. That says something about the profession, I think, and about a collaborative and open environment. Somehow I doubt it would be so easy to maintain these personal/professional relationships were I moving from consulting firm to consulting firm. Too many NDAs get in the way.

Many thanks to everyone who has passed on good wishes since this news became public. This is a great profession, and it is a true privilege to know and learn from so many good librarians globally. I look forward to building more bridges and contacts down the road.