A Hero Within All Of Us
I remember once sharing my excitement about studying Campbell’s work with a colleague. She smiled and said, "I want to be Joseph Campbell when I grow up." We both laughed because, of course, she was already a grown adult. Remembering that now, and how that moment has stayed with me is how much of an impact that Campbell’s work has had on me over the years. Campbell’s ideas aren’t confined to just the classroom or to ancient myths. His work transcends time and space, and it reminds me that the Hero’s Journey can be seen in everything we do especially when we follow our calling.
Speaking of callings, if you work in a public library, you're familiar with another grand design, the Dewey Decimal System. Here’s a scenario I’m sure you can relate with. Have you ever stood among the stacks, surrounded by books on every subject imaginable? There’s science and art, poetry and psychology, history and fiction and being surrounded by all of this magical content have you ever felt that ominous yet thrilling sense of possibility? That feeling that you’ve entered a different world? A world where you can choose your own destiny, chart your own path and wander endlessly through realms of knowledge and ready to find out where they lead?
Awesome! Next, cue the Dewey Decimal system. Let’s look at this design as not just a way to organize books. It’s our labyrinth, a living, breathing map of human thought and imagination. It’s discovery in pure form and ready to open up our eyes and change our lives. Each time we read a book we are opening up our minds and and if you feel the pull of adventure, you are already on your own Hero’s Journey.
Each call number, each shelf, each quiet aisle is a path through the great labyrinth of learning. Every book is a clue and each book holds not only the knowledge of its author, but also the quiet footprints of those who came before us. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a note left behind in a book. It could be a scribbled thought, a note of encouragement. a pressed flower, a folded piece of paper forgotten between the pages. in that small, unexpected moment, you realize: you are not walking this journey alone.
Someone else has been here.
Someone else has wondered, hoped, grieved, and dreamed right where you are standing now. The labyrinth of the library is vast, but it is never empty.
The Hero’s Journey and Why It Matters
The Hero’s Journey, as Joseph Campbell described it, is a timeless pattern that shows up in myths, stories, and even in our own lives. At its heart, it’s about answering a call to something greater than we even know, stepping into the unknown, facing trials and doubts, and ultimately returning transformed, ready to share what you’ve learned with others.
You can see the Hero’s Journey everywhere from ancient myths to modern stories like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Luke Skywalker definitely has his call to adventure. Frodo Baggins big calling is leaving the safety of the Shire. Each character faces fears, meets mentors, navigates dark times, and emerges stronger, and most of all, forever changed.
I want to point out thought, the Hero’s Journey isn’t just for epic heroes in faraway galaxies or fantasy lands, it is for anyone that chooses to go on this journey, and well sometimes it’s not even a choice, it just happens and you find yourself following along.
When I think about library work, I realize it mirrors the Hero’s Journey in so many ways. Each day we serve the public, navigate endless systems of knowledge, adapt to new challenges, and guide others through the labyrinth of information and discovery. We are constantly learning, evolving, and helping others find their way. We are just like the heroes in the stories in our books.
That’s why I believe that being called to library work isn't just a career. It’s a journey, a real hero's journey. Just like any great journey, it changes you. Maybe not all at once, but more like one step, one story, one shared moment at a time.
Let’s step into this labyrinth together and see how the Hero’s Journey unfolds, especially for those of us called to this work.
Walking the Hero’s Journey Through Library Work
The Call to Adventure
The Call often comes softly. It can start with a fascination with books. A love for learning. A pull toward service and connection. It might start with a visit to a library that feels strangely like coming home. It might start with a quiet voice inside that says: This is where you belong. I swear this really happened to me. I was on a completely different path and was planning on becoming a professor when I started working in a public library. I remember when it hit me I was just sitting there and I was like - this is my place and these are my people. It was the most amazing feeling!
Refusal of the Call
This stage is a natural one. You start to ask yourself so many questions and they’re all really valid. You might think to yourself, "Is this a good career move?" or "Can I really handle this work?" Sometimes doubt will creep in, but just remember that refusing the call is part of the journey or the path that you will take. What will happen is that the call will eventually demand that you take a step forward intentionally, and at that point, you will know. You won’t be able to deny that the work you do in the library does not matter and that you must carry it forward evenmore. I found this to be true as well. I knew the library was my calling, but I just didn’t have the strength or the money to go back to school and get my master’s in library science, so I put it off for several years until I was ready to take it on. When I finally started my first semester in my MLIS program, I felt strong and comfortable and happy with this step I had taken. My journey to the next level in my story had begun!
Meeting the Mentor
Mentors appear when you need them most. They can be Professors. Managers. Fellow library workers, anyone who believe in you and they will believe in you before you even believe in yourself. I love mentors because they hand you the keys, maps, flashlights, and encouragement for the dark corners ahead. Believe me you’re gonna need this! I talk about my mentor all of the time in the classes I teach. She was my friend first and then she became my supervisor later. She was a supporter of me and my biggest fan. I love that! Everyone needs to have a fan of the work they do. Aside from that, my mentor taught me so many things on how to handle difficult situation and difficult people. We laughed a lot and she always had wise words of wisdom for me. One thing she told me that has stayed with me for over twenty years is when I thanked her for being my mentor, she told me that one day I will be the mentor and I will carry that on and that is the best way to thank her. Over the years, I had a few more mentors that I have to say I am so thankful for. When you find them, hang on to them because they are gold.
Crossing the First Threshold
You step fully into the world: Here’s a few ideas on how you can cross that first threshold.
Starting library school. This could be a technical program for Library Technology or go for the master’s MLIS. It’s your choice, but what a great way to boost your library career.
Accepting your first library job. Yes! If you’re like me, you’ll start working in libraries well before you get a librarian degree. It was the best experience ever. I started as a library clerk, then library assistant, then once I got my degree I became a librarian and then stepped up to library manager. These were all milestones in my hero’s journey.
Running your first program. I’ll never forget running my first library program. It’s like you go through the seven levels of hell to get to one of a program and then it’s all over. The planning and prepping is good, I always enjoy that. It’s the day of the program that sends me inside out. I start to doubt everything I’ve ever known. What if no one shows up? What if they don’t like what I’ve planned? What this and what that, it’s a frightening time leading up to the program. I’ve gotten better over the years, but sometimes fear can get the better of us. My best advice is to promote your program in advance and get it out on social media. Make flyers and get them out there and you’ll be sure to have people show up. Everything else will flow once it starts. I always feel such a magical feeling after a program because all of the thoughts and ideas you have come to life.
If you can make it through these challenges, you are no longer just admiring the labyrinth from afar, you are walking it now. Just remember you can do it!
Tests, Allies, and Enemies
These challenges are real:
Technology failures
Difficult patrons
Bureaucratic obstacles
But so are the allies:
Supportive colleagues
Grateful patrons
The tiny victories that build your courage
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Here you will take on bigger responsibilities. You may focus on leadership, advocacy, or innovation. It’s totally terrifying. It demands everything from you, but it shapes who you are becoming. I have a story to share here. I once checked out a book with a note left inside of it. The note read, “The cave you fear to enter hold the treasure you seek” Now this is a famous quote from Joseph Campbell and talk about the universe reaching out and tapping me on the shoulder! Really thinking deeper about this quote, it makes you realize that you really have to go into that dark cave and find yourself. Then once you have done that, the real treasure will appear. It’s not tangible, it’s the essence that is made up of you, the experience you have, the inner most darkness you have gone through, it’s your fears and your hopes all summed up.
The Ordeal
Every journey has a dark night of the soul theme. It could be about dealing with compassion fatigue or getting a terrible health diagnosis. It could be a time when you feel the whole world is against you. Some ordeals could be:
Burnout from working in the library
Setbacks in your personal life
Moments when you doubt your calling or where you are in your life
But here’s the key with this stage of the Hero’s Journey. Within the darkness, you will discover your own fire and this is what makes you grow stronger, wiser, steadier than before.
Reward (Seizing the Sword)
Because of everything that you have experienced, you emerge from your ordeal or trials with new wisdom:
- Confidence in your voice
Pride in your impact
A deeper sense of purpose
You carry the metaphorical sword: knowledge, compassion, and resilience.
The Road Back
Here’s where you can start to relax a bit. You have the done the work and followed the journey and now it’s time to return to your everyday work. This may seem passive, but you are forever changed. You begin to mentor others. You build stronger connections. You create spaces of hope and belonging. You rise above the mundane and take on the battles that come with ease.
Resurrection
You are reborn not just as a library worker, but as a guardian of stories, a keeper of journeys, a builder of community. I love this so much. Thinking about all of the stories we can tell to our coworkers and friends. Sharing the highlights and the lows of the library, we can offer others a glimpse inside the work we do. However, now we can do this with a purpose. For me, my resurrection was when I became an instructor. I brought myself back by offering what I know and have experienced over the years to my students. I love that I am able to share what what I know with our future librarians!
Return with the Elixir
So, we are here now at the endo of journey. We’ve made it through all of the obstacles, found ourselves, and came out with a lot of strength and knowledge. Now it’s time to share what we have learned. We can help others find their path and most importantly, we can leave a trail of light in the labyrinth. Because that place can be very dark for someone new to the landscape. Let’s light the way for the next library travelers to follow.
Closing Reflection
Standing in the stacks, it’s easy to forget that every book, every call number, every well-worn path between the shelves holds the echo of countless journeys and countless readers who have picked up books and read them long before us. Thinking about this and looking at Joseph Campbel’s work, it reminds me that the Hero’s Journey belongs to all of us. In turn, the Library reminds me that there is a map that is already here waiting for us to walk it, lose ourselves in it, and find ourselves again.
The library labyrinth is vast, but it is never empty. The journey can be long and/or perilous for some, but the reason I’m writing in this blog is to try and provide some support and let library workers know that you are not alone. If we can build a network together, we can support each through our own hero’s journey. Believe me when I say that sometimes it’s hard to share your own story, but I want you to know that your story matters.
A few last things I would like to say is that you don’t need to have recognition from anyone, especially anyone that does not appreciate you. You can be your own hero and also know that there are many library workers out there that are in the same space as you. I am one of them and I hope you will remember as you move through the library stacks, answer patrons calls and questions, and connect with your community that you are doing the best you can and following your calling or your journey and shaping yourself through service, compassion, and knowledge.
I never knew that one day I would become the guide or mentor, but now that I’m here I am loving it.
Take a moment to reflect:
Have you heard the call to adventure and answered it?
What obstacles have you overcome that made you stronger?
Who have been your mentors and allies along the way?
Have you already become a mentor for others?
What “elixir” or wisdom or hope are you carrying back to share with others?
One thing that I also love is that the journey is always ongoing. The library is ever changing and that means that the labyrinth unfolds one step at a time.
🐉Keep walking
📚Keep wondering
✨Keep believing
Because whether you realize it or not, the library is full of heroes and you my friend are one of them!
Stay magical,
the Compassionate Librarian
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