Hi Christina,

Like you, my title is Systems Librarian, though the tasks I end up
performing are widely varied. Where I perhaps diverge from your experience
is that I do quite a bit of coding, both developing new things but also
very much "fixing broken things" as you so accurately put it. That may be
because I simply prefer code as a tool to accomplish things more than it
being strictly necessary. This response seems incredibly unhelpful but I'd
say my job is equal parts coding and systems analyst/manager. I don't
necessarily think of myself as doing much project management but when we do
major initiatives (an ILS migration here, a new website there) that is
indeed what I'm doing; mapping out requirements, delegating what little I
can, making sure tasks get done on time. Being at a small library I find it
very rewarding to do a little bit of all of this at once.

Best,
Eric


On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 2:23 PM Salazar, Christina <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hey Everyone,
>
> I'm going to be so old skool about this and ask this question on the
> mailing list, but I'm curious to know if you believe your work is more
> coder/programmer or systems/applications analyst or project management type
> work? I'm also curious about what types of job titles you have that do/do
> not correlate to the work you do on a day to day. (I'm painting with broad
> strokes I guess.)
>
> My job title has pretty much been systems librarian since 2001 and in that
> time have more closely identified with systems analyst type tasks. I can
> code but it's mostly in aid of fixing broken things, not creating new
> applications. I guess I also LIKE fixing broken things MORE than making new
> ones. I'm also sort of kind of a project manager since I've now assisted
> with implementation of perhaps a dozen or more library applications
> (including I think 4 ILSs).
>
> I'm trying NOT to reignite that whole "imposter syndrome" conversation but
> focus more on our actual skills and experience (believe me, that previous
> paragraph, while empirically true makes me feel all wormy inside.)
> I'm contemplating all this in hopes of better marketing myself for future
> and current job possibilities (as in, maybe I should not apply for systems
> librarian jobs any more since I am not really a full time coder but more of
> a "fixer.")
>
> Thoughts anyone?
>
> Christina Salazar
> Librarian About Town
> California State University, Channel Islands
> John Spoor Broome Library
> 805-437-3198
>