Today is my 20th Anniversary at NJIT

In is hard to believe that I have worked at the NJIT Library for 20 years.  Where did all this time go?  Things certainly change over time.  When I came the internet was in its infancy as all we had was text based e-mail while there was no world wide web.  We only had two CD-ROM based databases:  Applied Science and Technology Index and the Proquest Business Database.  All the journals were in print.  Back then most of the first floor was devoted to reference books while today it is an information commons with over 100 computers for the students.

Over 20 years there have been many staff changes which is expected.  There are two librarians and five clerks who were hired before me who are still in the library.  There was a strange situation as 4 reference librarians and two directors were hired during the summer of 1992.  The two directors left within a short time, but the four reference librarians stayed.  One of my reference colleagues became the Database and Serials Librarian at NJIT about a year ago.  Another relocated to California after 5 years with NJIT.  A third became Director of Web Services at NJIT and subsequently left for a similar position at NYU.  I have survived 20 years in reference.

Some things just never change.  We have always been confronted with a poor materials budget which has not grown with NJIT.  There are many more research interests and the library is challenged in trying to meet the information needs of an expanding community.  I have been frustrated by the dramatic decline in reference transactions.  Perhaps the database publishers have designed their electronic products so that end users need minimal instruction on how to use them.

I guess I still have a few more years to go before I can retire.  I look forward to the time when New Jersey Transit will lose its “most reliable customer.”