Maria asked "I would like to learn more about your profession, experiences, and any pointers you might have on how to prepare myself for a future job in this field" and "I am mostly interested in the ease or difficulty of transitioning from the librarian field to the records management field."
Maria, your question are all right on the mark, but answering them is like writing a book (and yes, there are several books available, see the ARMA Bookstore or https://members.arma.org/eweb/browse.aspx?site=ARMASTORE&format=Book&category=Professional+Development&sz=25).
Allow me to suggest that you join ARMA International (the professional association of records managers in the US--see http://www.arma.org/), and either the Northern Virginia Chapter ("NOVA" see http://www.arma-nova.org/index.htm) OR the Greater Washington DC Chapter (see http://gwdc.arma.org/). You may find one more conveniently-located than the other. IMHO, this is by far the best investment you can make (membership is both International and Chapter is NOT inexpensive), as you will have the opportunity to meet up with Genuine Living Records Managers. They will be glad to bend your ear about what they do (and some of them will even complain about it).
Also, monitor the records management listserv as well as the Archives & Archivists listserv---this will give you a sense of the similarities and differences of the two professions.
There are many free publications available, some from ARMA, some from vendors in the field. Take advantage of them, though TANSTAAFL still applies.
Finally, while some folks can say they wanted to be a librarian--or a folk singer--from a very young age, that's rarely true of records managers. Most of us started off somewhere else (archeology in my case), and more or less fell into the profession. But I'm having great fun doing it!
Good luck,
Fred
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Frederic J. Grevin, Vice-President
Records Management Department
New York City Economic Development Corporation * www.nycedc.com
[log in to unmask] * w. 212.312.3903 * mobile 917.510.3016 * f. 212.618.5722
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