It has been way too long since my last post to really catch up with what has happened. Basically this past semester was overwhelming -- far more overwhelming than I expected.
Volunteering at the special library has been going well except they are having financial difficulties and had to lay off a number of the staff. I have been helping out as best I can but the whole thing is frustrating. I am not sure how an institution that supports a college and a museum thinks closing the conservation lab and the archive is a good idea. Ugh!
I have also begun looking for librarian positions, I figure in this economy the earlier I start looking for a job the better the chance that I will have a new job near graduation in May. I am casting a wide net, looking at public and academic library positions as well as archives. This is furthering my belief that I was right when choosing classes that created an overall education rather than specializing in one type of librarianship. The whole thing is making me nervous, I was not planning on the economy to completely collapse...really not part of the plan.
I am definitely ready to be done with the library school part of this, I don't think two more classes are going to make me any more of a librarian than I am already. On the bright side one of my classes is an online course and the other is a weekend class so I am only on campus for about six days this semester. Which is good because if the snow these past few weeks is any indication it is going to be a bad winter.
Showing posts with label end of semester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of semester. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Almost done
I know I already posted my end of semester blog but I just finished my last final exam. Its a take home thing so I still have to go to class tomorrow but I am just so relieved that this semester is over! I didn't realize how busy and tired and overextended I was until I realized I had 10 days off before summer session started and how happy that made me. I just wish I had more time off.
Oh and that cat is happy too, now I have time to play fetch with her. We have been playing for about an hour, poor starved for attention kitten.
Oh and that cat is happy too, now I have time to play fetch with her. We have been playing for about an hour, poor starved for attention kitten.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Two down three to go
Two semesters down, three to go and then I'll be done. Well technically this semester isn't done until next week but I needed a break from doing final exams/papers so I thought I would write this a little early. All I really have left is about 2/3 of a take home final exam and then I will be done.
This semester was a bit more tolerable than the previous because I finally got to take a class that was not required by the program. In general I have come to the conclusion that I just need to get through most of the classes and that although there may be some interesting moments or topics for the most part it feels like busywork full of theory without any practical use to offset the information I am getting from a book.
I realize it is a little silly for a future librarian to be complaining about the information found in books but when one is learning to be a librarian there is a lot that can only be learned by doing. Working at the special library has really been the practical experience that I needed. One of my latest finds has been a copy of Faust translated into Hebrew from the 1860s. There is something very odd about such a Catholic text being translated into Hebrew. It must have been odd for the person first reading it, almost like a book of witchcraft - deals with the devil and all that.
This summer will be a busy time. I will be taking two classes and probably starting a new internship in addition to continuing to work at the special library and with the wee redhead. Somehow I will fit this all into four months (since according to the university the summer begins in May).
I will be going to a student archivist meeting in a few weeks, I am excited about that. The university I am attending seems to ignore the needs of students interested in archives and offers all the archivist classes in the same semester. Hopefully we can organize a way to bring this to the attention of the school.
This brings me to the realization that I had about my dream job. When I was in my Early Books and Manuscript class I realized that as much as I would love to work with such texts the probability of doing so is pretty slim. I would most likely need a second Masters degree probably in history or even linguistics and I would need to learn more languages and probably Latin. At this point I realized that I am more interested more modern materials that need archiving. When working at the film center library I loved finding artifacts of film history and when I visited the local GLBT library I loved that they had an archive of GLBT history. It is this type of thing I would rather care for, things that could easily be overlooked because they are relatively new but in time will be a part of history. I would like to preserve these things before they are lost and before they begin to fall apart.
This semester was a bit more tolerable than the previous because I finally got to take a class that was not required by the program. In general I have come to the conclusion that I just need to get through most of the classes and that although there may be some interesting moments or topics for the most part it feels like busywork full of theory without any practical use to offset the information I am getting from a book.
I realize it is a little silly for a future librarian to be complaining about the information found in books but when one is learning to be a librarian there is a lot that can only be learned by doing. Working at the special library has really been the practical experience that I needed. One of my latest finds has been a copy of Faust translated into Hebrew from the 1860s. There is something very odd about such a Catholic text being translated into Hebrew. It must have been odd for the person first reading it, almost like a book of witchcraft - deals with the devil and all that.
This summer will be a busy time. I will be taking two classes and probably starting a new internship in addition to continuing to work at the special library and with the wee redhead. Somehow I will fit this all into four months (since according to the university the summer begins in May).
I will be going to a student archivist meeting in a few weeks, I am excited about that. The university I am attending seems to ignore the needs of students interested in archives and offers all the archivist classes in the same semester. Hopefully we can organize a way to bring this to the attention of the school.
This brings me to the realization that I had about my dream job. When I was in my Early Books and Manuscript class I realized that as much as I would love to work with such texts the probability of doing so is pretty slim. I would most likely need a second Masters degree probably in history or even linguistics and I would need to learn more languages and probably Latin. At this point I realized that I am more interested more modern materials that need archiving. When working at the film center library I loved finding artifacts of film history and when I visited the local GLBT library I loved that they had an archive of GLBT history. It is this type of thing I would rather care for, things that could easily be overlooked because they are relatively new but in time will be a part of history. I would like to preserve these things before they are lost and before they begin to fall apart.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
End of the Semester
I still have about a month of this semester left but it definitely feels like I am at the end. My last weekend session was last weekend so I am practically done with my reference class although I still have two assignments left.
The two assignments are the first things I have done that feel relevant to a working librarian. One of the assignments is a subject guide about Geography that I am creating for the university's library. Theoretically this would be used by geography students however there is not a geography major and no actual geography classes offered by the school. Apparently there are geography classes within the Education department but that is as far as geography education goes in this school. While the subject may not be relevant the creation of a subject guide is. It is a list of materials that the school has in its collection as well as websites and suggested materials for purchase.
The second assignment is a proposal for a new reference tool for a library of our choice. We are to chose a library that we would like to work in and hypothetically create a proposal for a new reference tool. Since this is something I could very easily be doing in the future I am pleased to be doing it. It is the assignments that feel irrelevant that I do not like doing.
I also have a paper in my other class that is due in about a month but I haven't started working on it, its only eight pages, I can do that in a day's time.
The two assignments are the first things I have done that feel relevant to a working librarian. One of the assignments is a subject guide about Geography that I am creating for the university's library. Theoretically this would be used by geography students however there is not a geography major and no actual geography classes offered by the school. Apparently there are geography classes within the Education department but that is as far as geography education goes in this school. While the subject may not be relevant the creation of a subject guide is. It is a list of materials that the school has in its collection as well as websites and suggested materials for purchase.
The second assignment is a proposal for a new reference tool for a library of our choice. We are to chose a library that we would like to work in and hypothetically create a proposal for a new reference tool. Since this is something I could very easily be doing in the future I am pleased to be doing it. It is the assignments that feel irrelevant that I do not like doing.
I also have a paper in my other class that is due in about a month but I haven't started working on it, its only eight pages, I can do that in a day's time.
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