Last Week

The last two weeks two library instruction pages were coded into Front Page for Psychology and Speech. They were transferred to the librarian in charge of the library web site. Barring any technical problems, I hope that they are helpful.

The next project to be accomplished was a plan for shifting the reference section of the library. In order to have a plan, I felt it important to have a map. Since my Mac has the best draw program I have ever used, the older laptop iBook accompanied me to the library for a few days until I had the reference section drawn in detail. This enabled me to carry the map around with me as I planned what the shifting should accomplish and where everything should go. This was a proposal, the actual shifting will be done at a later date by student aides. There is a need to have quite a bit more space at the beginning of the LC classification as there is "no room in the inn" for the new titles and recent acquisitions. This task was finished and there was still time to file two rows of new books and reference sets that had been waiting for a home at the back of the reference desk.

There were two BI sessions my last week, one was a library scavenger hunt for a Bridges class and another was for nursing students. I was not familiar with the medical reference sources, so that was quite an informative session to observe. The staff enjoyed bagels that I brought in the last day of my practicum and it was also the last day of the summer semester for the librarians and professors. The other staff members work over the semester break. This is a great library and it was a fantastic experience for my last class in my MSLIS. Thanks to all the great staff who helped me out while I was there.

Acquisitions & Technical Services

The last week or so, the downstairs part of the library has been my work area. Working alongside acquisitions, I was amazed at how they put the orders and information directly into Voyager as it is an integrated system. The number of serials processed in a college library is incredible. The student aides provide very valuable help in this regard.

After that, I spent some time in weeding and deleting books in Voyager, processing new books and some cataloging and looking up visual materials in OCLC. This was a welcome assignment as I got to use a section of OCLC Connexion that I do not normally use in my middle school. Michelle from my 753 class works here and gave me some really great assignments. An entire cart of DVDs required records printed and for another cart, I added call numbers. Since there was a student aide missing, I was also able to process some audio/visual materials. They have a unique system whereby an empty case goes out for browsing and the materials are stored behind circulation for check out. This results in two pieces being processed, but it makes sense in this facility. I got some good ideas about processing and marking materials in a better way in my home library.

Circulation & Information

Last week I worked all over the circulation department and worked shifts at the information desk. Navigating Voyager and learning where everything goes was a major part of my week. The double checking before items are shelved is a very helpful tip that I will take back to my home library. Items on reserve are divided into various areas: nursing, sign language, telecourses, textbooks, articles and even tests. Overdue notices are done each day and blocks have to be placed and removed from student accounts as things are cleared or charges are paid. Student IDs sometimes need to be verified from another online program to be sure that they are registered and able to check materials out.

Interlibrary loan materials were checked in and out and patrons were called as their materials became available. With a holiday in the middle of the week, things were a little bit jumbled up, but we were busy in fits and starts. So far, my favorite parts of working here are the instruction sessions and helping patrons find information or do their research. The college has a large staff and many student aides work here in the summer. They have both full-time and part-time (adjunct) librarians and spending time in each department is fascinating. This is a very different environment from a middle school school library where the librarian and assistant are the entire department. I'm very grateful to have such an interesting place to do my practicum.

First Week

Thursday night seemed quite slow but working at the reference desk is a difference pace from school librarianship. There were many questions about checking out dictionaries for ESL students, so I have learned where those are in the library quite well. I was able to answer an Illinois teacher certification testing question. My Dominican ID was acceptable to use to check out a book from their library, so the reciprocity is a nice feature. All in all I have learned quite a bit from only one week in their library. I am looking forward to seeing what days are like now that school is out for the summer.

First Day

This week, my practicum involves racing from my "day job" to a nearby college to work at the reference desk beside an expert. I also shelved three carts of new acquisitions and replaced some older volumes. I answered some questions, found some books while navigating the LC System which I do not know nearly as well as Dewey. These were very interesting days, but I found it incredible that most questions the first few days were about trying to avoid buying the texts for classes. Some of the students expect the library to provide textbooks for their courses. These seems incredible to me as I cannot imagine NOT being prepared for my classes.

I sat in on a bibliographic instruction lesson on how to give an informative speech and learned a great deal about some databases I had not encountered before. I was fascinated by the World News Digest and the article about the military trying to censor soldier's blogs and postings for security purposes. My supervisor offered to let me take copies of all the BI handouts they have but since I am SOOO tired being here until 9 p.m. when I start school at 7:00 a.m., I will wait to look at those until later in the process.

On other fronts, my regular school is ending on Friday and the college is closed on Friday, so I will be able to get a little rest, as long as I get the middle school library all closed by then.