Today is my last day at the Great Library. It’s been nearly 15 years and I’m long overdue for a change. I am not part of the “Great Resignation,” though, as this departure has been years in the making. I have been unhappy in my role for much of the last decade, so my leaving is not at all bittersweet. I am fortunate to be making a shift from an organization with a starvation mindset to one with a growth one.

Which is not to say I haven’t worked with some great people. My library, records, archives, and web development teams were top notch. Not only did they help me grow as a leader, but I gained a lot of new subject matter knowledge by working alongside highly expert people in new information domains.

I’m not sure my math is exact, but I think I was the Great Library’s director for about 1/10th of its existence (1860-present). Longevity isn’t a good proxy for a healthy environment, though. Lesson learned.

But it has been clear to me for most of the last decade that the Law Society and I shared very different perspectives on the development of law libraries and legal information delivery. They asked me to stop blogging about law libraries for awhile and I’ve continued to self-censor. I’m still too close to the experience to blog about it but I’m planning to write about some elements before long, once I have some more distance in the rear view mirror. Long time readers of this blog may have picked up on some of this incompatibility of viewpoints.

You’ll notice, in the image at the top of the post, that my employee ID has my name misspelled. I could have had the organization fix it but it was a reminder that, when I felt unvalued, that it wasn’t necessarily just in my head. It was also a reminder that leaders need to sweat the small stuff.

I expect I’m not unlike many law librarians, though, in finding that there may not be as many roles available where you currently live. For a couple of years, I interviewed with law and non-law libraries around Toronto. It was a Goldilocks experience: too hot, too cold, never just right. It might be the type of work experience you have had. It might be that there are internal candidates.

In the end, I realized that finding a new role that was both interesting to me and where I was interesting to my prospective employer wasn’t going to happen without moving my family. So I started looking at returning to the U.S., which had always been on the horizon anyway. If we were going to move, we might as well not limit ourselves to a move within Canada.

There is an immigration post percolating in my head but that is for a later date. Even now, I run into people with whom I’ve worked who don’t realize I’m not an American. I say “y’all” not infrequently (thank you, Arkansas & Texas) and have a “Michigan ‘a’.” The Canadians Among Us. Of course, when I worked in the States, most people didn’t realize I wasn’t one either! Initially I’d thought to work in the U.S. using the TN NAFTA Professionals visa, which allows librarians to enter the U.S. to work.

The wonderful thing about starting to explore roles in the U.S. is that it seemed that more people were buying whatever it is that I’m selling. 15 years is a long time and you start to wonder, “Is it me?” When I first arrived in Canada, it was a struggle to understand what were culturally different approaches to running a law library and leading legal information professionals and what was due to the specific personalities involved. Now I wondered if I’d need to relearn the same perspective from the opposite side.

I have found that Canadian law library professionals weren’t any different from U.S. ones except around the edges, which I think relate to cultural expectations. But I do think there is a more politicized, conservative approach by funders and governance about law library scope that inhibits growth and success.

After one particular on-campus interview for a U.S. academic law library, though, I decided that even the TN visa wasn’t going to be enough. While an internal candidate was successful for that role, I worried that the temporary nature of the visa might have been one of many reasons that I wasn’t. So I put my job search on hold and applied for permanent residency in the U.S.

This was a hard period. I’ve always watched the job boards to see what’s happening with different roles, how organizations are rethinking their staffing. It was all that much harder when you thought, “Hey, I might be able to do that!” This included one for the San Diego Law Library, an incredible courthouse law library, which I amplified but didn’t apply for:

I wasn’t on the market yet. I knew I’d need resident status in the U.S., or be close, before I applied for a job. And there’s a timing issue – once you get the visa, you have to use it within 6 months. I was anticipating a period of unemployment and a stressful job search.

Then out of the blue, someone suggested I apply for the San Diego role, even with the understanding that I was waiting for my residency visa to be approved. I did, interviewed, and was offered the job. I accepted the new role in April 2021 and, with my hopefully-soon-to-be Board and staff, waited. And waited. And waited. The pandemic and other international events had slowed down the immigration process to the US substantially.

It was great to have a job ready to go but it also caused its own stress. Back in 2007, the Law Society gave me an ultimatum that they wouldn’t wait, as I was trying to move my family to Canada through another immigration process. I had that constant worry that this position would disappear for the same reason. I’ve been fortunate that the governance board in San Diego is more understanding.

Perhaps good things DO come to those who wait! I recently received my visa and will be starting at the San Diego Law Library in a couple of weeks. It’s like opening a door from a dark interior to see the bright sunlight. The possibilities! The Board who showed how much they valued my potential contribution by waiting nearly a year to have me join their organization!

I mean, California isn’t anything to sneeze at when you’re in the middle of winter in Canada. But I’ve always moved for the work and everywhere I’ve lived in North America has been interesting. So much to explore, personally and professionally! I’m looking forward to reconnecting with like-minded professionals, and finding solutions to the challenges of delivering legal information in a large metropolitan courthouse law library.

For those of you who have read these blog posts over the years, whether as subscribers or by clicking a link from LexBlog or AALL’s KnowItAALL, thank you. This blog has helped me weather the last half dozen years of professional doldrums. It’s helped me to create connections that gave me visibility to potential employers. I literally wouldn’t have been able to make this career move without your readership. I’m very grateful.

* The post’s title comes from one of my favorite old Western songs. It is not meant to disparage anyone’s paint or historical building. I’m just leaving Cheyenne.