Comments (1)

By Kiyomi, January 27, 2010 8:30 AM

8:15 AM  Log-on to computer.  Check Twitter feed for any relevant library news or job postings, read those.

8:32 AM  Move on the school E-mail, decide RSS feeds can wait till later.  Most of my e-mail was ACRL: Residency Interest Group related, offered to hook up applicant with current resident to help review their material before submission.

8:48 AM Login to Blackboard and catch up on message board posts for 3 classes and Graduate Student community.  Only light posting, not unexpected for the beginning of the week, decide to see if I can’t finish listening to and reading my Social Science Resources Lecture for the week (Drexel Weeks run Monday – Sunday).

9:15 AM  Not quite done with lecture, but will have to save the rest for later, time to go be a volunteer intern at RSABG.

9:45 AM Arrive at RSABG’s research library.  Sign-in and catch-up, it’s my first day back after a 3 week break due to the start of classes coinciding with ALA MidWinter.  Start researching the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for a possible grant proposal and open access repository models.

10:30 AM  Get handed a Japanese serial publication for original cataloging, plus 3 other Chinese titles.  Look up Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC and start looking up characters by radicals.  Realize how long it’s been since I’ve studied kanji. Eventually get all the publication data in Japanese input correctly in Connexion.

1:30 PM  Take a lunch break.  Finish Social Sciences Resources Readings and posting for the day.

2:30 PM  Back to cataloging the Japanese serial publication.  Now that I have the correct characters it’s time to start putting the information in the correct fields.  As I start inputing the item description I realize that the book contains articles which are given in both Japanese and English,  with some Latin descriptions, look up Latin language code, it’s LAT.  Start checking fields for all necessary foreign language additions, measure size of book.

4:00 PM  Decide to call it a day since it takes a while to work my way through the CONSER website to check my serials cataloging.  Get gas and groceries on the way home.

5:30 PM  Log-on to computer, check school e-mail and discussion boards while eating dinner.

6:05 PM  Decide to start writing my 3-4 page Learning Context Paper for Information Literacy Instruction Class.  It feels overwhelming, but I’ll just start and follow the directions and then it’ll stop being so intimidating.

6:45  PM  Finished a little over a page of my paper.  Must stop for now, time to go be Assistant Director for the play Self Help.

10:52  PM  Back from rehearsal, time to check the Drexel message boards and then work on that paper again.

11:39 PM  A little over 2 pages are written, with a little light editing.  Fading fast, time to call it a day after a quick look at my RSS Feed, mainly library related.

Comments (1)

By Kiyomi, November 4, 2009 11:37 AM

It has been a while since I posted and I’m skipping this month’s frugal living post in favor of two separate posts.  This first post will let you know what I’ve been up to, and the second which I should finish writing by Monday will list my top picks for finding jobs in the library and information services world.

What have I been up to?

ACRL Residency Interest Group:
On October 1^st, 2009 I became the Web Editor and List Administrator responsible for maintaining and facilitating the flow of information on the website and the group mailing list.

ARL Initiative To Recruit A Diverse Workforce:
October 15, 2009 I was privileged to receive an acceptance letter and became a 2009-2011 ARL Diversity Scholar.

California Library Association Annual Conference:
Although initially unsure of what to expect I greatly enjoyed my first conference in library land.  While I did attend a few sessions, those seats are not made for people with short legs, I spent the majority of my time in the exhibit hall promoting the creation of, and application to, library residency programs.  I was very excited to learn more about California’s preservation programs, OCLC’s ContentDM, and Mango Languages.  I recommend checking all of these out.  Apologies to those who I missed in passing, hopefully I’ll catch up with some of you at MidWinter.

Drexel University:
As I continue in week seven of our quarter I am excited to be past the half way mark and accelerating toward completion of my degree in June.  As I finish with my required courses the main problem is choosing between all of the marvelous special topics for my four electives.  Next quarter I will be taking my first two electives Resources in Social Science and Instructional Role Information Specialist. 15 classes may seem like a lot but with the variety of offerings at Drexel I could almost do a second MSLIS degree, if I took everything that interests me.

Me:
For myself, I am grateful we are finally back on standard time.  I’m busy with my volunteer internship at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s research library, the end of the quarter, and the beginnings of holiday scheduling.  Additionally, I am working on an application for a library residency program, special thanks to Megan Perez for his editorial help!

They say that life is what you make of it, and right now life is great!

Comments (6)

By Kiyomi, August 10, 2009 12:49 AM

I’m finishing my second quarter at Drexel and here are some things that you should know before you start your first quarter in library school.  Not all of these will apply to all people.

1. Talk with financial aid and ask if there are any corporate or association discounts (Drexel offers 20% off for ALA membership).  These discounts are not always advertised so if you don’t ask you will not receive.  Remember that all discounts must be applied to your account before your tuition is paid.  There are no retroactive tuition breaks.
2. For those who have lost their job or recieved a pay cut, after approximately 12 weeks out of work most financial aid offices can review your status.  It might not get you more aid but you may get a better mix of subsidized v. unsubsidized loans.
3. Make sure and check your program website weekly as you lead up to the term, they don’t always remember to announce everything in an e-mail.
4. Organization is the key to doing well in library school.  Buy an organizer, get out your chalk board; use whatever helps you to stay focused and on track.  The classes go by fast and if you get behind it’s almost impossible to catch up.
5. Participate in school message boards and talk with fellow classmates at school mixer events, grill them about the professors who are teaching the classes you will be taking.  Not all professors teach equally well in all environments.  Some professors excel online and not in the classroom and vice versa.
6. Classes will take more time than you originally thought if you haven’t been in school for a while.  I remember reading a couple different time estimates 8-10 hours, 10-12 hours, reality was 10-18 hours depending on the course.
7. If you are unsure about anything ask your professor or counselor.  They are there to help you.  If you aren’t sure who to ask about something start with your counselor they can always direct you to the right person.
8. Think about whether you want to work in a corporate or academic/public library.  The classes you need to take are slightly different.  With all the flexibility of the programs being offered comes a greater responsibility to do your research, ask for advice, and plan your own custom curriculum.  Even if you don’t want to take them I recommend taking Cataloging & Classification, Collection Development, and a Management course.  A lot of librarians work alone, or work with a part time assistant.  If you have no web development experience, or minimal web skills, take a class!
9. Start looking at job listings now.  This will give you ideas about what skills are in demand and what types of jobs are out there.  I follow Libgig on Twitter.
10. Arrange an  internship.  Your school may be able to help you with this depending on the area you are in.  If you have to arrange one on your own don’t be discouraged if some places don’t take interns.  This lack of interns seems to be some sort of policy matter (I suspect it’s a union matter but I could be wrong).  Look for a non-profit special library.  They are almost always understaffed and grateful for any help they can get.
11. Now that you are focused and working hard at your studies remember to take some time off at least once a week!  Read a book for fun, go for a run, whatever floats your boat.  Remember all study and no play leads to burnout and you are spending too much money on your degree to burnout!

This list is by no means exhaustive so feel free to post anything you’d like to add!

Updated 9/19/09

Due to excessive spam in the comments, 200 in one hour, I have had to close the comments to this post.    Please feel free to e-mail me instead at the address in the image below.  If you would like to comment on this post with your e-mail let me know and I will add it to the bottom of this post.  If  you choose to comment in this fashion please let me know how you would like to be credited, name, e-mail etc.