New Class and Fall Registration

This weekend I began my last summer class. This one is entirely devoted to serials and the consistent inconsistencies about them. The class meets all day on Saturday as well as Tuesday and Thursday evenings but is over in three weeks. It is an intense few weeks but I am kind of looking forward to it. Originally it was one of the only classes that was still open when I registered but now it is relevant to my volunteer work since I have begun cataloging bound and fragile periodicals. However there are some things about the class I do not like: we spent the first Saturday defining serials and that took the entire class time, and there is not only a final paper/presentation but a final exam as well.

I will be registering for fall semester in about a week. This has caused some anxiety because the archiving classes are only offered in the fall and I will have a hard time getting into them. One of the classes that I very desperately want to take has a prerequisite that is also only offered in the fall which makes things very difficult. I am sure that if I could register for both at the same time it would be alright except the prerequisite conflicts with another class I desperately want to take. A conversation with my advisor is the best course of action. The part that really irritates me is that if I were in the School Library Media concentration I would be able to take the classes I miss in the fall in the following spring. I really can't wait until the following fall to take these classes, I need to graduate in the spring.

Tired, very tired

I have been meaning to update for about a week and have not had the time or the brain power to do so. Luckily I had a spur of the moment day off of work and have recovered from the past two weeks of business.

In personal news I was the happy surrogate kitten momma to Capote for a few days last week and he and Miso got along quite well. I was doing this because 812 N. Productions was filming another short and Capote lives on the set. The shoot went well and soon we should have a finished product, more later when that happens.

Between being a P.A. on set and having an extra cat at my place I was already tired a bit worn out when I went to my second weekend session of my Reference class. Luckily this one went better than the first weekend. Mostly this is due to my ability to get back into the school groove. The first weekend was my first time in a classroom in four months and I was a bit rusty. Now I am back on track and feeling more comfortable about the subject matter. Having used libraries for so long and dating a librarian I felt pretty confident that I knew quite a bit already. This is still true but I think my knowledge is being enhanced, at least in my reference class.

My introduction to library and information science class is not so enlightening. I wish it was since I go to it every week instead of once a month but sadly it all feels like a waste of time. The hour long drive in rush hour traffic there, the three hours in class and the half hour it takes to get home are just a misuse of my time. Especially when the instructor does not seem to know what he is doing. We were supposed to construct an annotated bibliography about a given subject and he posted information on blackboard about what we needed to include in the assignment but he forgot to tell us how long it needed to be. I emailed him at this point and responded on the day it was due to check the information posted. By this point it was far too late and I had already done the assignment. I had eight entries, hopefully that will be enough. I would have made it an even ten but some of my sources were from the same publication and I didn't want to repeat myself too much.

And now my rant is done. I am just tired of the disorganization.

Speaking of organization I am looking into what classes I need to take next semester. This includes Organization of Knowledge and Management. Organization of Knowledge is a big phrase for cataloging. Cataloging for non-catalogers is not fun, again like most classes it needs to be separated from those that do want to catalog and those that don't. It would be much easier for all involved. Management I am not too worried about, perhaps if I have the right instructor it could even be useful. I am also going to take a second class next semester. Hopefully something fun that will balance out the two dull classes. Perhaps storytelling...that could definitely help improve this blog. There are also some children's lit and young adult lit classes that would be interesting. It all depends on what fits in my schedule which looks like it might be busy because a special/academic library wants me to volunteer at the beginning of the year. I am very excited.

Disorganized

It always amazes me when librarians are disorganized. Part of the job is a certain level of organization at least in their professional life in order to be good at their job, for instance, being able to find a book because it is in the correct place. It seems my Intro to Library Science instructor missed that piece of information when getting his MLIS. The class this week was all over the place, he was randomly searching the internet to find examples of things for us (the computer being hooked up to a projector so we could all see his meandering), and the lecture -- what little of it there was confused more than enlightened me. Perhaps he is the opposite of if you can't do, teach; he can't teach maybe he can do but I really don't know. Right now I am learning what not to do.

I am just going to do what I have to do and remind myself that I just have to get through it and its only 12 classes before graduation.

Visit to Special Library

Today I visited a special library. These tend to fall into two categories small and organized or completely disorganized and scary, sadly this was the latter.

I had high hopes for this library, I had wanted to volunteer there since it's interests and mine match well and they run on an entirely volunteer staff. I figured this would be a good way for me to get some additional experience in a library without the hassle of having "experience". So I decided to check it out and see if it would fit my needs.

I am very glad I did this instead of immediately deciding to volunteer without checking it out. Here is what I observed:

• the smell, there was a distinct odor of rotting books and a need to clean
• the man eating behind the desk, this could have contributed to the smell
• clutter and disorganization, there were piles of books everywhere and the ones on the shelves were difficult to get to, also many computers that had no purpose
  
• volunteers were not properly identified as staff
• book sale being organized while open, random books that were not for public use and not properly labeled
• scary and outdated displays
  
• expensive benefit tickets starting at $250
  

All of this contributed to my not wanting to volunteer there. In reality they could benefit from my help but I feel that they would not be receptive to it.

If I were running the library this is what I would do

• get dehumidifier and cleaning crew in to fix smell problem
• no eating at the desk, that is what a break room is for
• reorganize material so it is accessible, also get rid of multiple copies of books, no need to have three copies of same text
• volunteers should have name tags or buttons saying "I work here" or something like that
• organize book sale after hours so that patrons are not confused
• displays must be reorganized to promote community in a positive and up to date way, posters from the 1980's while having a historical value should be put into perspective of the current issues
• library benefit tickets should be affordable for all those in the community and should have a starting donation of $50 or $100 instead of $250 and up

I believe I will write to this library and let them know how I feel. I think they need to be awakened to the possibility that even though they have been around for 20 years they need to update.