Resourceful

Lately I've been dealing with a lot of pressure. A busy schedule juggling my practicum, an online course, and trying to apply for jobs. I am usually pretty good multi-tasking within one area, but I start to feel scattered and stressed when my busy-ness stretches across multiple dimensions of my life. Beyond the aspects of a busy schedule, however, the pressure I have been feeling mostly stems from the fact that I will soon my graduating from my MLIS program.

Yes, typically the response should be, "Hooray!! I'm finally graduating!" I won't disagree that I am atypical. Don't get me wrong, I am indeed excited about finishing my program and eager to get into the library field in order to start leaving my mark. It's the depressed economy and the poor outlook of the job market that cause me some anxiety. Also, I am worried that I might be caught in that nebulous area between overqualified and underqualified now that I am soon to have my degree in hand. Overqualified for many of the paraprofessional positions that are out there (by virtue of now having a masters degree in the field), but lacking the experience necessary for landing many of the professional ones. Not only that, but my current situation also makes me a poor candidate for non-library positions, as most employers will easily assume I am not long-term potential for working in another field. So, there is a lot weighing on my psyche these days.

Today I had a very good day at my practicum, however. I started working on a "weeding" project. (For non-library folks, weeding refers to making decisions about which books should be removed from the collection based on a number of different factors--condition of the book, it's uniqueness and/or relevance to the collection, how frequently it gets used, the currency/accuracy of the information, whether a newer edition is available and any number of other factors.) I had been dragging my feet a little in working on this project. The section of the library I was assigned to weed is the reference section. Since books in the reference section cannot be checked out, there are no circulation statistics that I can refer to in order to know how frequently each resource is actually used--if at all! This takes away one key piece of evidence that is most useful to a weeding project! Also, because I am essentially "new" to the library, I haven't had time to develop a familiarity with what kinds of resources get used or requested most frequently or even rarely. I didn't have much confidence in my ability to be very helpful in this task since I felt like I was going into it somewhat blindly, without any real context. Happily, I was mistaken! I managed to be quite resourceful, and this helped boost my confidence exponentially in light of the pressures I've been feeling with regards to the job hunt. I wanted to blog about my experience so that I could later be reminded of the fact that I have a lot to feel confident about!

I began my task by reading the Collection Development Policy for the library. This is the document that describes in detail how the library decides what materials will (and will not) be included in its collection. The part of the policy I was most interested in for the purposes of my weeding task was the section that detailed the specific subject areas that the library wished to target within each academic discipline. This gave me a little more of that "context" that I felt I was previously lacking.

Next, I also made a list of all the different undergraduate and graduate programs that are currently offered by the university. This would also provide more context for the task at hand. In providing library services you need to have a pretty clear picture of who your users are so that you can develop a relevant collection for their needs.

As I began the actual task of weeding, my primary focus was going to be looking at the currency of the item--noting how long ago it was published. Old does not always mean outdated or irrelevant, but I was also looking to see if newer editions might have been published since. As I moved through the collection fairly methodically I began to make some connections and notice that I do have more context than I anticipated. For example, knowing how to address the issue of outdated computer science reference books was influenced by my knowledge of the fact that NCU does not offer a computer science program. Why buy a $500 computer science encyclopedia that will rapidly become out of date almost as soon as you put it on the shelf when your institution does not have a particular need for the resource to begin with? Similarly, I relied on my knowledge of the fact that NCU has a strong education program as I analyzed the reference books that focused on children's literature. Clearly these resources would be valuable for students preparing to work with elementary aged children.

Today's exercise was key for me in grasping how useful my academic study of library and information science has been. Although I am still looking for ways and opportunities to put into practice what I have learned, today was a huge step in giving me the confidence to know that I do have the necessary tools to be able to figure things out as they unfold even without prior direct experience. This confidence will be key as I continue to wrestle with the job hunt and the potential it has to downgrade one's confidence along the way.

I am definitely resourceful. That is one of my primary reasons for becoming a librarian. It is my desire to help connect others with the resources they need.

Catching Up

Eek! My last blog post hasn't been since January? My how time flies when you are trying to finish up school!

My sister, Cindy, is an excellent blogger. In fact, she could literally add "Blogger" to her resume as she has become quite the prolific writer in the blogosphere. Needless to say, her blogging inspires me to step up the pace in order to do a little of my own. Apart from her modeling what authentic blogging looks like (i.e., actually making regular posts on one's blog!), I have also felt the naggings coming from my own life to blog more frequently. I am coming upon some more life transitions in the near future as I approach finishing library school, beginning the job search and making decisions about where the next stage in my life might take me. Transitions can provide lots of food for thought and therefore plenty of space for making "marginal notes."

I am currently in the midst of doing my library practicum work at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, OR. My on-site hours will wrap up July 2, after which I will have a practicum paper to prepare as a portion of my practicum requirements. I will wrap up my regular coursework after I complete a 2 week workshop on Young Adult Literature that starts on Monday. The end is in sight and I am on course to graduate with my MLIS degree from Kent State this August!

It's both an exciting time and an anxiety-raising one. In particular, the less than stellar economy casts a shadow of a doubt on how successful my library job search is apt to be. Hopefully, I will find something sooner rather than later!