In order to keep myself busy and increase my knowledge of different aspects of library work, I have volunteered for two special projects.
The first of these is a collection development project. Texas State has a major creative writing graduate program, with visiting instructors like Tim O'Brien and Dagoberto Gilb, there are also many famous guest lecturers. However, the Texas State Library's modern fiction collection does not reflect the talent from the program. In fact, when the author Aimee Bender came to speak and present, the library did not have a single copy of her books. To remedy this situation, I have volunteered to go through short story, poetry and fiction indexes to determine which books we have and which books we need to flesh out the collection. I request the books through the library's online request form, and the books will be ordered. This project has awakened in me an interest in collection development that I was previously unaware of. It is exciting to be involved in developing a dynamic collection of literature. Now I wonder how I could become involved in collection development. What kind of training and experience do I need to be successful in collection development. Naturally I took a course on collection development in library school, but surely I need more training than that. Perhaps another masters decree so I can specialize, or are there general collection development librarians? With so much good information about books out there, and the advice of faculty it seems like you would not have to be very specialized to create a good collection. Hmm.
The second project that I am working on is for the University Archives. I am going through the University's morgue files, that is, files with news and information about employees, visitors and others connected with the University in some way. I am scanning all documents and 2 photos from each file in order to create digital files that can be accessed for ready reference. This project is fun and interesting and it even requires some independent thought and problem solving ability, so I have been excited to work on it. So far I have just been rehousing the files in acid free folders, but I plan on beginning the scanning process next week. I like that I have the opportunity to use my preservation and special collections training. I am considering attending a digital preservation seminar in November, in Seattle presented by the NEDCC.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
A little background....
I graduated in August from the University of North Texas's School of Library and Information Science. While attending UNT, I worked as a student assistant and then a graduate assistant in the Preservation Department for the UNT Libraries. I have to say that my job as a graduate assistant there was my favorite job that I have ever held. I enjoyed the opportunities for problem solving and creativity that it afforded me.
As a graduate assistant my duties included the evaulation and repair of books from the Libraries' general collection (Rare Books had their own preservation and conservation squad). Repairs ranged from erasing pencil marks or mending torn pages to replacing the spine or creating protective housing. My boss, Ann Marie, was very hands on at the beginning, but she started letting me do more and more on my own as my skills improved. Ann Marie was also one of the best bosses I've ever had. She was very organized and she always let me know which projects were priorities. In addition she gave me the freedom to make repair decisions for myself, and she challenged me with different types of preservation projects. Such as creating a database to record scraps from a scrapbook, or making it possible for digital projects to scan some very brittle news papers.
During this time, I also volunteered my time to the Rare Books Room at UNT. Where I worked on several preservation and conservation projects, including preserving World War II posters and helping to clean and reconstruct a book from the 18th century. I worked with two great people there, Mary who was head of Rare Books and Edward who was head cataloguer. Both these people were wonderful to work with and learn from (I took several classes from each) as they were very knowledgeable on a wide range of topics realated to rare books and special collections.
When I graduated, I began looking for work in the Austin area for personal reasons. Central Texas, in general is not the best place to look for work because everyone, it seems, wants to live here. If I had had a choice, I would have looked outside the area, but that is how things worked out. So I applied for every library related job I came across, and I had about 4 interviews. One with San Antonio Public Library, one with the State of Texas, one with Austin Public Library and finally Texas State University Library. Only one of the positions I interviewed for was a professional library position (San Antonio), and I think they could tell my heart wasn't in public libraries, though I feel strongly about the services that public libraries provide. So I was hired as a Library Assistant II in the Periodicals department at Texas State's Alkek Library.
I wish that I could have found a professional librarian position, and I still look at the job postings on a weekly basis (More on the lack of pro positions in a later posting). But in the mean time, I'm getting some good reference experience and I'm building my resume in other ways as well (more on that later also). I do miss using my preservation skills, and I try to keep them up by repairing some damaged books at home. I hope to one day continue my education in preservation by completeing at preservation administration course of study.
As a graduate assistant my duties included the evaulation and repair of books from the Libraries' general collection (Rare Books had their own preservation and conservation squad). Repairs ranged from erasing pencil marks or mending torn pages to replacing the spine or creating protective housing. My boss, Ann Marie, was very hands on at the beginning, but she started letting me do more and more on my own as my skills improved. Ann Marie was also one of the best bosses I've ever had. She was very organized and she always let me know which projects were priorities. In addition she gave me the freedom to make repair decisions for myself, and she challenged me with different types of preservation projects. Such as creating a database to record scraps from a scrapbook, or making it possible for digital projects to scan some very brittle news papers.
During this time, I also volunteered my time to the Rare Books Room at UNT. Where I worked on several preservation and conservation projects, including preserving World War II posters and helping to clean and reconstruct a book from the 18th century. I worked with two great people there, Mary who was head of Rare Books and Edward who was head cataloguer. Both these people were wonderful to work with and learn from (I took several classes from each) as they were very knowledgeable on a wide range of topics realated to rare books and special collections.
When I graduated, I began looking for work in the Austin area for personal reasons. Central Texas, in general is not the best place to look for work because everyone, it seems, wants to live here. If I had had a choice, I would have looked outside the area, but that is how things worked out. So I applied for every library related job I came across, and I had about 4 interviews. One with San Antonio Public Library, one with the State of Texas, one with Austin Public Library and finally Texas State University Library. Only one of the positions I interviewed for was a professional library position (San Antonio), and I think they could tell my heart wasn't in public libraries, though I feel strongly about the services that public libraries provide. So I was hired as a Library Assistant II in the Periodicals department at Texas State's Alkek Library.
I wish that I could have found a professional librarian position, and I still look at the job postings on a weekly basis (More on the lack of pro positions in a later posting). But in the mean time, I'm getting some good reference experience and I'm building my resume in other ways as well (more on that later also). I do miss using my preservation skills, and I try to keep them up by repairing some damaged books at home. I hope to one day continue my education in preservation by completeing at preservation administration course of study.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Professional Blog
I created this blog to document my journey as a professional librarian. I have had a personal blog for about a year, but I felt I needed some place to record my professional successes, frustrations and share information related to my field. I don't know that anyone will actually read this blog, but I feel it will be a constructive way for me to plan for the future. I will ask lots of questions, and I welcome advice from anyone who happens across my humble blog.
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