Over the course of this semester I have learned many new things. After working in libraries for the past eighteen years I was under the foolish assumption that this class would be predictable. Instead I found that this class introduced me to trends in libraries in other states and countries that I was unaware of.
To begin, I really enjoyed our team Think Tank activities. They presented many topics that I do not encounter in my daily work. It was a great way to work with other students and learn not only from my teammates but also the other teams. They also helped me to think about distance learning and collaboration. Throughout the semester I did not meet in person with anyone from my class. The team I worked on for this class decided to collaborate because we all live in the general vicinity of each other. We thought this was a good idea in case we needed to meet in person. But, as it turns out we were able to accomplish all of our activities through Blackboard and email. This really opened my eyes to the knowledge that distance learning and collaboration can be just as beneficial as in-person education.
Additionally, I found that many of the topics discussed often turned to public libraries. While I worked in a public library for many years, my current goal is to work in a medical setting. I tried to gear my course work towards a health sciences view. I felt I struggled sometimes to do this, especially with the ethical situations. However, it did help me to realize that health and e-sciences is definitely the direction I want to follow. I would also like to learn more about technology, research and management of libraries.
Furthermore, the library visit assignment was very valuable to me. I was thinking of taking classes towards the archival field. After visiting a medical library archive, I realized that the need for archivists in medical libraries is not in high demand. If I choose to take archival classes, it will be because I am interested in the preservation of books or other media. I do not anticipate aiming my education towards archival studies as I had previously considered.
Finally, I am very thankful this class is included in the curriculum. For someone who thought she knew exactly the plan of study she wanted to follow, this class presented to me a view of library science I had never envisioned. If not for this class I may have taken classes that would not help me in my future career. I was able to greatly narrow down my decision on what area of library science I want to aim towards. I had anticipated a class that would be redundant to me but happily found it was quite the opposite.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Revisit Assumptions/Assertions about LIS
That
knowledge of internet navigation will/has become increasingly important. I still agree with this statement. Library catalogs are now online. No longer are libraries simply houses for
books. Over the course of this semester
it has come to my attention that there are even some libraries that do not
house print books at all. In my own line
of work, in a hospital library, we deal mostly in electronic journals and
sometimes e-books.
I assert
that the vast wealth of information available only makes librarians more
important. This one
is difficult to prove. While I believe
it is so, the problem is that many libraries are being closed. Librarians of the future will need to be
proactive in promoting their services.
They need to let the patrons know what services they can provide and
make sure they know how invaluable librarians, public or otherwise, are to
them. It often takes a special skill set
to glean the reputable sources from the numerous “hits” patrons retrieve while doing
their own online searches.
The role
of all libraries is changing. This
fact has been reiterated frequently throughout the semester. I have learned about libraries that offer
health checkups, exercise programs and some that even assist the homeless in
finding shelter and/or jobs. I know from
personal experience that the library is the place where the physicians come to
ask questions about technology. Just
yesterday we had a physician ask for our assistance with PowerPoint. We suggested he could contact our IT help
desk but he explained that we are more helpful and knowledgeable than they are. Public
libraries offer internet computers for communities to use. This makes them a place where patrons can
come and send messages to anywhere around the world. When I worked in a public library, we often
assisted an elderly gentleman with speaking to his son in China through his
Facebook account. This is not the
typical task you would associate with a librarian.
After researching
the LIS degree I have made the pleasant discovery that it is more marketable than people suggest. While
I am aiming my LIS degree towards the health and e-science field, I desire
greatly to take some of the technology classes.
Personally I feel that the field of healthcare is a growing
industry. If I combine my research skills
with technology skills, my MLIS degree will increase in marketability. During the course of the semester I have
received many job postings through my email.
There are library science jobs available if you are open to new experiences.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Embedded Librarian
One aspect of library work that is new to me is
the embedded librarian. I find this situation fascinating. The
embedded librarian is becoming increasingly popular in clinical settings and
universities. What is an embedded librarian? It has been a struggle for
me to find a good definition. According to an article in College and
Research Libraries News, “embedded librarianship takes a librarian
out of the context of the traditional library and places him or her in an
“on-site” setting or situation that enables close coordination and
collaboration with researchers or teaching faculty.” ( Carlson & Kneale,
2011).
Being an embedded librarian comes with great power but also great
responsibility. It is an excellent
opportunity to show the organization (university, hospital or business) the
value of a librarian. Working with other
members of the organization on a project can help to promote the library
services on a whole. Embedded
librarianship also aides in creating avenues of communication, which might not
otherwise exist, between the library and other faculty. Librarians can observe first-hand what
resources would fit the needs of their clientele and how to better facilitate
their needs. I look forward to learning more about embedded librarianship in my future.
Carlson, J., & Kneale, R. (March, 2011). Embedded librarianship in the research context: Navigating new waters. College and Research Libraries News, 72, 167-170.
Blogging about Professional Blogs
My manager/library mentor suggested to me two blogs about medical librarianship that she herself follows.
The two blogs I followed are: A Librarian by Any Other Name-Reflections on My Time as an Informationist-by Sally Gore and The Krafty Librarian Blog -Things of Interest to a Medical Librarian by Michelle Kraft. Both blogs are run by women who are medical librarians. Sally Gore works for the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Michelle Kraft is the Senior Medical Librarian at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio and the incoming president of the Medical Library Association.
Sally Gore wrote a great deal about a mammography study team she was in at the University. This was the first time I have been able to hear candidly from a medical librarian who was fully embedded in a research team. Where I work, our librarians are contacted by personnel to assist but are rarely members of the study team. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, Gore was cut from the team (eventually they did add her back to the team in a part-time capacity). The team decided they could use someone who was already part of the team to do the job of "librarian". This resonated greatly with me. My original career goal (back in high school) was to become a school librarian. Half way through my undergrad degree I realized that most schools had cut the job of librarian and/or replaced the job of school librarian with a volunteer parent.
Both ladies had posts in their blog discussing the changing role of the library. Gore wrote, "We work in a rapidly evolving field, something pretty ironic for such an old, old profession, and the clash of these two characteristics is clearly evident in most of our professional issues and discussions today." (Gore, 2014). Gore also referred to librarians as " information management professionals". I really like this term to describe what librarians do. Gore even performed her own experiment on "Information Tracking Behavior" (Gore, 2014). This was a great look at how we can trigger patrons to think of the library when they are in need of research assistance.
Both blogs also mentioned libraries closing and staff cuts. Michelle Kraft dedicated most of her blog to information regarding MLA (Medical Library Association). Kraft addressed medical library closings with this statement, "We need to advocate for ourselves now! MLA is helpful and they will do what they humanly can to support us. But we need to stop looking to them to make everything all better, we need to get the message out in whatever way possible." (Kraft, 2014). Kraft has proactive ideas about medical librarianship and how to promote the use of medical libraries. She states, "we need to take our message out to our patrons" and "as much as I am in favor of our medical library journals, we need to stop publishing about the value of library services in them and start publishing those kind of studies in our patrons’ journals which is what they read. Our patrons don’t read our professional journals." (Kraft, 2014). This is an excellent point.
Kraft also addressed social media in the form of promoting your library services on Twitter. She also included fun pop-culture videos and used them to how they relate to the world of medical library science.
Both blogs were excellent and presented many new ideas to me. I will continue to follow them after this class ends. They keep me informed about the world of medical libraries (one academic and one in a hospital), and will help me to steer my future LIS class selection. I have already decided that I desire to take more LIS classes that will help me with social media and future technology (website building and data mining).
The two blogs I followed are: A Librarian by Any Other Name-Reflections on My Time as an Informationist-by Sally Gore and The Krafty Librarian Blog -Things of Interest to a Medical Librarian by Michelle Kraft. Both blogs are run by women who are medical librarians. Sally Gore works for the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Michelle Kraft is the Senior Medical Librarian at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio and the incoming president of the Medical Library Association.
Sally Gore wrote a great deal about a mammography study team she was in at the University. This was the first time I have been able to hear candidly from a medical librarian who was fully embedded in a research team. Where I work, our librarians are contacted by personnel to assist but are rarely members of the study team. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, Gore was cut from the team (eventually they did add her back to the team in a part-time capacity). The team decided they could use someone who was already part of the team to do the job of "librarian". This resonated greatly with me. My original career goal (back in high school) was to become a school librarian. Half way through my undergrad degree I realized that most schools had cut the job of librarian and/or replaced the job of school librarian with a volunteer parent.
Both ladies had posts in their blog discussing the changing role of the library. Gore wrote, "We work in a rapidly evolving field, something pretty ironic for such an old, old profession, and the clash of these two characteristics is clearly evident in most of our professional issues and discussions today." (Gore, 2014). Gore also referred to librarians as " information management professionals". I really like this term to describe what librarians do. Gore even performed her own experiment on "Information Tracking Behavior" (Gore, 2014). This was a great look at how we can trigger patrons to think of the library when they are in need of research assistance.
Both blogs also mentioned libraries closing and staff cuts. Michelle Kraft dedicated most of her blog to information regarding MLA (Medical Library Association). Kraft addressed medical library closings with this statement, "We need to advocate for ourselves now! MLA is helpful and they will do what they humanly can to support us. But we need to stop looking to them to make everything all better, we need to get the message out in whatever way possible." (Kraft, 2014). Kraft has proactive ideas about medical librarianship and how to promote the use of medical libraries. She states, "we need to take our message out to our patrons" and "as much as I am in favor of our medical library journals, we need to stop publishing about the value of library services in them and start publishing those kind of studies in our patrons’ journals which is what they read. Our patrons don’t read our professional journals." (Kraft, 2014). This is an excellent point.
Kraft also addressed social media in the form of promoting your library services on Twitter. She also included fun pop-culture videos and used them to how they relate to the world of medical library science.
Both blogs were excellent and presented many new ideas to me. I will continue to follow them after this class ends. They keep me informed about the world of medical libraries (one academic and one in a hospital), and will help me to steer my future LIS class selection. I have already decided that I desire to take more LIS classes that will help me with social media and future technology (website building and data mining).
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Comparative Analysis of Professional Journals
Publishers Weekly
and
JMLA: Journal of the Medical Library Association
a. Publishers Weekly is aimed at people who are purchasing books. This could be public librarians, but could also include publishers,individual booksellers, and/or large bookstores. JMLA is compiled specifically for Medical Librarians.
b. Publishers Weekly publishes book reviews about the newest books, awards and prizes given out to books and/or publishers, financial information about book publishers and other general information about the world of book publishing. JMLA publishes peer-reviwed articles relating to medical librarianship. These articles could include case studies, editorials, research papers and some book reviews, that all relate to the field of medical librarianship.
c. Publishers Weekly is not peer-reviewed. JMLA is peer-reviewed. To be peer-reviwed in the case of JMLA means that the journal articles were examined by experts in the field of medical library science before they were published in JMLA. This is very important in for medical journals. I am asked many times a day by nursing students to help them locate "peer-reviwed" journal articles. It is like fact-checking for these journals. It is the best way to make sure articles are accurate and free of misinformation.
Both journals are in some way marketed to librarians. Publishers Weekly can be a great journal to find book reviews for public librarians who are looking to add titles to their library collection. JMLA also shares book reviews but they are specifically for medical texts. JMLA largely consists of scholarly information while Publishers Weekly has a more "entertainment" look and feel to it. These differences tell me that there the field of library science is wide and varied. I hope to learn the general basics of the library science profession so that even if I do not find a career as a medical librarian, I will still have marketable skills that I can put to use in another type of library job.
and
JMLA: Journal of the Medical Library Association
a. Publishers Weekly is aimed at people who are purchasing books. This could be public librarians, but could also include publishers,individual booksellers, and/or large bookstores. JMLA is compiled specifically for Medical Librarians.
b. Publishers Weekly publishes book reviews about the newest books, awards and prizes given out to books and/or publishers, financial information about book publishers and other general information about the world of book publishing. JMLA publishes peer-reviwed articles relating to medical librarianship. These articles could include case studies, editorials, research papers and some book reviews, that all relate to the field of medical librarianship.
c. Publishers Weekly is not peer-reviewed. JMLA is peer-reviewed. To be peer-reviwed in the case of JMLA means that the journal articles were examined by experts in the field of medical library science before they were published in JMLA. This is very important in for medical journals. I am asked many times a day by nursing students to help them locate "peer-reviwed" journal articles. It is like fact-checking for these journals. It is the best way to make sure articles are accurate and free of misinformation.
d. One thing I found interesting about the Publishers Weekly
was their service called PW Select. PW
Select is a supplement to Publishers Weekly.
In it you will find information about the self-publishing community, including
reviews of self-published titles and author interviews. PW Select offers self-published authors the
opportunity to promote their book through Publishers Weekly.
Both journals are in some way marketed to librarians. Publishers Weekly can be a great journal to find book reviews for public librarians who are looking to add titles to their library collection. JMLA also shares book reviews but they are specifically for medical texts. JMLA largely consists of scholarly information while Publishers Weekly has a more "entertainment" look and feel to it. These differences tell me that there the field of library science is wide and varied. I hope to learn the general basics of the library science profession so that even if I do not find a career as a medical librarian, I will still have marketable skills that I can put to use in another type of library job.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Banned Book: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
I chose to read The Awakening by Kate Chopin for our week on intellectual freedom and censorship. In the early years of my undergrad education of I was assigned to read a short story by Kate Chopin entitled The Story of an Hour. This story really affected me. From that moment on I became a fan of feminist literature.
I had never read The Awakening, but I knew it was written by Chopin so I would enjoy it. The story follows Edna Pontellier. It focuses on her "self discovery". Edna has never had the chance to be "just herself". Her role in life is to be a wife and mother, and to be happy with that. The story follows the time when Edna discovers she is more than a wife and mother, she is a human being with her own thoughts and desires. Chopin tells us that Edna had existed in a dual life since she was a child; "that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions." (Chopin, 1899)
I am happy that I live in a time in history when society has less expectation that I be a wife or a mother. I am free to just live as a human being, to fulfill my own desires and aspirations. For the most part in our current America society it is no scandal if you never marry, or have children. I enjoy being able to decide on my own what path in life I will chose, to not know that I MUST get married and produce children. Personally, I would like to have children and get married, but it takes pressure off when you know you have time to yourself before you choose.
Edna Pontellier's story reminds me of the Carly Simon song, That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be. The song is sung from the point of view of a woman, in the 1970's, who wants to be free to find herself. However, she is feeling pressure from her boyfriend to get married. My favorite line of the song is "You say we'll soar like two birds through the clouds, But soon you'll cage me on your shelf -I'll never learn to be just me first. By myself" (Simon,1971). I think Edna Pontellier has experienced the same feelings as the woman in the song, but Edna Pontellier was not permitted the opportunity to give credence to her personal desires.
During my research on the story The Awakening I found that ,even though the book was written in 1899, it was listed on challenged/banned book list in 2011. It is obvious to me why this book would have been shunned in the past. It focuses on a Edna Pontellier finding herself. However, in the process, she leaves has an affair, leaves her husband and children, and eventually commits suicide. Conservative people would want to keep thoughts of this nature out of the minds of the "easily influenced". You can often find censorship when the topic of suicide is brought up.
Description: Library Walk New York City
Original image can be found at:
I had never read The Awakening, but I knew it was written by Chopin so I would enjoy it. The story follows Edna Pontellier. It focuses on her "self discovery". Edna has never had the chance to be "just herself". Her role in life is to be a wife and mother, and to be happy with that. The story follows the time when Edna discovers she is more than a wife and mother, she is a human being with her own thoughts and desires. Chopin tells us that Edna had existed in a dual life since she was a child; "that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions." (Chopin, 1899)
I am happy that I live in a time in history when society has less expectation that I be a wife or a mother. I am free to just live as a human being, to fulfill my own desires and aspirations. For the most part in our current America society it is no scandal if you never marry, or have children. I enjoy being able to decide on my own what path in life I will chose, to not know that I MUST get married and produce children. Personally, I would like to have children and get married, but it takes pressure off when you know you have time to yourself before you choose.
Edna Pontellier's story reminds me of the Carly Simon song, That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be. The song is sung from the point of view of a woman, in the 1970's, who wants to be free to find herself. However, she is feeling pressure from her boyfriend to get married. My favorite line of the song is "You say we'll soar like two birds through the clouds, But soon you'll cage me on your shelf -I'll never learn to be just me first. By myself" (Simon,1971). I think Edna Pontellier has experienced the same feelings as the woman in the song, but Edna Pontellier was not permitted the opportunity to give credence to her personal desires.
During my research on the story The Awakening I found that ,even though the book was written in 1899, it was listed on challenged/banned book list in 2011. It is obvious to me why this book would have been shunned in the past. It focuses on a Edna Pontellier finding herself. However, in the process, she leaves has an affair, leaves her husband and children, and eventually commits suicide. Conservative people would want to keep thoughts of this nature out of the minds of the "easily influenced". You can often find censorship when the topic of suicide is brought up.
Description: Library Walk New York City
Original image can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Library_Walk_30.JPG
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Mid-Semester Analysis and Reflections
As we commence the mid half of the semester I am happy with how much I am
learning in this class. My initial thought was that I already knew where
I was headed in my career and this class would not benefit me. However, I
have learned a great deal about the field of library science. The work I
have done in this class so far has also led me to change my mind about going
into archival studies. I originally wanted to work in a hospital
archive. After recently visiting a hospital archive I have changed my
mind. While I am still interested in the learning how to accurately archive
data, I feel I would not thrive in that environment.
Working in a medical library on a daily basis has revived my interest in the field of library science. I think the work we do here is so valuable. I found that while I would love to preserve information for future generations, I have more of an interest in providing the most up to date research for academics.
I am also happy to learn about the many other library theme jobs. Being enrolled in the MLIS program has provided me with a fantastic way to review many LIS job listings in my email. It is fantastic to see that there are many different job openings and opportunities to intern. I find myself wanting to apply for every internship opportunity that arises (even though I know this is not possible).
I have taken the opportunity to apply for the British Study abroad program offered through the University of Southern Mississippi. I discovered this opportunity from Wayne State. I am really excited about traveling to England and Scotland touring their various libraries. I would never be able to visit these libraries on my own. I am really looking forward to meeting other library science students from other states and making connections with them. This will help me to expand my network. I am open to the possibility of having to relocate out of the state of Michigan to find a job in library science. This study abroad opportunity will help me explore that possibility.
Working in a medical library on a daily basis has revived my interest in the field of library science. I think the work we do here is so valuable. I found that while I would love to preserve information for future generations, I have more of an interest in providing the most up to date research for academics.
I am also happy to learn about the many other library theme jobs. Being enrolled in the MLIS program has provided me with a fantastic way to review many LIS job listings in my email. It is fantastic to see that there are many different job openings and opportunities to intern. I find myself wanting to apply for every internship opportunity that arises (even though I know this is not possible).
I have taken the opportunity to apply for the British Study abroad program offered through the University of Southern Mississippi. I discovered this opportunity from Wayne State. I am really excited about traveling to England and Scotland touring their various libraries. I would never be able to visit these libraries on my own. I am really looking forward to meeting other library science students from other states and making connections with them. This will help me to expand my network. I am open to the possibility of having to relocate out of the state of Michigan to find a job in library science. This study abroad opportunity will help me explore that possibility.
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