Comments (2)

By Kiyomi, April 2, 2010 8:47 AM

Happy 101

Back in January Library Scenester, aka Erin Dorney, gave me a Happy 101 Award.  Thank you again Erin!  Erin is a sweet, enthusiastic, and engaging blogger, and I recommend you check her out if you haven’t already.  In addition to being a great person, Erin is the Outreach Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania, Millersville.

So, what is Happy 101?

Happy 101 is an Internet meme, and if you trace it backwards you’ll see it has passed through many different types of blogs, but I’ll let you discover exactly what types of blogs for yourself.   Meme’s work by having you do something, linking back to the person who tagged you, and then tagging others to do the same.  In this case you share ten things that have made you happy, and ten bloggers who you enjoy.

Please feel free to continue this meme, or not, with no pressure from me either way; apologies to all the great bloggers out there who aren’t covered in Erin’s or my list.

Ten things that have made me happy:

1. My husband Jeff, he can always make me laugh.
2. Green tea, Genmaicha by preference, or any other unsweetened Japanese green tea blend.
3. Starting my last quarter at Drexel (although I’ll be sad to go, it’s been a lot of fun!)
4. Weeding the things we (my husband & I) own, and being able to donate really nice things to charitable thrifts. It reduced clutter, helped people in need, and reduced waste.
5. The constant support and encouragement of mentors like Jodye Selco, Missy Harvey, Harvey Brenneise, Mark Puente, Megan Perez, and the list goes on.  Thank you all.
6. My future sister in-law, she has a great sense of humor
7. Working with the other members of the Residency Interest Group, they are interesting, dedicated, and dynamic individuals.
8. Seeing the spring flowers, bunnies and squirrels twice a week when I go to my internship (botanic garden).
9. Planning my trip to Drexel’s graduation in June followed by a tour of the New England states to see friends and family ending at ALA Annual in D.C.
10. Taking a day to read sci-fi and fantasy novels right before this quarter started.

Ten bloggers I enjoy (I’m deliberately not repeating anyone Erin mentioned.):

1. Stephen Abrams @ Stephen’s Lighthouse
2. John Dupuis @ Confessions of a Science Librarian
3. Stephen Fry @ The New Adventures of Stephen Fry
4. Futurity.org
5. Tim Jones @ Zoonomian
6. Andrew Maynard @ 2020Science
7. Michael Stephens @ Tame the Web
8. Towson’s Emerging Technologies Librarians (Carrie Bertling, David Dahl, Carissa Tomlinson) @ Library Tech Talk
9. Laurel Tarulli @ The Cataloging Librarian
10. Beth Williams @ Going Green @Your Library

And as an Easter Egg for those of you who read this far, I just thought I’d mention that I’ve added several more resources to the General Reference section of the site which may be of use and interest to those interested in science, or just looking for a few more library centric resources.

Comments (1)

By Kiyomi, March 8, 2010 8:20 AM

In A Botany Library

For those who are trying to understand us science types here’s a few items that may help.

What do we think?

We might err, but science is self-correcting
Author: Lord John Krebs Principal of Jesus College, Oxford

This piece explains why scientists question everything, and why there are not always clear-cut answers to scientific questions.  Lord Krebs expresses the feelings of many scientists on the need for governments not to reject scientific advice just because it is inconvenient without explanation, and in return the need for scientists to be scrupulously honest in their claims.

What do we care about?

You may have heard the term citizen scientists in the context of citizens with little formal scientific training who contribute to major scientific discoveries.  This is a great definition for citizen scientists, but, I’d like you to consider something a secondary definition.

I’d like to promote the idea of the citizen scientist as “people who intertwine their work and their citizenship, doing science differently, working with different people, drawing new connections and helping to redefine what it means to be a scientist.”

To that end I recommend reading:

citizen scientists reconstructing science with civil society (PDF)
Author: Jack Stilgoe Published by: Demos
Contents: Acknowledgments– Preface – 1 Towards collective experimentation –2 Science and civil society – 3 The value of science and scientific values – 4 Doing things differently – 5 Political scientists – 6 Rediscovering scientific diversity – Notes – References.
CC: Some rights reserved

How do we preserve our history?

Science is a field in which almost everything ever written stays relevant, for a given value of relevance.  Many of the greatest scientific minds are currently alive, and the British Library is in the process of creating a new archive, Oral History of British Science, dedicated to collecting and preserving 200 in-depth interviews with British scientists.  Each interview will be 10-15 hours in length, plus supplementary recordings and seminars.  There are four themes that will be explored by group “witness seminar”: The Factory of Life, Cosmologies, Made in Britain, and A Changing Planet.  Many people do not realize how driven scientific interest is by individual lives and world events.  Small things, an observation, a question, or an anomaly, often lead to the most dramatic results.  I’ve very excited about this project and look forward to seeing history through the lens of Britain’s Scientists.

What do we enjoy?

One of my favorite sites, and proof for those who still doubt that scientists are passionate, energetic, and fun people is the Symphony of Science website.  The videos are created using clips from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, owned by Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc.  “The Symphony of Science is a musical project headed by John Boswell designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form.”

Featured scientists in The Symphony of Science:

5 music videos available are accessible through the home page of the Symphony of Science website.

My favorite quote is “Science is the poetry of reality”.

I’ll leave you with a tip for those who need to quickly create a professional poster; check out PosterSession.com, overnight shipping is available.  Thanks to Stephen Bell for mentioning this service in a recent blog post.  (In science, a poster presentation counts as a significant professional publication.)

Comments (1)

By Kiyomi, December 18, 2009 7:52 PM

A year ago I was the quality control manager at an environmental testing laboratory, and I had just received my acceptance letter for Drexel’s MLIS program.  I’d always known that I wanted to earn at least one advanced degree, and my goal to begin working on one by the end of 2009 was achieved. (Take that the “you’ll never go back if you don’t do a second degree right away” line of thinking!)

Starting classes in March felt a bit like being on the spinning teacups ride at Disneyland, but I found my balance.  I started interning at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s research library, attended my first library conference,  became a 2009-1011 ARL Diversity Scholar.  To a little more detail you can read my post Catching Up.  In November I submitted my first job application with editorial help from Megan Perez and Missy Harvey.  I was unfamiliar with this some of this quarter’s topics of study: collection development, and foundations of information systems. So, I did what I always do when stressed, researched and read until comfort was achieved.  There was a lot of reading going on.  On November 30^th I was honored to be named the ACRL member of the week.

Three quarters down, two to go!  Next quarter I’ll be studying Resources in Social Science, Instructional Role Information Specialist, and Academic Library Service.  Drexel’s quarter begins January 4^th, 2010 and I’ll be at ALA Midwinter January 14^th-19^th.  If anyone is interested in meeting up I have time the 17^th after about 4pm until I leave on the 19^th.  Several of my instructors kindly provided me with the readings from the beginning of the quarter so I can get ahead before things get crazy, thank you.

A year ago I was a chemist, today I am librarian, a young librarian, but a librarian nonetheless.  Everything I’ve learned about writing, dealing with the public, organization, being in charge, and performing research, is built upon my experiences as a student at a liberal arts institution, a laboratory instructor, a chemist, a quality control manager, a library school student, and as a volunteer intern at a research library, have shaped who I am today.  I’ve been fortunate to find several librarians who are both willing, and capable, mentors. I have several people I can contact with questions, or for help proof reading.  I have people who will not only tell me what not to do, but why.  Much of my transformation from chemist to librarian is due to these individuals, and any success I achieve is due in large part to their generous advice and encouragement.

In the future I plan to pursue my interests in promoting literacy, science, and preservation.  So the question is, what will I be doing in 10 years?  My goal is to study and become fluent in Japanese, teach literacy and library science classes, continue studying preservation, cataloging, science (broad term), and e-resources, and do original research on the user group(s) who frequent my library.

My questions for anyone reading are:

How have you changed in the last year?  How would you like to change in the future?

May you all have a peaceful and relaxing rest of the year, catch you in 2010!