Hello--
I am a serials cataloger librarian, and have been involved in serials for over 20 years, the last 15 specifically as a cataloger.
I have been here at MIT for 13 years now (starting in Jan. 1996) and plan to stay for a while - I'm more than half-way to that rocking chair! The years here have been the longest I've lived in one place; I love the Boston area and New England and really felt at "home" for the first time in my life.
I was born in Kansas to academic parents (Dad - Theology, Mom - Education), and have lived literally my entire life in the academic world. I grew up in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, and Wisconsin (in that order) following Dad in his career, before we all settled in Milwaukee at Marquette University, when I was in high school. As the daughter of faculty, I got free tuition at Marquette (which admittedly was not my first choice - I was more interested in Biology or Zoology careers, but not medical or research). I ended up with a B.S. in Biology taking all the non-premed/predent classes available!
One of my Dad's graduate students was the Continuations Librarian in the library so through her I got a job freshman year as a Kardex Assistant, manually checking in serials and journals. I ended up staying all four years. For the first year, it was just a job, but by sophomore year, I began to get interested in libraries as a career. Both my supervisors were taking classes at the library school at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and moved on to librarian postions by the time I graduated. When I decided to go to the library school too, I was advised to go full time, then get a librarian job rather than a paraprofessional one first. I'm glad I did! After just 1 1/2 years, I got my degree in Dec. 1985.
My interest was in science libraries in the technical services area, particularly serials and/or cataloging. I ended up at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History in a small two person library where I ended up doing just about everything! After 6 years there (and especially after the April 1992 riots), I decided it was definitely time to leave. I was living more in the museum world than the library world, the library was still using a card catalog (and still is I believe), and I felt isolated from what was happening in technology. I wanted to move to the Midwest to be closer to my parents in Milwaukee, and work in an academic library, particularly as a serials cataloger. As luck would have it, I ended up in the perfect job as a serials cataloger at Kansas State University (not too far from where I was born!).
After a few years there, I noticed that a job as CONSER serials cataloger was open at MIT. As a primarily self-taught cataloger, I was very interested in getting some formal training and actually contributing to the profession. (Also I'd never been to New England and had always wanted to see Boston/Cambridge). Again as luck would have it, I ended up getting the job. I think the key to staying here is that this job is always changing and evolving as the (library) world changes. The past 13 years have flown by!
On a personal note:
I am the single mother of a beautiful boy, Jacob. I adopted him from Russia when he was a year old. We live in Woburn with our 16-year-old cat Miles in a 2 family house with my parents, my sister, her 25-year-old son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and her 14-year-old dog Rusty.