nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

I see a lot of talk on the library blogs about the new library jobs coming up, and I get really excited. ALA Tech source posted the third part in their series “Desperately Seeking the Adaptive Librarian: On the 2.0 Job Description,” in which they talk about some of the new library jobs. One of the people who got one of these exciting new jobs, David Lee King, had this to say:

I blog, play with videoblogging, like to take pictures and post them to Flickr, and like to figure out how all these emerging web services can work in a library setting. That’s the type of person they were looking for耀omeone who understood web 2.0 and who understood what a library could do with those tools.

Does that sound great or what? This is what excites me. My ideal job would not only involve figuring out how to work new web technologies into the library, but helping patrons (customers?) with these new technologies as well. At UNL, we have “Digital Learning Librarians” who help students with multimedia, and, I assume, also help guide the libraries digital initiatives. I want a job like this- one that lets me have some say int he decision making process and still have interaction with people. Interaction is one of the reasons that I gravitated toward library science, so I would love a job that works that in.

I have planned out the courses I intend to take in library school, but there’s only so much time. I don’t have enough time to take all the tech classes I would like - nor are they all offered. I will supplement what I can’t take, hopefully, with courses at UNL (which I can take for free) and by teaching myself what I can. I would like, at the least, to learn javascript and enough java to alter programs. I’d like to learn to use flash better, and more about setting up and maintaining a server. I need to figure out what to focus on - what I can use in a job? This is a little bit of guesswork - what will I need to know in two years when I go looking?

I can only hope that when I graduate in 2 years, that these jobs are still available - that there are more of them, actually - and that I am well positioned enough to land one. I don’t worry that these jobs won’t exist- but I’m not sure how many will be open for just graduated librarians.

karin :: Dec.30.2006 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

1. Don’t write of an entire line of work because of one job. I always said I hated retail. Truth was, I hated the company, or the customers, or my co-workers, or the low pay, or some combination of those. The actual retail work could be enjoyable - helping customers find what they wanted, learning about new products/books, making displays, etc. Think back over your past jobs and try and find at least one thing you like about each.
2. The worst job in the world can still teach you something. Years later you may look back and think “sure, that job was bad, but I learned a lot.” Try your best not to burn bridges- as much as you fantasize about telling the boss everything that is wrong with his/her style of management, keep it a fantasy. In real life, use the “it’s not you, it’s me” line and get out as pleasantly as possible.
3. Ask everyone you meet “do you like your job?” If they do, for god’s sake, find out why. Maybe you’d like it too.
4. Your past need not determine your future. Because I told everyone for years I was going to be an artist or an art teacher, I was reluctant to change. But it felt right, so I leapt in.
5. Your Bachelors degree need not determine your Master’s degree. I didn’t realize how many Master’s degrees don’t require any specific Bachelor’s - only that you have a Bachelor’s, and that your grades were decent (3.0 or higher, usually). You might also have to take a test (like the GRE or GMAT).

My own rethinking of careers was entirely by accident- when I graduated with my Bachelors in Fine Art, the plan was to get a full time job and save so I could go and get my Master’s in Fine Art. I didn’t really have a reason to get my Master’s - the art world business scene annoys me, and I don’t know that I would like teaching (not to mention college level art teaching jobs are nearly impossible to come by), but hey, it was something to do right?

I applied for anything and everything, and landed a job in an academic library. It didn’t take me long to realize I really liked working in a library, and the variety of jobs available to a library school graduate was quite large. I took my first library science class in the fall, and quite enjoyed it. I am now enrolled in the University of Missouri-Columbia. Instead of a year off of school, I only took 3 months. It’s all happened so fast, and I am thrilled- after years of wondering “what will become of me” I finally have an idea.

My final piece of advice is: Be open to serendipity.

karin :: Dec.23.2006 :: Work :: 1 Comment »

I have received a nice “Master of Library and/or Information Science” Scholarship from the Nebraska Library Commission, for which I will be able to re-apply for in a year. If I get the reapplication as well, this means grad school should cost me less than 7 grand, if I don’t get any other scholarships. Not too shabby. This that, unless something changes (knock on wood) I should be able to get out of school with no debt, grad or undergrad.

Not a bad way to start off the week.

karin :: Dec.11.2006 :: School Stuff :: 1 Comment »

I have added a link on the side to my Google Reader shared items. A few recent highlights:

• A (Really) Modest Proposal
• Wrap and carry items with a Furoshiki
• Charlie Brown’s Pathetic Christmas Tree
• PSP GPS Hardware Ships, Software to Follow?
• the new privacy: the professional and public online identities
• College Is An Economic Gamble That Doesn’t Pay Off

Once again- I love the internet!

karin :: Dec.10.2006 :: Site Updates :: No Comments »