My name is Haley James and I am going into my third semester in this wonderful program from home in Northern New Jersey.

I am really excited to be apart of this class with you all!

I decided to apply for the Rutgers MLS School Librarianship Program after a long period of asking myself, "What if?" and telling myself "If, then." I went from wanting to teach music or theater, to playing with the idea of becoming a chef, to wanting to own a dinner theater, and finally, I took the LSAT and started preparing applications for law school. However, everything changed when I started working at the Taylor Memorial Library at Centenary University, where I graduated with my BA in English Literature. I currently work at Sparta Public Library as a Library Assistant. I plan on finding work in the school system as a teen services librarian or a specialty librarian after I graduate.

I love it all: the atmosphere, the access to information, the rush of adrenaline you get from being able to help someone solve a problem you may have never even heard of before, and the books. Always the books! When I was little, my mom had to ground me from reading and she never really understood what it was like to fully give yourself into a story. One story has the ability to change your perception, give you insight, and pave the way towards knowledge. These are just a brush at the beginning of a long list of reasons of why I want to be here.

I am so excited to work with you all and to learn together! Thank you for reading this. It will be great getting to know you all a little better through our discussions. It's time to buckle down and get things done so we can all be apart of the rich and cultured career path that is Librarianship!