Yes, you heard that right. I’ve been enjoying programming computers since 1990. I received my certificate of nonprofit management earlier in 2025, and in December of that same year I will also receive my Master of Library and Information Science degree.

My name is Brian Jared, and I’ve worked for companies big and small, including startups and internationally known businesses. I got into computers with the goal of programming games, but somehow spent two decades being a UNIX and network administrator before finally making the move into the gaming industry. After a few years of various game development positions, I decided to take a chance at working for my public library. If you ever talk to me, one of the first things you’ll hear me say is how wonderful the library is for my mental health. Working for the community is much more rewarding than trying to please impatient venture capitalists. I felt like a fish out of water, as I was bombarded with a lot of unfamiliar jargon, so I enrolled in a master’s degree program for library and information science, and for fun I took the dual-degree option which included a certificate of nonprofit management. I still have a passion for game development, and I guarantee I’ll incorporate gaming into my work within these new fields.

After my first year of working toward my MLIS degree, I would regularly think to myself, “If someone asked me five years ago what my 5-year plan was, I would have been WAY off.” Since 2020, I’ve become familiar with MARC-21 and Dublin Core for metadata, learned how to write grant applications, how to plan for and manage a digital archives, how to select and normalize digital materials, and above all, how important equity is in LIS, not only for access of data, but as a goal of social progress. I’ve learned how to make marketing materials with Canva, that there’s actually a process for designing, what I now know as, “Information Architecture”, and how Python has some pretty incredible software libraries that can process all kinds of data, even MS Excel spreadsheets which used to be such a closed, proprietary format back in the day. On top of these LIS skills, I also know what it takes to run a nonprofit organization, why human resources has employees perform yearly evaluations (It’s not to be mean!), and what a “gift in kind” means. As I was taking my first nonprofit management class, “Financial Management for Nonprofits”, I found it amusing that I was learning how to do something I knew nothing about … in a sector I also knew nothing about.

My collection of social media topics are getting quite diverse, and in regards to LIS, If you aren’t already, I highly recommend following The Memeing Librarian (@the_memeing_librarian) and Mychal (@mychal3ts), because they’re awesome. Of course, if you know of any other librarians I should be following, let me know!

Anyway, I’ll end with some words of wisdom: It’s never too late to go back to school.