Even after the decline of the Guru-Shishya Culture of ancient civilizations, when the learners (present-day students) have to stay in Gurukuls (present-day schools, colleges) Guru (learned) impart education to them, teaching is still considered a highly noble task. Although it has acquired the shape of a full-fledged profession where education is given in lieu of some monetary returns still there is a sense of responsibility in the teacher about imparting the best moral and scientific value among the torch bearer of the future times. It is because of this sense that teachers are always considered a boon to society and the profession is highly acclaimed. Teachers through their intelligence, patience, and wisdom attempt not only to hone the learner's intellect and aptitude but also, to create a well-rounded personality. Teaching has an influence on developing one’s mind and character and also gives the satisfaction of having sparked the light of knowledge and dispelled the clouds of ignorance.
This field as a profession is so vast with so many areas of specialization i.e., teaching at nursery schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, institutes, special schools (schools for physically challenged, mentally retarded, and blind, etc), etc. Each level requires teachers of different expertise and different type of skills and training for different levels of students. For those who love to be with children, teaching at schools would be a good option, but if you want to be with young adults, it is better to look at college or university-level teaching. Good and properly trained teachers can bring out the best in every student. They are the ones who make a difference in the lives of their students. Besides job satisfaction, teachers can also make their own professional careers especially female fraternities can look for good opportunities in this field as a profession. The basic reason for opting for this career could be interest in the subject, secure professional career, regular annual vacations, and high esteem in society. Aspirants can have employment in Playschools, Nursery schools, Primary/elementary schools, Secondary schools, Colleges, Universities, Educational research institutes, and Special schools (Schools for the mentally retarded, blind, or physically challenged). Besides they can also go for Self-employment by opening their own institutes giving private coaching to the students of various sections. To go for any of these levels and achieve the goal of imparting quality education to their pupils the aspirant must have a blend of mind, patience, confidence, liking for and an understanding of the psychology of the children and above all very sound knowledge of the subject(s) he/she is going to take. Besides these objective teaching traits, one should also possess an organizing capacity, and friendly and helpful nature to enter and excel in this file. A perfect teacher should have the ability to communicate well, to create a liking in young minds even in the case of most boring subjects so that he/she could do justice to his/her work and be effective in his/her work. A teacher must always bear in mind that apart from teaching his particular subject, it is he/she who is responsible to shape a child's character. Teacher should always try to be true friend, philosopher, and guide to their wards as he/she is the ones who spend most of the time with the student at that age when it really matters.
Libraries-an integral part of the education system- are considered as the storehouses of knowledge, information, and entertainment. The primary aim/purpose of a library is to disseminate knowledge. It is a place where learners can acquire a lot of educational material according to their needs and requirements. With the upsurge in the number of institutes in the field of learning and the intensification of research activities in all walks of life, the importance and need for libraries is also growing. This has made librarianship attain the status of an altogether separate discipline in the universe of the knowledge thereby opening a new field of career for the aspirants who want to make Librarianship their career. It is a profession which concerns with organizing, maintaining, and storage of books in a library.
Librarians are the custodians of the library. Librarians assist people in finding information and using it effectively in their personal and professional lives. They are the trained professionals who help people to navigate the increasingly far-flung and voluminous world of data in quick times. The concept and contents of the library have seen a wide change in the last couple of decades when the main contents of the library used to be only books and some journals and newspapers. But now Libraries contain books, periodicals, micro-films, videos, cassettes, and slides - for education, research, reference, and pleasure. It has become a place to access paper records or books, to one which also houses the most advanced media, including CD-ROM, the Internet, virtual libraries, and remote access to a wide range of resources.
Various kinds of libraries are public, reference, children’s libraries, and those attached to offices and institutions of both private and public. These could include a mobile lending library. There are also specialist libraries attached to the research and academic institutions that cater to specific readers in specific subjects such as medicine, engineering, art, and music, or types of books such as Braille or collections for children. With so much widening in this field, the scope of Librarian has also increased much fold in the last couple of decades. Aspirants with minimum qualifications for graduation in Library Science can join this ever-growing field. One with graduation can also go for one year's bachelor's degree in library science. One can also go for a Ph.D. degree in this field. Besides, there are also diploma and certificate courses in Library Science which are provided by various universities, colleges, and polytechnics, as well as distance learning institutions around the country.
In most institutes, the selection is through an entrance test. One can become a good librarian if he/she has a basic interest in books as well as a variety of topics like library and information systems management, classification/cataloging systems, bibliography, documentation, preservation, and conservation of manuscripts, library management, research methodology, computer applications, information processing, archives management, indexing, library planning, etc to name a few along with good communication skills, customer service attitude, methodical approach, organizing ability, ability to anticipate user's needs, wide general knowledge and ability to cope with frequent interruptions coming in their way while on work. To be effective in their profession librarian must have knowledge of a wide variety of scholarly and public information sources, and follow trends related to publishing, computers, and the media to effectively oversee the selection and organization of library materials.
