Writing a Blog is Hard

August 30, 2012

You may not think that librarians have it rough, and as a general rule, that’s true. It’s indoor work, no heavy lifting; admittedly, it’s a pretty sweet gig. 

But as with any career, we too endure our fair share of hurdles. The hardships in our workday likely pale in comparison to those in other careers, but nevertheless we have them. 

Runny nosed children love to give us runny nosed books. And while not ubiquitous, many library personnel have at least one toe permanently misshapen from years of dropping hardcover books on our feet. But perhaps the most challenging aspect of our jobs is well…. writing a blog.

Writing a blog is hard folks. 

For starters, writer’s block can affect even the best blogger among us. We hope to be timely and informative, but there are a plethora of resources, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc., that you can use to see what’s happening in the library world. As bloggers, we have to be careful not to repeat something you may have already read. And that’s hard folks.

Added to our writing dilemma is the fact that, as librarians, we are held to a higher standard of accuracy than your typical Internet blogger. You can imagine my disappointment when after writing a sterling dissertation about Madame Bovary, I was informed that contrary to what I’d remembered of the tome, the book had nothing to do with cows. 

Shocked, I went back and reread Flaubert’s classic work, and thusly discovered, indeed, there were no cows to be seen. Which is a shame because I think cows would have really improved the plotline.

At any rate, writing a blog is hard. Still, it’s joyously hard. 

Challenging? Sure.

Frustrating at times? Of course.  

Still, if the entire process can lead to amazing blogs like this one from Jeff at Grandview or this one from Molly at Lees Summit you can see that for us, it’s all worth it. 

Hopefully it is for you too. 

Maybe you’ve learned something new about your favorite library staff member, or perhaps you’ve gained a new skill set. --Unless of course, you read my blog about To Kill a Mockingbird, where I mistakenly referenced the novel as an instructional manual on hunting small birds. – Or it’s possible you have even discovered a new resource you didn’t know we offered for free.  

And if that’s the case, we’re thrilled, because writing a blog is hard folks.

Especially so, if you’re me.

Rick G.
Platte City Branch