ALA StudentChapter Meeting

This month ‘s speaker will be Anne Wade from the Pebble Hill Plantation. She will be speaking to us about using your MLIS in archiving and museum

work. Distance students can watch at http://webcast.cci.fsu.edu and join in on the discussion in the ALA

SC Bb chatroom by clicking Open Meeting Chat and selecting this month.

Join the ALA Student Chapter !

Sign into Blackboard•Click the Organizations tab•In Organization Catalog, click Student •Organization/OtherInName-Containsfield,enterALAStu-•dent Chapter

Click Enroll!•

To join the student chapter, you must be a member of ALA

Friday, October 21st Goldstein Library, Gregory

Room

After Meeting Event

After our meeting we will head over to Kiku Japanese Fusion on Thomasville Road. Check out their menu athttp://www.kikufl.com/. Join us for food and drinks.

If would like to attend our after meeting excursion, please indicate your interest in an email to Kellee Francis at kf10h@fsu.edu. We hope to see you there!

October 2011Chapter News

http://ala.ci.fsu.edu/

It isn’t old news that having technology skills are important. However, time and time again, I no-tice some pretty distinct trends amongst students both within SLIS and in other MLIS programs throughout the United States: 1. Folks entering and graduating from the program lack rudimen-tary computer skills and/or 2. Very few people are keeping up with the times.

No one is suggesting that librarians must know or understand all of the new technologies that our amazing world has to offer. What is important is that when librarians spanning from genera-tions Y, Z and beyond recognize a service need that their customers have (or will have), they should always be prepared to find out what technologies can fill that need and which ones will best satisfy their library’s mission.

Adaptation is key to every library’s mission! But what type of technical skills does one need to become a savvy information professional today? I do believe that is a tough question to answer. Specific skills will vary depending on type of library one works in, will vary by departments within a library, will also vary from library to library – and will most definitely change rapidly. Most libraries do not have a tech support person in the building during their operating hours (given that many do not have one in the building at all). This means that every librarian/infor-mation professional should have a good grasp of basic computer troubleshooting skills.

Here are some technical skills that I believe, in my humble opinion, should add to their arsenal if they are working in a library:

• Basic knowledge of a personal computer - knowledge of file folder structure – how to save and retrieve documents (including how to organize) – how to navigate between folders – knowledge of network folders vs. local folders – how to add a network drive – how to add printers – differ-ence between local printers vs. network printers – knowledge of how to delete items and empty trash – knowledge of different file formats & ability to recognize virus files

•Internet knowledge- how to search the web – what the internet is vs. what the world wide web is – good searching habits – knowledge of spyware and how it can disable a computer – how to use various browsers including IE, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Netscape and others – what a URL is – what the format of a URL is – knowledge of domain name structure – knowledge about pop-up blockers & how to disable them – idea of what can and cannot be found on the internet – what is the notion of precision vs. recall

• Software knowledge- Microsoft Office products and other alternatives, anti-virus software, personal firewall software – ftp – telnet – HTML editors – basic ability to understand your op-erating system (OS) – knowledge of what (OS) you have on your computer – knowledge of how to figure out what (OS) others have – ability to test & learn new software (librarians are often asked to troubleshoot any program installed on library computers), in depth knowledge of email software – understanding of POP3 vs. iMAP

Technology Skills: A Librarian’s NecessityBy: Kellee Francis

This summer I was in England!

Yes with non-other than FSU’s School of Library and Information Studies - London Multimedia Abroad program taught by Dr. Everhart. The program was geared for librarians who are interested in learning various media and design skills that can be applied to working in libraries.

The graduate courses covered in this program were LIS5313 Digital Media: Concepts and Production and LIS5362 Design & Production of Network Multimedia. While studying abroad in London, England students get to stay in the heart of central London, minutes away from the British Museum, The British Library, and a few steps away by Tube- Subway to Big Ben, Parliament and The Famous London Eye!

Another perk of staying in Central London was how close by the theatres, restaurants and pubs were not to mention most of London’s Universities and colleges are also situated mainly in this area.

Over the entire program was very well structured there were daily class meetings, assigned readings, projects and assignments. One of the biggest perks was how we were able to use our own data for our projects, for example we created our own blogs where later we would submit our multimedia and design projects to.

On our daily class meetings we would visit historical sites in London accom-panied by knowledgeable tour guides also known as “blue badge tour guides”. These guides are trained to give the most accurate history of the areas of London they specialize in. Aside from being so knowledgeable they also have wonderful personalities.

Overall, ssudying abroad this summer not only gave me a chance to learn Design and Production of Multimedia with London as a back drop, but it also gave me the opportunity to meet the most interesting and intelligent group of students I have ever met. I was amazed at how much knowledge diversity we had in our program. Being able to share my experience of being in another country while studying with such a wonderful group of people made my experience even more enjoyable.

For my last thoughts I want to share a reflection of mine from my blog of how I felt when I had just arrived to London. “Upon arriving to London I remem-ber being welcomed by the program director with a statement I will never forget, “Welcome to London, are you now ready to embrace the difference?”, it was those very words that made think I really had made it all that far and that I was about to not only study abroad learning things that I will apply in my future career but, that just as I entered I was going leave with the experience that I had visited another country, ate their food, and most importantly embraced their culture.”

Vanessa Reyes is a soon-to-be-graduate from CCI SLIS. She is currently in her last semester and is looking forward to furtherpursuing her career by startingher phD search. If you have any questions for her, send her a note at vr10e@fsu.edu.

My International Study Abroad Experience Summer 2011

By: Vanessa Reyes

• Networking knowledge- what is the network? – what do you need to put a computer on a network? (network interface card & data cable) – wireless net-works – how to connect to wireless on PCs with various operating systems & on a mac – how to determine if internet connectivity problems are network problems, computer problems or web site failures – what is an IP address? - some knowl-edge of the following concepts: DNS (internal & external), NAT (network address translation), VPN (virtual private network) – what is a proxy server & the basics of how it works

• Hardware knowledge- familiarity with your CPU – understanding where your USB/Firewire port is – understanding of into where your mouse, keyboard & monitor & possibly barcode scanner plug- familiarity with laptops, tablets & PDAs – knowledge of mp3 players & iPods – familiarity with printers & how to trouble-shoot printing problems – knowledge of thumb drives/flash drives – knowledge of projectors

• Other Computer Concepts – Ability to troubleshoot basic computer problems – primary computer user is the first line of defense for their own computer – knowledge of how to reboot, soft and hard boots, and when to use them – ability to clearly articulate and define computer problems

Ultimately, it comes down to the individual. However, it is extremely important, es-pecially in today’s job market, for everyone to obtain enough technical know-how in order to escalate a problem and in the right direction and in the right amount of time.

Signing off my soapbox.

P.S.

Here are three links to my favorite blogs on this subject:

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/07/17/skills-for-the-21st-century-librarian/

http://www.bohyunkim.net/blog/archives/1319

http://opencoverletters.com/

Enjoy!

Kellee Francis is a Fourth Semester SLIS studentand Systems Graduate Assistant with University Libraries at Strozierkf10h@my.fsu.edu

Don’t hesitate to send her an email with any questions!

Technology SkillsContinued...

Spotlight On...

“No major introduction needed here, as a picture is worth a thousand words. Here we take a look at someofthemostmagnificentuniversitylibraries

across the country. Comfort and atmosphere play a huge role in getting in a quality study session. The

problem is that some of these libraries are so beauti-ful that they almost become too distracting to study

in.” --Campus Grotto

Beautiful College Libraries

Chapter News

Monthly Blog Alert: “I graduated from a top library school.” Yeah, so what?

Get Involved! ALA Student Chapter

CI ALA Student Chapter

http:// ala.ci.fsu.edu

Have and ideas, articles, news, question? Email your officers.

Harper Library - University of Chicago

Powell Library - UCLA

And, for more beautiful college libraries, visit the following website:

http://www.campusgrotto.com/most-beautiful-college-libraries.html

Joe Hardenbrook, Mr. Library Dude, July 2011http://mrlibrarydude.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/i-graduated-from-a-top-library-school-yeah-so-what/

1.Libraryschool:ifyouhavethetime/moneytofindaschoolthat“fits”you,thenbyallmeans. However, it’s completely OK to just pick the in-state/cheapest option. A library school is a library school is a library school.

2. If you have not worked in a library before attending library school, why are you making suchasalargefinancialcommitmentforacareerthatyouhavenoexperiencein?A“love”ofbooks and “I like to read” won’t cut it.

3. Oh, I keep mentioning experience. Yes, it’s that IMPORTANT! Before you graduate with your MLS, get some experience as a student worker, a grad assistant, paraprofessional, internship, practicum, or volunteer work. Get as much experience as you can.

4. If you are unable to do the above, you are really limiting your options. You will need to decide whether this is even a viable career for you.

5. I don’t really care what library school course grades/GPA you have. Just get your degree and focus on getting some experience.

6. Get a mentor! Someone who is a working librarian. Not a library school professor who hasn’t worked in libraries for 20 years.

7.Geographicflexibility:Iunderstandthatnoteveryonecan(orwants)tomoveacrosscoun-try for a job. Just be aware that you may be severely limiting your options. Again, you need to decide if the expense of library school is worth it, if you are not geographically mobile.

8. You need to market yourself. Librarians/librarians-to-be need to stop thinking of marketing asan“icky”term.Youneedawebpresence(website,e-portfolio,Twitteraccountetc.)topromote your abilities.

9. Do not wait until graduation to start applying for jobs! Start a few months in advance. Manylibraries(especiallyacademiclibraries)havealonghiringprocess.Ihaveworkedinlibraries where we have hired people in their last month, and even last semester, of library school for professional librarian positions.

Lastly:Don’tblamelibraryschoolifyoucannotfindaprofessionaljob.Youareaninforma-tionprofessional.Didyounotresearchthestateofthejobmarket?

Student Chapter OfficersEvent Coordinator: Open Position

Webmaster: Kelly Glazekeg02f@fsu.edu

Newsletter Editor: Kellee Franciskf10h@my.fsu.edu

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christie Koontzchristie.koontz@cci.fsu.edu

President: John Hinrichsjjh10g@fsu.edu

Vice President: Allison George amg4099@fsu.edu

Secretary: Halley Earwoodhme09@fsu.edu

Treasurer: Laura Clark lkp09c@my.fsu.edu