Although I spent the first 20 years of my library career in New York, I had, of course, heard of Columbus, Ohio. The Columbus Metropolitan Library being such an innovative system and winning so many awards. OCLC having its headquarters in Dublin, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus). And, of course, the fantastic libraries at The Ohio State University. If there was ever a list of “great cities to be a librarian in,” Columbus would certainly be at the top.

So, in 2016, I excitedly started my current role as Associate Director for Information Technology at OSU. Now, while I’m not a superstitious person, it really felt like the signs all pointed to the fact that I had made a wonderful career choice—IFLA WLIC 2016 was even held in Columbus that year. What are the odds of that timing?

But then I received the biggest sign of all, from OCLC’s founder and first President, Fred Kilgour. And I wasn’t quite prepared for how “close to home” that sign would be…