Kelly Jensen
Book Riot
Woodstock, IL USA
"“A community isn't one thing, a community is everything.”"
Career Roadmap
Kelly's work combines: Writing, Education, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Practice writing. That's the first step. When you read an article that you like, evaluate why you like it. Is it the format? On Book Riot, we have articles, podcasts, videos, etc. Those are all different forms of writing and it's important to figure out what resonates with you. Once you get an idea of what these sites are like, see if they're hiring freelance contributors.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English and Psychology
Cornell College
Graduate Degree
Library and Information Science
University of Texas at Austin
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Growing up with a single mom who worked third shift, the library was a place where we could spend time together without spending money.
2.
While studying journalism in college, I interned in public, academic, and archival libraries which helped me realize that librarianship was the career I wanted to pursue.
3.
I earned my MLIS and began my career as a teen and reference librarian, where I discovered a passion for advocating for young people and supporting my community through times of change.
4.
As I wrote about books and libraries outside of work, I realized my passion for storytelling could expand my impact beyond a single library.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
If I make a career change out of library work, I'm wasting my education.
How I responded:
After a few different library jobs, I was considering pivoting into writing and editing. It was stressful because I had put in a lot of time, effort, and money to get a degree and now I was going to leave to do something else. I worried that leaving library work after only a few years meant I'd wasted my education. But that wasn't true. I realized that the skills and values of librarianship can open far more doors than they close. I just had to be open to what those doors might look like.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
When I started my first library job, my imposter syndrome was huge. I even started dressing in a suit jacket to try and look more experienced. It just took time to learn the job and figure out where I belonged, and the imposter syndrome went away.