What do you do?
I’m the reader’s advisory coordinator for Johnson County Library in Overland Park, Kan. My duties include author and literary programming, helping our patrons find fiction and nonfiction books that interest them, and serving on reference, information and advisory desks throughout our system.

How did you get your job?
I worked for newspapers for 26 years in various capacities, from environmental reporter to features copy editor to book review editor for The Kansas City Star, holding that last position for a decade from 2000-2009. That led to the library’s interest in me. I also earned a master of arts degree in English from UMKC in the 1990s. And I’ve published two books of poetry, “Night Watch” and “Broken Time.”

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
One of my professors at the time — I think it was Rusty Todd — told us, “You people are going to leave here, if you’re lucky, with one and only one ability: The ability to tell a story.” That hit me hard. I wanted to be the best storyteller I could. I worked on that aspect of the craft for my entire quarter century in journalism. I still want to be a good storyteller, even though I’ve changed careers. It matters here at the library, just as it did in journalism. I talk to readers who come in and recommend books to them, and I tell them stories about those stories to help them make their choices.

What advice do you have for current students?
First, accuracy is paramount. Even fiction writers do research, or at least the good ones do. I know of a memoirist who got in some trouble for embellishing his own story. I thought what he did was a terrible breach of integrity. Whether it’s a case like that, of deliberately fudging things, or of making a mistake, it’s not really excusable. You are going to make mistakes. You should strive for accuracy, yet admit your mistakes when you do make them. Second, please realize that your writing is something that is going to develop over a long period of time. After 23 years of getting paid for this, I’m still learning. Writing is tough and getting better at it takes time. Your progress tends to be incremental, not dramatic. Don’t worry about that, just persevere. Third, the world is changing. I had to make a career change because my newspaper career ended. But, I still use my journalism degree every day. It’s an adaptable degree, so be open-minded when it comes time to evaluate job offers.

What is your favorite J-School memory?
It has to be taking Advanced Reporting over the winter intersession, which I had to do because of scheduling issues. At the time, it seemed so brutal; I was practically living at the Missourian. But recalling it now, I remember a lot of late, late nights there, writing. I was not disturbed because there was no one around to disturb me. I also learned a great deal from my peers in those few weeks and from my editor, Daryl Moen.

Any parting comments?
I’m really enjoying my work with Johnson County Library and wanted to let folks know that there’s life after newspapers.  :)