Summertime again
I am SO grateful that things have slowed down for the summer... the library is actually QUIET for a change! Unfortunately, that won't last for too long because all sorts of changes are on deck. Normally, I'm not too fond of change but I am really NOT looking forward to all of the upheaval that I have to participate in *sigh*. There goes my 'quiet' summer. :o(
In other news, I'm missing the annual
ACURIL conference in Santo Domingo this week... *sulk* I just know it's gonna be awesome. Oh well, at least I renewed my ALA membership (even though I'm not going to that conference, either). I'm hurting for some up-close-and-personal professional development, mayn.
OK, this is getting depressing. I'm gonna stop before I burst into tears...
But there IS something that put a smile [smirk?] on my face earlier this week. Shout out to U of Washington's information school students and faculty for
changing the way the world listens to Lady Gaga.
Labels: "acuril conference", "Lady Gaga", "University of Washington Information School", ALA, summer
The AWESOMEST Nat'l Library Week... like, EVER!!!
So things appear to finally be falling into place, although not as quickly as I had hoped. I've got 2 projects in the pot for NLW and I'm wondering what possessed me to get in so deep... I dunno, maybe something to do with being the krunk librarian that I am. ;o) Well, by the 3rd week in April, we'll see exactly how krunk I truly am!
I'm especially glad that my colleagues are getting more into NLW as time goes on. I was praying that this wasn't a repeat of last year when the whole week was basically orchestrated by me and 2 library techs (seriously!) But we've got a "Library Fest" in the works--music, food, and a Soul Train-style word scramble--to kick things off, so I'm hoping that we get a lot of buzz on campus for that if nothing else.
The Human Library is another beast altogether, though. Apparently, it's much harder to get a formal confirmation after people tell you "Sure, I'll be a 'book'..." *sigh* I just pray that I meet my goal of 10 'books'--and the community actually comes out to READ them!! God's willing, media promotion shall commence next week and I'ma be hypin' this harder than I don't even know what!! :o) Can't wait!
Labels: Human Library, krunk, National Library Week, NLW
*exhale* Spring is in the air...
Checking back in after WAY too long... Another semester of info lit classes is slowing to a halt [hallelujah]! Hmmm, isn't that just sad? I'm basing the clock of my library life around the ebb and flow of instruction sessions. *tsk, tsk*In other news--has there been other significant news?--not much has happened since late last year. Well, unless you count an unfortunate "office politics-related" incident that I got dragged into on account of the physical location of my workspace, everything has been just fine and dandy! *Can you see my sarcastic smirk??* Being the "professional" that I am, I took it all in stride but it made a major mark on my job DISsatisfaction list. And the beat goes on...What I am excited about is preparation for National Library Week. *yaaay!* This year, the Human Library was introduced to the local library association and we're gonna host the very first one in the Virgin Islands!! I'm also trying to rally my co-workers for a week's worth of NLW events on campus, but it's been like pulling teeth trying to coordinate everyone's schedules for a meeting. Hopefully we can actually get a budget for our programs--that would be awesome! :o)Labels: Human Library, National Library Week, NLW, office politics
There's still hope!
The frenetic pace of information literacy classes for the Fall semester has all but come to a close. Four more come to the library next week, and then I'm home-free... until it starts all over again in the Spring. *sigh* If I ever had any doubt about teaching being my life's work, this past semester signed, sealed and delivered the verdict for me--I WAS NOT MEANT TO TEACH!!!! I didn't even know that librarians were expected to teach until near the end of grad school. But like I was honestly divulging to a seasoned colleague earlier today, I wouldn't have thought twice about a degree in library science had there been no medical option available to me. That's where my heart is centered: medical/health science.
Speaking of which, God has granted me a window to incorporate my first love into my present library work. Through a series of carefully planned events and actions (both human and supernatural), I was able to link up with an authority figure of a librarian's professional organization who heads up a health information project. God showed me where there was a dearth of information that I could assist in filling and *voila*! I was extended an invitation to collaborate on this medical information project!!! Hallelujah! [Now all I have to do is find the time to spend on this while still getting all my 'real' work done... it never ends.] But I really am excited about the prospect of putting some of my "medlib" skills to work. Methinks I am a tad bit rusty after not being able to flex my medical muscles over the past year or so. That shall soon come to an end. ;o)
Labels: health information project, medical librarianship
Calling all librarians of the Caribbean!
My absence from blogging has been for good reason... work, work, and MORE work. But being a new librarian definitely has its benefits. For example, I am typing this post painfully awkwardly from a European (French) keyboard--in Guadeloupe! Right now, I am in a workshop led by students and instructors from the School of Information Sciences and Technology of the University of Puerto Rico (but details on this session will follow soon).
Labels: "acuril conference 2009", "acuril conference", acuril, Guadeloupe
catching my breath
How can I articulate that the last few months have been an absolute whirlwind of activity?? I'm sure you may have figured that by the uncharacteristic gap between my last post [in October] and this one. But I guess the absence can be fittingly attributed to the gross understatement I'm about to make: being a librarian is HARD!!!!*whew!* My head is still spinning from all that I've learned, attempted and done since taking on this new profession. In a nutshell: I've had a crash orientation to the contents and locations of the collections [since part of my job is 'developing' them], I've 'taught' information literacy/library instruction classes to 100-level students--not to mention teaching...period!--for the first time, EVER, and I've traveled to Atlanta twice in a 3-week time span for one-day professional development workshops.
I'm coming up on my probationary review this week so I can't stay long, but this was just a quick shout to assure all 4 of you that I have not been buried under a cascade of dictionaries. LOL But that would be a funny way for a librarian to go, though. :op
Labels: librarianship, new job, still alive, whirlwind of activity
My first day of being a librarian...
... was a blast!! Almost. OK, OK, it was da bomb!!! Sort of...
[rewind to mid-September]
I was approached by 2 of the grant-writers for my grad school scholarship to apply for a certain librarian position. This wasn't the first time I had heard of it, but I didn't apply before because 1.) it wasn't in my field of interest [medical/health sciences], and 2.) the job description mentioned *gasp* instruction... also known as teaching--the one profession I swore up-and-down that I would never get into. Yet, this time around, I was reminded about my notarized commitment to serve 2 years in a local library. At that point, resistance was basically futile; so I applied.
A thorough, 7-member panel interview and meeting with a CIO later, I got the job. Which brings us full-circle to the present: I am a librarian! I'm still trying to figure out how it happened so fast, myself. In fact, today was my first day. Which brings me back to my original point... it was almost a blast, or kinda da bomb. How so?
On my first day of work as a librarian, the library and immediate surrounding area was evacuated to inspect a "suspicious package". I had been there barely 3 hours when the alarm went off and everyone scrambled to get out the building. Security, police and the bomb squad were called to assess the situation--which took another 3 hours. *sigh* So half of my inaugural librarian experience was spent sitting outside--in some intermittent rain showers. And the worst part was, I convinced myself to leave my iPod home today. Again, I say, "Three grueling hours".
After all of this whining, I would be remiss if I didn't praise God for the "suspicious package" being nothing more than a dud. This episode was nothing more than an inconvenience; the day went on as normal. I could have been one of the many people, including Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, with a fanatical death threat looming over my head... I'll just ruminate on that.
So that was my day at work. How was yours? Labels: bomb scare, Borg, death threat, first day at work, librarians, new job, Obama
