One Semester Down - A Few Thoughts of Reflection

It is almost hard for me to believe that four months have gone by and that my first semester of grad school is over. This time last year, I couldn't have imagined that I would be here and feel the way I do.

Traditionally, I am an introverted person. For example, it usually takes me a while to make friends o open up and I tend to enjoy spending time with people in small groups as opposed to large. Well, at the start of this year and program Since the beginning of this year and this journey (and as a part of my New Year's resolution), I decided I would be as zealous as I could be. I want(ed) to be as involved as I can, get the most out of this experience as I can, and make friends and network. I am happy and proud to say that I am very much following this creed.

Over the course of the semester, I continually heard that experience and networking are everything. With my new found creed and this knowledge, I organized several volunteer opportunities that will help me to gain experience in not only archival work, but also digitization work. Some of the projects I will be working on are through the NDSA student group I joined and others are with museums in Detroit.

With the knowledge I have gained over the course of my first semester and combining it with the experience I will gain over the summer, I plan to have a solid basis. With that basis and my drive and optimism, I believe I will be able to continue on in my professional career and get to the positions I desire in either an academic or museum setting.

Moreover, I think I being many other things to the proverbial table once I am in that professional career. I have been able to hone in on my time management and organizational skills over the course of this semester. I have also learned a ton about what it means to be an information professional in that you do not need to know everything, but you need to know how to find information. I have learned about and have been challenged in several ethical scenarios presented and have learned that the ALA standard is not always accepted by everyone. I have learned the history of LIS field and to be honest, I think it's important to know where you have been in order to know where you are going.

I am still very excited about my future and couldn't be happier with the decisions I made to get me to where I am today.

With that, I would like to say thank you to my readers for sticking it out with me. Since I do plan to continue this blog (it was a course requirement originally), I hope to be able to branch out on the topics and hopefully see some interaction.

Please drop me a line if there is something you would like for me to research or discuss!

Thank you.

Mel

Revisiting My Assumptions/Assertions/Beliefs about LIS

Back in January, I had just started my first semester of grad school in Wayne State University's Library and Information Science program. I wrote a blog entry called "Assumptions/Assertions/Beliefs of the Library and Information Science Profession", where I explored my personal assumptions, assertions, and beliefs of the LIS field. To recap, they were as follows.

• The LIS profession is made up of people who care about others. 
• The LIS profession is made up of people who know how to find information.
• The LIS profession is made up of people who strive to make a better future.

*Please see the original post to see the explanations for each bullet point. 

 

To be honest, I still strongly believe in these assumptions, assertions, and beliefs. Here's why.

• I took three classes this semester. While some were online and one was in class, I learned that all of my professors are truly passionate about what they do in the LIS field and about teaching others about it, what they do, and try to help students develop their own set of skills and passions.
• I learned very valuable lessons over the last few months. I learned that as a person in the LIS field, you cannot know everything. It's impossible for any one person to know everything....and that is okay. What we do in the LIS field is not to know everything, but know how to find information or at least know someone who does know the answers. While in a LIS grad program, you here about how small of a professional community we are. Just last week a person who graduated from the program a year ago said that she uses her networking skills to connect with people that specialize in specific areas of LIS and know the information she doesn't or even if they know more than she does.
• People in the LIS field (for the most part) believe in the free access to information for all. I say mostly because there are those who believe that certain explicit information should be restricted. Anyway by providing access, LIS professional DO strive to make the future just a bit brighter. People and learn and research and better their situations. Others can build businesses. I still, also, believe this is true through the digital preservation process, which if you follow my blog you know is close to my heart. By working in preservation and archiving, we can continue to explore our past and present and make them available to the future!

Needless to say much more, I have learned so much from my professors and colleagues. I have been truly challenged in certain areas, but these beliefs still hold true. Regardless, I look forward to the future semesters and how they will make me grow as a person and as a professional.

Thanks!

Mel

Professional Blogs

I had a meeting with my advisor a few weeks back and something we discussed at length was the importance of professional blogging. The purpose of blogging is to share one’s ideas and thoughts with others. In a professional blog, the ideas and thoughts expressed focus on professional content and research. Following these blogs allows a person to stay up to date on current issues or topics, as well as, the ability to network with other professional that are interested in similar topics.  Two professional blogs that I follow are Librarian in Black and Tame the Web. Although they are very different, both blogs provide information relating to the digital services and technology.

The “Librarian in Black” is a blog started in 2003 by Sarah Houghton, the Director of the San Rafael Public Library in California (Houghton, About, 2003-2014). In general, the blog consists of information relating to library web and digital services, but over the last few months, Houghton’s posts have focused more actively on current issues and her reactions to them, such as “Something’s Wrong When Sarah’s Quiet” and “Musing on the new California State Librarian appointee”.  The former touched on topics like the ALA Conference Code of Conduct and Slate.com’s blog This is What a Librarian Looks Like. The latter went more in-depth on the qualifications (or the lack thereof) of Greg Lucas to the position mentioned. While it is an interesting blog, the contents are strictly the opinions, informed or otherwise, of Sarah Houghton.

The blog, “Tame the Web”, was started in 2003 by Dr. Michael Stephens, an Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State (Stephens M. , 2003-2014). This blog focuses on the library, technology, and people. It is quite an interesting sort of blog because it allows posts from other professional contributors besides Dr. Stephens from the field. Most recent posts include “Office Hours: A Genius Idea” exploring the concepts of adding a Genius Bar (as borrowed from Apple) to libraries, “Fair Use in the Eyes of the Beholder…Or Not” by contributor Troy Swanson identifying issues with YouTube copyright enforcement that affects their library’s account and video sharing, “Using and Apple TV on the Second Floor of the Chattanooga Public Library” by contributor Justin Hoenke, and “Really? No Place for Collaboration at the Library”. After researching the blog, past entries focus more on technology. Still, this blog was very fascinating to read and provided hyperlinks to other blogs, articles, website, etc. to help enhance the site, itself. All the contributors had their contact and social media sites listed and linked, as well. While some posts are opinion based, some are anecdotal and other are informative with a research basis.

By following both blogs, I have learned quite a great deal not only about the field of LIS and a technological or digital focus, but also the process of professional blogging. I have become aware of issues that I would not have known of previously, as well as, the general reactions of others to these issues. Moreover, I am learning how to construct my blog going forward as I, too, become a professional. By knowing what I find interesting in other’s writings, I am about to better write my own blog. I look forward to putting this into practice as time continues and I hope that it benefits you, my readers, as well.

 

References

Houghton, S. (2003-2014). About. Retrieved from Librarian in Black: http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/about

Houghton, S. (2003-2014). Main Page. Retrieved from Librarian in Black: http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/

Stephens, M. (2003-2014). About Michael Stephens. Retrieved from Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com/about-michael-stephens/

Stephens, M. (2003-2014). Main Page. Retrieved from Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com/

Comparative Analysis of Professional Journals

An important part about being in the LIS field is staying informed on various topics, aspects, and issues within that field. There are multiple different publications and journals that cover topics and news on a more general level, but there are also sources that hone in on more specific specializations of LIS, such as public librarianship, academic librarianship, information technology, and digital preservation and archiving. Because of this wide assortment, any professional can be informed on news not only in their chosen fields, but also in other fields of interest or general curiosity. Taking myself as an example, as I continue on in my education and future career, I would want to read and possibly write for a journal that focuses on digital preservation and/or archiving. However, it would also benefit me to read journals on the topics of information technology or general library news. Today, I would like to unpack two such journals to see who they are really written for and what kinds of materials that can be found in them.

First, I would like to look at The American Archivist. This journal was “established in 1938 [and is] the best publication of its kind in the archives field” (CommonPlaces e-Solutions, LLC, 2014). The Society of American Archivists (SAA) describes this publication as the following.

“This journal seeks to reflect thinking about theoretical and practical developments in the archival profession, particularly in North America; about relationships between archivists and the creators and users of archives; and about cultural, social, legal, and technological developments that affect the nature of recorded information and the need to create and maintain it” (CommonPlaces e-Solutions, LLC, 2014)

Available both online and in print, this journal is free to the public, but is intended for members of SAA, as well as, others in the archiving profession. The materials published in this journal include, but are not limited to “digitization and digital preservation, reference and public services, preservation, records management, photographs and visual arts, disaster and contingency planning, copyright, intellectual property, legal issues, and authenticity” (Society of American Archivists, 2014).  Moreover, it offers “peer-reviewed research articles, case studies, in-depth perspectives, and international scene papers addressing a wide variety of topics” (Society of American Archivists, 2014). These peer-reviews are important to editor, Gregory S. Hunter. He states, “as SAA members and subscribers, this is [their] journal. [Hunter’s] goal is to make it as meaningful and useful … as possible.” (Hunter, 2013). By providing peer-reviews in the journal, it allows subscribers to talk to and influence other subscribers. It also provides continued success of the journal. The information found in this journal would be of particular interest to me because it provides interesting articles and visuals.

Another publication, different from The American Archivist, is the Reference and User Services Quarterly. This scholarly journal is “the official journal of the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association. Its purpose is to disseminate information of interest to reference librarians, information specialists, and other professionals involved in user-oriented library services” (RUSA, 2014). More specifically “the scope of the journal includes all aspects of library service to adults, and reference service and collection development at every level and for all types of libraries” (RUSA, 2013). The material covered in this journal include, but is not limited to recreational reading, volunteering, self-censorship, the adventures of learning, social media and reader’s advisory, reference and research resources, marketing in the library, and the value and effects of programs in the library (RUSA, 2013). While this journal is peer-reviewed, it was difficult for me to find reason behind why.  Regardless, this journal is not something that I would find particularly interesting.

The comparing and contrasting features of both journals are apparent. A similarity they both share is the fact that they are written for a specific audience. They both also strive to publish materials that are important to their designated fields and further the learning and understanding of their audience. Moreover, they both allow peer-reviews to give their audience a voice. To contrast that, though, the audiences they write for and the materials covered are vastly different. Also they contrast to me specifically because I find one interesting and the other not as interesting. However, I do see the value in both.

All of the similarities and differences show that each field within LIS is very different and can cover very different information from another. To imagine one journal containing it all would result in a thick, heavy book that only covered each topic superficially instead of in-depth. Moreover, I believe these journals and their features prove that you can’t know everything about everything. The journals allow for individuals to further their learning and understanding of any field.

 

References

CommonPlaces e-Solutions, LLC. (2014). The American Archivist. Retrieved from Society of American Archivists: http://www2.archivists.org/american-archivist

Hunter, G. S. (2013). From the Editor. The American Archivist, 76(2), 299-301. Retrieved from http://archivists.metapress.com/content/d67760v45683j65n/?p=e871bc20646c4ba582e1893bfc8eb392&pi=0

RUSA. (2013). Frontmatter. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(2), i-93. Retrieved from http://rusa.metapress.com/content/gl6570020747/

RUSA. (2014). Welcome to Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ). Retrieved from RUSA: Reference and User Services Association A Division of the American Library Association: http://rusa.metapress.com/home/main.mpx

Society of American Archivists. (2014). Welcome to American Archivist Online! . Retrieved from Society of American Archivists: http://archivists.metapress.com/home/main.mpx