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.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Fall Semester
It is a miracle but I am actually signed up for the classes that I want for fall semester. I had to get the dean's permission to take one of the classes but after a letter and a series of phone calls I am in the archiving class I needed. I am also taking Preservation and Conservation as well as Searching Electronic Databases.
I am starting to get anxious about finishing school. While I like my job I am getting to the point where I want something else. I definitely ready to finish this degree so I do what I want to do.
I had taken a break from volunteering since I was in a class that met on Saturdays, maybe getting back to doing librarian things will help this ease this anxiety.
I am starting to get anxious about finishing school. While I like my job I am getting to the point where I want something else. I definitely ready to finish this degree so I do what I want to do.
I had taken a break from volunteering since I was in a class that met on Saturdays, maybe getting back to doing librarian things will help this ease this anxiety.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Calm Before the Storm
The first summer school class ended this week. I was very busy during the class which is why I haven't had an update in so long. On average I was reading 10 books a week and even though they were children's books a 200 page chapter book is still 200 pages so my time free or otherwise was spent reading.
The class went well although I wish there was more emphasis on how to get a child interested in reading or how to chose the right book for a child. For that matter how to conduct a reference interview with a child would be good to learn how to do as well since we barely covered that in my reference class. This again proves my point that no amount of theory will prepare a librarian for actually working in a library. I could have read every book in the library but if I don't know how to match up a child to a book it really doesn't matter. But then again I suppose a children's librarian is born it is not taught.
I have a two week break between the class that just ended and the serials class that I will take for the section section of summer. The next class is probably going to be boring however it may come in handy because the work I am doing at the special library has moved into cataloging serials. This is interesting mostly because many of the titles are in foreign languages and trying to match up the title and the information in OCLC is difficult. (OCLC = Online Computer Library Center)
Right now I am just enjoying my break, I will still be working but being able to come home at a reasonable hour every day and have the option of walking or biking to work will be very nice.
The class went well although I wish there was more emphasis on how to get a child interested in reading or how to chose the right book for a child. For that matter how to conduct a reference interview with a child would be good to learn how to do as well since we barely covered that in my reference class. This again proves my point that no amount of theory will prepare a librarian for actually working in a library. I could have read every book in the library but if I don't know how to match up a child to a book it really doesn't matter. But then again I suppose a children's librarian is born it is not taught.
I have a two week break between the class that just ended and the serials class that I will take for the section section of summer. The next class is probably going to be boring however it may come in handy because the work I am doing at the special library has moved into cataloging serials. This is interesting mostly because many of the titles are in foreign languages and trying to match up the title and the information in OCLC is difficult. (OCLC = Online Computer Library Center)
Right now I am just enjoying my break, I will still be working but being able to come home at a reasonable hour every day and have the option of walking or biking to work will be very nice.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Summer Semester
I am not sure if my university realizes this but the summer starts in June technically the last third of June, which is why I was not prepared for summer semester to begin in the first half of May.
Either way I am now two weeks into summer semester.
I received my grades for the spring, all A's as I was hoping although one professor (who is referred to as "the douche") gave me an A- which I believe was to send me a message because one assignment was turned in late. But all in all I am happy with my grades and this proves that I can take three classes in a semester and not only survive but thrive.
Hopefully I will remember this as I get through this semester. Currently I am taking a class that is titled "Library Materials for Children" which is basically a children's lit class. This is a very good class for the summer because it is fun, I get to read children's books and it gives me new book ideas for the wee red-head. On a side note I should really start calling the wee red-head the wee blonde or the wee strawberry blonde but I don't think that is as cute nor is it as indicative of her inherent adorableness so I will continue to call her the wee red-head.
As I was saying I am in this children's lit class which is actually very good. The reading list is pretty good, Neil Gaiman and Mo Willems as well as some other favourites of mine are on it so I can choose some books that I have already read as well as branching out to read new ones. And the assignments are practical: creating booklists and doing booktalks for specific age groups, doing a readers theatre project, writing a book review - all of these are things a children's librarian would do. The only thing I wish could be done is to actually have an experience working in front of a group of children; it really doesn't matter how prepared a person is, if they don't learn how to work in front of a group of kids it just won't work. But I realize that is a time issue since we only have seven weeks, and most of the people in my class are already working with children either in a school or library setting.
After this class is over I will have about a week and a half before my second class begins. This one is about serial management and the problems one faces when cataloging serials. At first I thought this might be a waste of my time and really just a space filler so I could get financial aid for the summer but it might actually be useful. This usefulness is because my duties at the library that I volunteer are going to be changing a bit. I have apparently caught up the library with most of the processing and now I will be weeding through the periodicals and deciding what to keep and what we can toss. I am really excited about getting more responsibility at the library and that they are allowing me to be doing something closer to "librarian work" as opposed to volunteer work. If all goes well they will find that they can't live without me, or at least that is my hope.
So it looks like I won't be getting much of a break until August and then I will definitely take some time off...I promise.
Either way I am now two weeks into summer semester.
I received my grades for the spring, all A's as I was hoping although one professor (who is referred to as "the douche") gave me an A- which I believe was to send me a message because one assignment was turned in late. But all in all I am happy with my grades and this proves that I can take three classes in a semester and not only survive but thrive.
Hopefully I will remember this as I get through this semester. Currently I am taking a class that is titled "Library Materials for Children" which is basically a children's lit class. This is a very good class for the summer because it is fun, I get to read children's books and it gives me new book ideas for the wee red-head. On a side note I should really start calling the wee red-head the wee blonde or the wee strawberry blonde but I don't think that is as cute nor is it as indicative of her inherent adorableness so I will continue to call her the wee red-head.
As I was saying I am in this children's lit class which is actually very good. The reading list is pretty good, Neil Gaiman and Mo Willems as well as some other favourites of mine are on it so I can choose some books that I have already read as well as branching out to read new ones. And the assignments are practical: creating booklists and doing booktalks for specific age groups, doing a readers theatre project, writing a book review - all of these are things a children's librarian would do. The only thing I wish could be done is to actually have an experience working in front of a group of children; it really doesn't matter how prepared a person is, if they don't learn how to work in front of a group of kids it just won't work. But I realize that is a time issue since we only have seven weeks, and most of the people in my class are already working with children either in a school or library setting.
After this class is over I will have about a week and a half before my second class begins. This one is about serial management and the problems one faces when cataloging serials. At first I thought this might be a waste of my time and really just a space filler so I could get financial aid for the summer but it might actually be useful. This usefulness is because my duties at the library that I volunteer are going to be changing a bit. I have apparently caught up the library with most of the processing and now I will be weeding through the periodicals and deciding what to keep and what we can toss. I am really excited about getting more responsibility at the library and that they are allowing me to be doing something closer to "librarian work" as opposed to volunteer work. If all goes well they will find that they can't live without me, or at least that is my hope.
So it looks like I won't be getting much of a break until August and then I will definitely take some time off...I promise.
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.
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