Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I found out who got the job I interviewed for. This person received a degree from a fundie/dispie seminary before getting the MLS, so I can understand him or her being a better fit than myself. This situation illustrates a problem that has dogged my entire professional career: I'm too religious and conservative for the secular and post-Christian schools, and too liberal for the evangelical and fundamentalist schools. The only faithful but moderate Christian schools around are either Roman Catholic or Texas Baptist, as far as I can tell.
posted by Carlos @ 1:26 PM
4 Comments:
Hey, nifty new look!
I'm glad to see the list o'links has made a return. Just a week ago I referred someone to CCEL when I couldn't find a copy of what he was looking for in the library. Unfortunately, right now I can't remember whether it was John Wesley, Calvin, or Origen that he was looking for at the moment. He's asked about all of them at one time or another. I get the impression he's a part-time preacher or a middle-aged seminary student.
The place in California was pretty clearly looking for a brain-dead ranter who would unthinkingly parrot the institutional party line, not a thinking Christian (or even a fully-functional human being). What does it profit a man to gain a job and lose his... well, you know the phrase. You probably lost the job the moment they realized that you were one a' them dern pointy-headed book-writin' intelleckshuals.
Their idea of "education" was clearly indicated when they effectively told you, in the interview, that you would be expected to censor and dumb-down the library collection to fit their organization's dogma. If I were you, I'd be saying a prayer of thanks that I didn't get sucked into that hell hole, or put in the position of being tempted by a job offer there. Try as I might, I just cannot imagine you marching around with inflamed, bloodshot eyes, brandishing a weapon and screaming "GOD HATES LIBRULS!" with spittle streaming from your lips. You will never fit in to the "fundamentalist" Christian(TM) environment.
PS. Yes, I used the word "hell" intentionally in the preceding paragraph.
Thanks for the words of support. I think you're right; whatever advantages sunny southern California may have had would be outweighed by the stifling intellectual climate on the campus. Besides asking me (twice) about collection development policy at a Christian campus, the administrator interviewing me also seemed puzzled at my attending a Calvinist church. My response, to the effect that I was avoiding shallow entertainment-based evangelical services, may not have gone down too well, especially considering that a number of faculty there attend Rick Warren's megaplex Saddleback Church.
So you're still working at the P.L.? Did you get a full-time job there?
Nope, just part-time, with additional responsibilities (selecting the Dewey 300s, 800s, and 900s and running summer reading program raffles) but no additional pay. I'm also substituting at another public library in the area. I've had some noteworthy interviews in the past month or so, but I'll discuss those elsewhere/elsewhen.
Those are some good DD ranges--have fun spending money.
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