l i b r a r y d a r l i n g

new beginnings in a new year.

2012-01-10T11:32:00.001-08:00

It's been a little while, but my second to last semester in library school began yesterday, and I'm getting back into the swing of things. I had my first class, Cataloging and Classification I, last night, and was pleasantly surprised. Even though I've never been much interested in cataloging, I felt like it was something I should be pretty confident doing, and something I needed to learn more about. And I enjoyed the first lecture more than I expected - there's something relaxing, and almost comforting in the order and organization that cataloging employs. I can definitely see the appeal. Plus, with all of the changes underway - RDA moving in, MARC moving out (my professor says it will be gone in five years) - it's definitely an intriguing time to learn about cataloging.

Overall, with this class and the two others I'm taking, I feel like this semester may be a bit challenging, but I'm ready for it. I selected classes this time not necessarily doing things I loved, but things I didn't know much about but will likely help me in my future pursuits. And I'm excited. For a long time, I was terrified of graduating and being jobless forever. But I've been feeling much more optimistic lately. This new year has really managed to do a 180 on a lot of things in my life.

Speaking of which, I changed my mind again.

I know I've talked a lot about young adult services, and I'm definitely still interested in that area of library science. But I've made the decision to delve back into academic libraries. As far as my future is concerned, I feel like immersing myself in the academic library field is my best bet, at least for now. I've always wanted to be a part of the academic world, and for me right now it is becoming the option I am more excited by. So I'm going to try to find a practicum in a university library for the summer and see where it goes from there.

As far as library school goes, those are the basic updates. I'll be around more this semester to share what I'm learning.

Okay Gaiman, you're in. Your job is to get lunch. And lose the British accent.

2011-12-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Simpsons - The Book Job

Yes! A Simpsons episode about YA book mills. Must watch. If you're into that kind of thing. Which you should be.

i'm a mess. always.

2011-12-03T08:30:00.001-08:00

I promised I'd be around and here I am, even if it's taken a little while. Seems like everything has been piling up at once - financial woes, getting extra hours at work, finishing up final projects and assignments as the semester winds down, trying to maintain a bit of a social life. It's been a bit difficult to balance everything, and I am so ready for the end of the month, Christmas time and a bit of relaxation. (And getting to read for pleasure, rather than school, again.)

Speaking of school - after some deliberation, I decided recently to wait until summer to complete my practicum and graduate. I had been planning on graduating this spring all along, but deadlines were missed and I felt nowhere near ready. As I mentioned before, I haven't been much on the ball lately especially when it comes to the library world. I'm hoping this little extension will allow me more time to get involved in some organizations, network, gain some more knowledge and prepare to get into the work force.

At the moment, I'm working on a project for my Risky Teen Services class that involves reading graphic novels, playing video games, and listening to music. I am SO ready to be a teen librarian.

Here's a cute Finnish library ad (thanks The M Word):

welcome to my life

2011-11-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, here I am again. Here are how things are going:

- I'm in my second to last semester of library school and I am t.e.r.r.i.f.i.e.d. I have convinced myself that there is no way I am going to get a job afte graduation.. Ever. Probably not the best way to look at things.. I don't think "zero confidence" is the kind of characteristic an employer is looking for. I'm working on it. But suffice it to say, I'm super nervous.

- I got a job as a barista three months ago. I've been working at Starbucks full time combined with full time school. It's been pretty stressful. But the job is pretty great - I have some really awesome coworkers, and of course, there's the customer service aspect. Basically as a barista, you're required to become all of your customers' best friend. I really do think this will apply to the kind of job I want as a librarian. For now, I'm enjoying being surrounded by coffee all day.

- After about five years of not having one, I finally got a car. It is beautiful and flawless. I can't begin to describe the freedom I feel being able to drive myself places. It's so refreshing.

- I've had a fair share of personal issues in my life, and I've let it get me down for too long. It all really stopped me from thinking about and preparing for the future. It's time to turn that around. Hence starting this blog back up.

I'll be updating much more frequently now, about the classes and workshops I'm taking and my search for a practicum (gulp). Tonight, I think I'm going to cuddle up with an issue of the New Yorker and a beer after a long shift. More coming very, very soon.

WhooOoooOooaaa

2011-11-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

Hello darlings - if I have any followers left..

I'm coming back. For real for real. And soon.

I'd write more, but I'm actually sitting in my Selections and Acquisitions class learning about pests munching on and murdering poor little library books. So I should probably get back to that.

But I'll be writing more soon. Kind of lots to talk about.

TTFN (bet you didn't think you'd see that little gem of Internet history back in your life again..)

short and sweet

2011-08-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have a really great boyfriend. He made this for me last night.

Salmon with onions and honey mustard and deliciousness. It was worth my impatience.

I've been trying to make some changes lately and even though I'm just in the beginning stages, I really think they are going to pay off. Another big change is coming my way soon - I'm moving next week! Just a couple of blocks away, but it will be my first solo apartment, and I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to decorating with whatever cute or weird things I can find at the two really awesome antique stores nearby, and being able to go downstairs to get sushi or bagels or coffee whenever I want.

This post is kind of all over the place already, so here are a couple of books I'm reading/have been reading recently. I recommend them all; Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a bit of a disappointment but has its funny moments and I REALLY recommend the audiobook.

free access to all - right?

2011-07-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

This article from the Atlantic suggests that public libraries begin charging a small fee (~50 cents) for checking out books and other materials. The article raises some interesting points, most of which I disagree with, and the comments are filled with librarians refuting the content of the article and bringing up some really great and essential arguments about the rise of public library use in the last 10 years, and the absolute necessity of keeping services free. Because to many people, whether those of us with privilege ("privilege" is always one of those words I can never correctly spell, by the way) would like to recognize it or not, a $.50 charge per item is not a small fee. I appreciate the comments on this article because they really show exactly why libraries are needed and their true value in today's society, and also, why keeping them free to the public is entirely necessary - arguments that I wholeheartedly agree with, but have trouble articulating at times to people who ask me, "Why do you want to be a librarian? Aren't libraries gonna disappear in ten years anyway?"

This idea of charging fees in libraries was brought up in one of my classes recently, and there was a good discussion about how public libraries could go about charging for services while at the same time keeping services free for those who need them to be. Charging a small fee for the newest items, or certain types of DVDs, is perhaps one way. I am extremely passionate about the idea that libraries provide free, equal access to information to all regardless of socioeconomic status or any other factors, as I know most other librarians are, so I just hope it doesn't come to something like this (at least in our time). But as people are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the rise of taxes and the poor state of the economy, it is something librarians need to consider and prepare to possibly eventually accept - or argue against.

the most interesting part of this post is the cats.

2011-07-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks to this beautiful Hack Library School post, I'm now following oodles of new library-related blogs and I am excited. Now that my classes have finished up for the summer, I'm looking forward to taking more time to just immerse myself in all of the library information I can find. Especially now that I'm more than halfway through my library program and it seems like I still have so much to learn before I can really become a librarian.

Something that I'm still trying to figure out is what classes I should be taking. I'm really interested in public libraries (especially young adult services) and library management, and I've taken a few classes in each. But should I be taking classes in these fields to really get a good grip on them, or should I take classes outside of them so that I can get a wide range of knowledge about all the different types of library work? I don't really have much of an understanding of the technological stuff beyond what I learned in my required technology class, and even though I don't really have an interest in working in the more technical fields, should I try to take those classes too just to open up my job opportunities?

When I graduate, my plan is to apply for as many jobs as I possibly can and see where I end up, but should I have a focus or a broad knowledge of all things library? I've heard both things, and I'm stumped. Which is probably why I keep changing which classes I'm enrolled in for the fall. I probably just need to have a talk with my advisor, but it's something that's been bugging me lately.

Anyway, here are some cats.

weekend in pictures

2011-07-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to post about, and I should really be working on my History paper, but I had a good weekend and I thought I'd share a few photos. (I got an iPhone and I am obsessed with Instagram, if that wasn't obvious. Sean got one too.) They are mostly of my cat.

happy 4th!

2011-07-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is BBQing it up and enjoying the three day weekend. I will be grilling in Sean's backyard (provided that these evil-looking clouds don't cause a downpour anytime soon), working on endless amounts of homework, and sneaking in some time to read The Treasure Map of Boys.

This is my last week of class for the summer, hallelujah! But I have so much to do - lectures, online discussions, a paper on the House of Wisdom, a take-home exam, and a project for my YA class. Maybe it's not a ton, but it feels like a lot to get done by Thursday/Friday. At any rate, I'll be posting a lot more once this week is over, including some more YA book reviews since I've now completed that assignment.

Can I just say, after coming to the end of this Young Adult class, that being a teen librarian seems like it is my destiny? Not that I'd be the best teen librarian, just that I'd enjoy it the most. I'm eager to finish up this degree and get a move on in my career. (Even if I'm totally scared out of my wits.)

Have a great holiday!

YA fiction!

2011-06-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

This summer I've been taking a class on serving young adults, and it's been pretty great. I only have a week and a half left in the class, but I've learned a lot about teen services and I definitely think I want to try to pursue a career in teen librarianship when I get my degree (whenever that does happen.. eek).

The class has been a LOT of work for five weeks, including reading 22 books by this Friday.. which basically boiled down to more or less a book a day.. but I'm dealing, because it's super fun YA reading.

The truth is, I try to be all intellectual and English major-y and read really intense and classical literary fiction, and I usually choose that type of book over anything else when I'm reading in my free time. But at heart, I am Georgia Nicolson and I obsess over Sarah Dessen's books frequently and I have a nerd-crush on John Green (but who doesn't?). I will probably always be a teen deep down in my soul, but particularly when it comes to fiction. I just love gushy, funny young adult books and I was so pumped to be able to read them FOR CREDIT. Nothing better, really.

Since I've indulged in quite a few delicious YA novels in these last few weeks, I thought I would provide a handful of mini-reviews for those of you who are interested. All of the ones I read for this class had to come from the best-of or award winner lists, so they're all legit great reads. But here are a few of my favorites!

The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them by E. Lockhart

One of the books I picked for the class had to be an audiobook, and this is the one I chose. I'm actually surprised it was such an acclaimed audiobook because while the voice actress was certainly really good at her job, I didn't feel that it exactly fit the part. I mean, it sounded like a 50 year old woman talking about getting her boobs grabbed by a 17-year-old smooth talking Latino boy. Regardless, I enjoyed the book immensely. I mean, just look at the chick on the cover - she is the exact girl my teenage self wishes she could have been. Funny, intelligent, but still a normal teen, who gets panic attacks and loves thrifting and is a fountain of movie trivia knowledge, Ruby Oliver has all kind of friend problems and ex-boyfriend problems and hook-up problems that I could relate to. In this book, she's a junior, and she's gotten on the bad side of her circle of BFFs and is now stuck with one friend, Megan, and another maybe-friend, maybe-more named Noel. At the beginning of every chapter are excerpts from "The Boy Book," a notebook that Ruby and her friends (/ex-friends) fill up with lists like The Rules of Dating. Just an FYI, this is the second in a series of four books, so you should probably read the first book, The Boyfriend List, before starting on this one (though I didn't, but will be going back to read it ASAP). Basically, I really, really loved this book, even if it did sound like my mom was reading it to me.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

First things first: There is a lot of sex in this book. Not in explicit detail (though not super fluffy either, thank goodness), but if you think sex is icky, then this book may not be your thing. But for a perv like me (just kidding), it was awesome. I loved so much about this book. The DUFF, Bianca, is referred to as such mostly because her best friends are hot hoochie cheerleader types. But she's way cooler, sarcastic and cynical, and even though being called a DUFF by Wesley Rush, the hottest "manwhore" in school, is hurtful and creates some self-esteem issues, instead of crying all day about how fat she is, Bianca decides to accept it and uses her efforts to hate him instead. I see her as generally a strong female character in that way. She deals with some parental issues that cause her to look for an escape in her tormentor Wesley, even though he is "disgusting" and she "despises" him and etc. etc. It is a really interesting novel to me in the fact that it's not some sad pathetic girl falling all over some doucheface, and I don't want to give too much away, but it certainly does not go the way I would predict this type of storyline to go, in the best way possible. I also liked that it tackled issues of labeling and the use of words like slut, whore, and so on to describe females. Sure, it was a little heavy-handed, but shouldn't you be that way when you have a teen audience? This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It's a super quick read (hence why it made the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list), and did I mention the author was 18 when she wrote it?

As much as I would like to keep going with these, it is nearing 10PM and I have History of Libraries in the morning and a lot of reading to do beforehand. I'll continue these reviews in later post(s). Now for some stress-relief tea and lots and lots of articles.. hoo boy.

remember me?

2011-06-20T16:42:00.001-07:00

If anyone happens to even see this ever, then hi. I am coming back here. I don't really know what made me stop writing here completely for so long... But it doesn't matter. I'm here again!

As it is, things are a little hectic right now. I'm taking two classes this summer session, History of Libraries and Library Services for Young Adults. Both require a buttload of reading in very little time (22 young adult books by July 1st.. ay yi yi). But I'm getting through it, and working as an aide at a local public library, and I'm going to attempt to start updating here again.

I just wanted to check in, but I'll write more later - hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday, my day off. I need to get back into library land, and this seems to be the best way to do it. Promise I won't abandon you again, baby blog.