I arrived at my career on a big yellow bike.

I am in my forties and I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. Looking back, I should have foreseen a career in the library field much earlier. I played library with my cousins when we were little. Not only that, but I started a big argument with them about whether or not we should slide the books over a scanner. I was adamant that the books should only be stamped, nothing else. They insisted that the spines of the books must be slid over a blocky contraption which they made out of a box. Of course I realize now what they were talking about. My cousins’ public library was much larger than mine. It had a security system for the books. Therefore the librarians would slide the books over a demagnetizer when checking them out. At my little town library however, the book cards were stamped with the due date and that was it—no electronic technology involved. This heated “play library” controversy is not the only example of my passion for biblioculture.

When I was about seven, I had a big birthday party and invited friends from school. One schoolmate asked me what I would like for a present. Without hesitation I gushed, “Books!” I was very confused when the other girl laughed. I guess most girls asked for Barbies, not books.

The piece de résistance in this series of clues was a yellow three-wheeled bike. I did not know that three-wheelers were for senior citizens living in mobile-home parks. To me, it was a glorious library book transportation machine. The three-wheeled bike features an enormous basket in the back. As a kid I loved the empowerment that the bike gave me. I could bike to the library, load up my basket with the books that I had checked out, then bike home to enjoy them. After all these years it has dawned on me that since I love books and libraries, a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science will allow me to work in an environment where I will thrive.