Hi Patrick,

Welcome to the right place! I am a Web Designer/Developer and for our University's Libraries. I am not a librarian, I have worked as a Web Designer in other fields and I say if you like libraries, STAY in libraries. I feel lucky to have landed here for many of the reasons stated by my colleagues (the people, the challenges and the personal value beyond the $) - it's a great niche to be in, especially as a Web Developer.

As a Web *Designer*, though, I have to put this out there: this is a space where it matters more that the product WORKS than it looks good. So, if you find yourself drawn to CSS and layouts, picking colors, making things pretty -- you may not love library-land for long. However, if you love to figure out how to make things work and solve hard-to-impossible puzzles, library-land could be your destiny.

There's sooooo much going on behind the scenes in library-land and it sounds like you're in a great position to learn more from your librarians, esp. eResources and Systems Librarians. If they can show you how they troubleshoot an issue with an eResource, that's a great way to see how library systems connect together on the back-end and make one experience for the user on the front. If you have an archive or institutional repository where you are, talk to those librarians, too. That's an entirely different world from circulating library materials and uses completely different code/server stacks.

I +1 almost everything my colleagues have already said, especially re: regex! (and not just because I work with Erich) ;) Being equally as ready for older languages as the latest-greatest will be a huge asset to you. I'm sure you can tell from other's posts that the languages are not the same as 20+ years ago. But a lot of that code is still kicking around (in libraries more than other spaces), often hiding in the background -- and someone is going to need to fix it one day... and it could be regex... in a deprecated version of PHP... like it was for me... and you might not have an Erich around to help... although... you do... because he's here and that's one of the great things about CODE4LIB -- there's always someone here to ask for help when you need it (also unique to library-land!)...

Best,
Alyssa

________________________________
From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Cary Gordon <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2022 12:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Circulation clerk learning to code.

Hi Patrick,

Clearly, folks here have some strong feelings on this topic.

My advice is that you inventory your basic skills, set your goals, and
create a plan. Clearly, unless you can come up with a unique and essential
product, or claw your way to the top of a vendor organization, you are not
going to get rich in the library business. I got involved with the internet
and libraries before the web, and later built my business on that
foundation. I've had a lot of fun doing it.

I was fortunate to get some introduction to computer science in school, in
the age of punchcards and building-sized computers less powerful than my
watch. CS is much different now, but still it is a good place to start. It
doesn't matter if you go to a Community College or to MIT, as long as your
instructors are engaging.I learned Fortran and assembler, then C, then
Basic (non-visual), and moved on from there. I spent a lot of time
mastering SQL, and found that my math background came in very handy there.
When I started working with libraries, I found that the many faces of XML,
and markup languages, in general, were very useful and brought me a lot of
opportunities,

I also spent a lot of time learning about computers and their operating
systems. I learned Unix by working on my first web server, a DEC Alpha,
then using a Sun workstation. This put me in good stead for working on the
Linux-based servers that we use now.

I think that the key is to keep your ear to the ground, and stay up-to-date
with new tech. Code4libCon, BTW, is a great place to do that.

Feel free to reach out.

Thanks,

Cary

On Thu, Dec 15, 2022 at 3:14 PM Patrick Pletcher <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi, this is my first time posting to a list like this. I am a circulation
> clerk who is learning to code at freecodecamp.org. Right now I am
> studying html and css, but I plan on going through all the lessons on the
> website. I enjoy working in libraries, and I also enjoy writing code. I am
> not sure where I am going with this. Do I stay in the library field, or do
> I go off in a completely different direction? I would appreciate your
> input. I think I would like best to work for a company that provides access
> to eBooks or audio books. I like print, but I don't see people using ink
> printed on dead trees 50 years from now, with all of the environmental
> issues the planet is facing.
>


--
Cary Gordon, MLS
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com