It’s hard to believe it has been almost fifteen years since my first Librarina post went live, but I guess it makes sense when I consider the fact that my son, who was a baby at the time, is now closing in on sixteen! It’s amazing to look back on my journey — from working very part-time to working full time, then attempting to be a “mostly stay at home mom,” only to end up working part-time again.
Along the way, I transitioned from doing one tween book group per month at my “old” library, to being fully responsible for their YA collection development and teen programming. For the decade that I was there, it only made sense to pour myself into a blog dedicated to YA literature. Over the last five years, nevertheless, I have shifted gears entirely to focus on toddler and preschool storytimes, while occasionally subbing at the reference desk, at my “new” library.
Now that I am no longer working directly with tweens and teens, and I am not performing any YA collection development, I have found that the Librarina spark is gone. Rather than being excited about the endless possibilities of YA books to read and review, I have found myself becoming more and more anxious about simply keeping up with my blog. As difficult as it is to think about writing the final chapter in this book of my life, I have a lot of other books I would like to write — both literally and figuratively.
So I am moving forward with a plan to keep reading and listening to audiobooks whenever the spirit moves me, and I will no longer hold myself accountable for keeping up with the depth and breadth of the YA literature universe. I will simply follow my reading/listening interests, wherever they may take me, for the purposes of personal enrichment and entertainment. And while I will do my best to keep tabs on my reading progress via my Goodreads account, I will no longer feel compelled to write in-depth reviews as I have done on this blog.
Although I know I don’t necessarily *need* to explain myself, I feel like y’all deserve to know that (1) I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet and (2) all is well with me. I am simply moving on and using my time for other personal and professional adventures…
Happy Reading and DFTBA!
#MischiefManaged
Librarina 