LIS6010 Personal Journal @kfallslis-blog - Tumblr Blog

Final Reflections

As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, I came into this program loving libraries, but not really sure where that put me as a LIS professional. Throughout my two courses this semester, I have learned a lot about the profession and where I would like to end up in the future. I have done a lot of research about the different areas of the LIS field that are possible futures for me and I have learned a lot from reading about my classmate’s experiences, whether they be from their current jobs as library professionals or from their experiences visiting different LIS Agencies.

A few of the main points that I discovered during my courses this semester:

I figured out that I am meant to be in the public library field, but I am uncertain of where specifically that may be. I have narrowed it down to music librarian (with much more schooling) or youth services librarian.

I know for certain that I do not want to work as a reference librarian.

I learned that gaining experiences from my classmates is extremely helpful. Everyone, especially in this program since we aren’t all in the same place, has different experiences that they can comment on that another might find useful.

I learned a lot from my visits to two different public libraries near my hometown. I got a sense for how they are run, how they are funded, and what types of things that I will need to do for my future to become an employee for a similar library.

My ideas and beliefs about the field have changed slightly, just in that I know realize that there are a ton of opportunities out there, not just becoming a librarian. I think that as time goes on, I will continue to see how things are changing and how libraries, much more than a lot of places, need to keep up with the changes so they can better serve their communities. From here, I think I will keep an optimistic outlook on the LIS field and will hopefully bring a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge to the field once I officially enter it.

Revisiting My Assumptions about LIS

From my previous post earlier this semester, I posted these three assumptions/beliefs about LIS:

1.) Librarians and libraries in general do waaaaaay more than I originally had thought. I really learned a lot at orientation about the LIS field and the different things that LIS professionals can do. Being a librarian is more than just ordering books and sitting at a circulation desk.

2.) The technology aspect of information is constantly evolving, making it essential for librarians and libraries to do so as well.

3.) (This is more of an assumption, but) There are more people using libraries today now than ever, even though the use of physical books seems to be declining.

Since reading those today, I realized that I still completely agree with all of them. I have learned so much about the LIS field, as I’ve mentioned already a million times. I certainly know now that LIS professionals do a lot more to benefit their community. They aren’t just ordering books, they are assisting patrons with nearly any imaginable question. There are also so many different ways to use a LIS degree, like I mentioned earlier, music librarians, public librarians, information specialists, medical librarians and more. I also agree that technology is always evolving. That’s something I learned when following one of the professional blogs. They posted a lot about how technology is advancing and it is necessary for librarians to do so as well.

Overall, I have learned so much from my fellow classmates who all have differing opinions on the LIS profession than myself. This class truly opened my eyes to all of the different fields and ways I can progress as a LIS professional myself.

Job Analysis

Music has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in an extremely musical family, and I play the piano, trombone, and bass guitar. Before taking this class and doing research for this blog, I had no idea that there was such a thing as a music librarian. Now, I have narrowed my job prospects down the public librarian with a focus toward young adult services, as well as music librarian.

For this blog post, I am going to focus on the music librarian aspect. In my research, it seems that you need a thorough background in music, and it is recommended that after getting your MLIS, you go on to get your master’s in music as well. So to obtain a job as a music librarian, I will need to go on to get my master’s in music, as music librarians need a lot of background in music and music history.

A music librarian does a multitude of things. They can work in many different locations as well. I think it would be very interesting to work as a music librarian for a symphony orchestra or something similar. The job duties for a music librarian for a symphony orchestra are very interesting. They are required to do archival and other library related duties, but they are also in charge of preparing the music for the symphony and making sure that everyone has a part. They also are in charge of obtaining some of the music and determining whether they should purchase (if possible) the music for their library or if they should rent.

As of right now, I have some of the skills required to be a music librarian. I know how to read music, I have knowledge of many composers and compositions, I have knowledge of instrumentation and the different types of instruments and orchestras. I certainly will need more schooling to be trained in music history and specialization, as well as needing to finish my MLIS.

Overall it seems like a very exciting position and something that I am very interested in. Of course, this will take more schooling on my end and the pay is very little for something so specialized. It is also difficult to get a position because of the job being so specialized. It is definitely something that I would like to think about for my future though.

Technology Sandbox

Facebook and social networking:

Intended audience: Facebook is the most widely known and used social networking today. The target audience is fluctuating more toward the older audience, as the younger audience is turning more toward social networking like snapchat and instagram.

Use in Libraries: Most libraries these days have a facebook account, even if they have no other social media accounts. The libraries that I have seen utilizing facebook use it as an information center where they post about upcoming events at the library, important information like hours and dates of closing, and information that relates to the library such as information about new books, events in the community, and more.

Strengths: Facebook is so widely used that libraries can reach a large audience this way.

Weaknesses: It is harder to reach younger audiences using facebook.

I definitely think that facebook should be used by libraries. Facebook these days is so widely used that it is almost detrimental for libraries to not use it. Many people use Facebook to even find important information about the library, such as their hours and location. Even if people aren’t using a library’s facebook to see their posts regularly, they can be used to find out important information about the library.

Instagram/Snapchat:

Intended audience: mobile users, younger crowd

Use in Libraries: Instagram can be used to show pictures related to the library, such as new books, displays, collections, and pictures of programming events. I haven’t seen any library use snapchat but I know that it is an ever growing app with a huge population using it. They have recently come out with an update where larger companies are using Snapchat to update the users. This could be something that libraries might use in the future.

Strengths: Reaches the younger population, is fairly simple to use - not much training necessary. Is specifically photo based, you don’t need much text.

Weaknesses: It wouldn’t reach all areas of the population -- many older users don’t have smart phones. You need a smartphone to use Instagram and Snapchat which could be difficult for libraries to utilize efficiently.

Instagram is certainly an application that libraries could use. I don’t think that it should replace other social media sites like facebook or blogging, but it definitely reaches a younger audience who might not be into facebook as much. It’s not a necessity for any library, but it could be a fun addition and could help attract younger audiences.

Information Organization

Barrel of Monkeys - small plastic monkeys that link together, game to see who can link the most monkeys

Magic 8 Ball - plastic ball that predicts the future by answering yes or no questions

Etch a Sketch - small toy that allows you to create linear drawings by twisting the knobs at the bottom. drawing goes away when the toy is shaken.

Vocabulary List:

Barrel of Monkeys - plastic monkeys, small toys, colorful toys, linked together

Magic 8 Ball - fortune telling toy, advice seeking toy, yes or no questions, circular fortune telling toy

Etch a Sketch - drawing toy, lineographic images toy, red plastic drawing toy

This exercise was definitely more difficult than I thought it was going to be. It is hard to think of terms and phrases that describe the toys. It was also difficult to think of the correct vocabulary terms that would bring these items up in a search. I think the barrel of monkeys was the most difficult because there are multiple pieces to the toy so it’s hard to say something other than “barrel of monkeys”.

Following a Professional Listserv

I personally have not had much experience following listservs. In fact, my only knowledge about them comes from our orientation where they discussed the advantages of following LIS listservs within our wayne state email accounts. While I have found those listservs to be helpful at times, I’ve also found them to be overwhelming and full of information that isn’t absolutely necessary.

For this blog post, I was hoping to find a listserv that would benefit me and would be less overwhelming. I decided to sign up for The Music Library Association discussion list, which is hosted through Indiana University. I chose to follow this one because music librarianship has always interested me and I thought that I would get more information about the subject through this listserv.

In my attempts to not be overwhelmed by the listserv...I failed. This listserv posts a lot and quite frequently. Some of the information was interesting, but I often found myself deleting things without even reading them, other than the subject. I was hoping to find more information about what a music librarian does and information about the job field, but a lot of the posts were about job postings and things that happened at conferences, as well as calls for proposals and questions that members of the listserv had. I did find out some information, but not necessarily what I was specifically looking for.

I definitely did find it interesting that this is a space for music librarians around the world to ask questions and get feedback. For instance, one librarian had a question about a book that she received about an opera. Inside the book was the program for the opera. The librarian was wondering whether she should catalog the book and program both in special collections or just the program. I found this to be really helpful and it is likely a great resource for music librarians, especially since they often don’t have someone that is as specialized to ask right there with them.

This listserv also provided me with an opportunity to read a newsletter about the reactions of people attending the MLA Conference for the first time. This newsletter article (which I found at the very last minute) was super helpful and presented a lot of information about the music librarian field as a whole -- exactly what I was looking for! They talked about the MLA Conference and what types of things that they learned there. It made me want to attend the next conference!

Blogging About Professional Blogs

For this post, I have been following two blogs:

LIS News and Tame the Web

LIS News posts various articles and similar to their blog. I found this to be really helpful because it’s difficult to navigate all articles about LIS just by google searching and whatnot. This is one single place where you can locate many articles relating to LIS. They also post occasionally their thoughts and opinions on the articles.

Tame the Web posts from Michael Stevens, who is a LIS professor and focuses on the powerful emerging trends, tools and processes driving change in library and information communities. Many of his blog posts are about those types of information.

For this post I am going to highlight a few of the posts that I found to be the most interesting and that I learned a lot from.

A post from LIS News talks about Improbable Libraries, which are libraries that aren’t your typical library. They make it so libraries are available everywhere, such as airport libraries, hotel libraries, libraries within taxis and more. I found this article to be interesting because I certainly am an advocate for being able to have books wherever, whenever. I think that the more libraries that are out there and available, the more people will use them.

A post from Tame the Web talks about and focuses on changes within libraries. I found this post to be super informative because it talks about the future of libraries and where libraries will be going. The main thing that everyone focuses on when thinking about the future of libraries is technology. This of course is something that is discussed in the article, however, they also discuss how libraries should be thinking socially as well as entrepreneurially. “Be forward thinking to anticipate user needs and desired ends. Learning delivery is no longer the purview of brick-and-mortar buildings; be digital, be online” I found that quote to be very helpful in my thoughts because the libraries in my area are having a very difficult time entering the “digital” world and having an online presence. It’s interesting to see how far technology has come.

Mid-Semester Review

So far in this semester I have really learned a lot about LIS and myself. I came into the program unsure of what I wanted to do specifically and unaware of all of the options that come from a degree in library and information science. Now, I am more aware of my options and have settled on what I want to focus on in the career. I’ve also learned about the topics that I have chosen and likely why I’ve chosen to write about them, as well as what topics I have steered away from. Honestly, that’s what has been in a lot of my posts, my uncertainty and trying to find direction from my classmates and the different areas of the profession that have been discussed.

So far in the semester I have had a few distinct thoughts about the program. I know for certain now that I want to go into public librarianship, however I have interests in many areas of the program. I have also learned that I would not like to focus on reference. I’m not one to love doing a bunch of research and going through databases, etc. I can handle it in small doses. I think the end-goal for me is working in a public library as a youth services director or something similar. I have also discovered that it is very difficult to find jobs and have job security within this field, especially in my location. I have been doing research and I will likely need to move away from this area to find a job.

I haven’t minded many of the required blog posts, however I have not been a big fan of the professional association post and the professional journal post (which is why I haven’t posted it yet. :) ). I think the topics are interesting, yet I won’t likely continue posting to this blog. I’m not one to come up with directed posts like this on my own.

Eleanor & Park - Banned Book

Professional Association - Part 2

Music Library Association

Mission - The Music Library Association provides a professional forum for librarians, archivists, and others who support and preserve the world’s musical heritage.

Membership Benefits - Personal memberships include voting privileges, access to their online membership directory, discounted registration for the annual conference in Denver, online access to recent issues of Notes, their journal, and a discount on publishing titles from Ashgate Publishing. There are student memberships that receive the same benefits as above, just without voting privileges, and they are unable to chair a committee, or be an editor. Membership rates for students are $60 annually.

Publications - The Music Library Association has a publication, Notes, the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association. Notes accepts submissions of interesting, informative, and well-written articles in the areas of music librarianship, music bibliography, the music trade, and discography, and on certain aspects of music history.

Primary Activities - The Music Library Association’s primary activities are their annual “meeting” which is basically a convention. They also have online and in-person workshops that members can access. The focus of the workshops is on gaining practical skills in a specific area with opportunities to network with peers.

Professional Association - Part 1

MLA - Michigan Library Association

Mission - From the MLA website, “MLA defends the right to read, advocates for adequate library funding, clarifies library governance issues, promotes librarian education and works for free access of information to all residents.” However under their actual ‘mission’ page, it just states that their mission is “Helping libraries and library professionals succeed,” with information about their values statements, including ‘access to information,’ ‘professionalism,’ ‘sharing,’ ‘leadership,’ and ‘sustainability.’ More detailed information about their value statements can be found here.

Membership Benefits - MLA offers membership for organizations as well as individuals. I paid more attention to the individual memberships. One of the most important membership benefits an individual receives is professional development and networking. MLA offers many conferences and offers the opportunity to be part of committees, work groups, and communities of practice.

Student Membership - Student memberships are available but limited in number. Anyone who is a full-time student in a library industry related field can be a member. The dues are $50 annually.

Primary Activities - The primary activities that the MLA provides really seems to be networking and career building. Being a member allows you access to conferences, materials online, communication with others in the field, and advocacy for related LIS information.

Popcorn & a movie

I was slightly dreading watching The Hollywood Librarian, simply because it seemed like something that had the potential to be stuffy and boring, like many other academic documentaries that I’ve watched in my college career. I certainly was wrong. I found parts of the documentary to be insightful and eye-opening to the library profession. Since starting this class my view of librarians and the library profession has been changed and this helped make the point even more so. The movie presented a really great idea to the public, that the Hollywood perception of librarians is completely wrong (much like the Hollywood perception of many other things) and it is important to see the impact that librarians play in the world today. The card cataloging system was absolutely crazy back in the day. I had been thinking about this often lately, due to purchasing a “personal library kit” for my personal book collection. I can’t imagine the process it would take to check out library books. I remember my school’s library checked out books the old fashioned way but my public library has always been electronic since I can remember.

Personal Goals - Entry #2

When I decided to go back to school and get my MLIS, I had this idea of becoming a public librarian and working with YA. That was the end goal, and from my limited knowledge about LIS, that seemed the way to go. After attending orientation, however, I realized that there is so much more that a person with their MLIS can do!

Many of the areas presented to me at orientation sounded super interesting -- archiving, medical librarianship, data and information management -- it all seemed new and exciting. One presentation that really stuck out to me though was Dr. Kumasi's information about literacy and race and youth. I currently work for a non-profit and have spent the better part of my life volunteering for non-profits. Hearing Dr. Kumasi's research, I've thought heavily about using my MLIS degree for something like a non-profit literacy program or something of the sort. Yes, this relates to what I originally had in mind and it also incorporates a lot of the information that I gained at orientation and through my first few weeks in the program. Through a simple google search I discovered many nonprofit literacy programs in Michigan alone and I am going to look into those for potential volunteer opportunities.

I am also sincerely interested in data and information management. I have always been the kind of person to love looking at data and organizing information. When I would play as a kid, I would play things like "office clerk" and "hotel desk" where I would just enter a bunch of fake information into excel spreadsheets (I was a pretty cool kid, let me tell you).

So I haven't exactly nailed down my career path -- shocking, I know. I am looking forward to learning more about the different ways I could take my career with an MLIS degree in this course and future courses.

#mlis #lis6010

Introduction - Entry #1

Hello! This is my personal journal for LIS 6010. I chose to use tumblr simply because I am familiar with the site and know how to use it. My name is Kristin Falls and I am a recent graduate of Saginaw Valley State University. I currently live in Gladwin, my hometown. I have a serious love for cats and books, and will give any tv series the 4 episode test.

My 3 beliefs about the LIS Profession are:

2.) The technology aspect of information is constantly evolving, making it essential for librarians and libraries to do so as well.

3.) (This is more of an assumption, but) There are more people using libraries today now than ever, even though the use of physical books seems to be declining.

#lis6010 #mlis

millionsmillions

Harper announced today that To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee will publish a sequel to her famous novel this July. The sequel, titled Go Set a Watchman, was originally written before To Kill a Mockingbird, and features that book’s main character Scout as a grown woman. The book is Lee’s second novel, and the first she’s published since the 1950s.

kfallslis-blog

this is awesome.

pottel

Library of Professor Richard A. Macksey at Johns Hopkins University. He is the owner of one of the largest personal libraries in the state of Maryland, with over 70,000 ($4 million worth) books and manuscripts along with art work. Macksey’s course on Proust is famous among undergrad students at Johns Hopkins, and he is known to hold graduate level courses in his famous library.

libraryadvocates

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.

J L Borges (via libraryadvocates)

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LIS6010 Personal Journal