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The monthly newsletter of Florida State University's College of Information American Library Association student chapter.
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ALA StudentChapter Meeting
This month ‘s speaker will be Ebrahim Randeree, Assistant Instructor for CCI, and faculty advisor for
AITP. His research focus is in Health Informatics. 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/OtherIn Name-Contains field, enter ALA Stu-•dent Chapter
Click Enroll!•
To join the student chapter, you must be a member of ALA
Friday, April 15thGoldstein Library, Gregory
Room
After Meeting Event
After our meeting we will head over Essence of India located on Apalachee Pkwy and Magnolia Dr. in the New Leaf shopping plaza.Check out their menu at http://www.essen-ceofindiafl.com/. Join us for food and drinks.
If would like to attend our after meeting excur-sion, please indicate your interest in an email to Robyn Rosasco at [email protected]. We hope to see you there!
April 2011Chapter News
http://ala.ci.fsu.edu/
One of the best parts of moving to London has been the getting-to-know-you phase – whether it’s involved exploring alleyways, taking joyrides on the tube or getting lost in Harrods. As the library intern at the FSU London Study Centre, I’ve also had the chance to get acquainted with the city through the lens of second-hand bookshops, museum libraries, and free speech rallies. With this in mind, here is a quick tour of London from the perspective of an American librarian-in-training.
Oxfam Books: Oxfam is the not-so-final resting place of much of the library’s weeded items. The books that we can’t sell on Amazon Marketplace get boxed up and walked down to Oxfam, a shop with a book crammed into every avail-able surface. Book donations have also given me a chance to explore other second-hand stores in London, including Skoob Books and Gay’s the Word, London’s only LGBT bookshop.
The British Film Institute Library: Working in a one-room library means we can’t collect everything our students may need. To this end, part of my time is spent writing guides for other London libraries. Occasionally, I’ve gone down to the library itself to check things out. One such library serves the British Film Insti-tute – a blast from the past with its chunky PC monitors and wall of card catalog drawers. But the librarians have the art of closed stacks down to a science, and keep a collection that includes video that can’t be found anywhere else.
The Ethics Society: Conway Hall on Red Lion Square houses a narrow, wood-fronted building that doesn’t look like much at first glance. However, a closer looks shows a building that once housed lectures by Freud and Lacan, and now forms a stage for protest against the muffling of Wikileaks and drastic funding cuts for British libraries. The Ethics Society meetings have been an interesting window into the London public’s relationship with its libraries and censorship.
Interning in London has been by turns exciting, intimidating and thought-pro-voking, but it has never been dull. If you have any interest in working or study-ing abroad, FSU offers library internships in London and Florence. For more information on the programs and how to apply, check out the London Study Center website, or contact Dr. Christie Koontz at [email protected].
Living in London: the Life of a Library InternBy: Teresa Nesbitt
Library studies covers such a wide field of work. This month I reached out to Lyssa Oberkreser, Administrator of the Panhandle Public Library Coopera-tive System. She works for an organization that includes 14 libraries and one bookmobile in Calhoun, Jackson, Holmes and Washington counties in Florida. These are counties that are considered “Rural Areas of Critical Eco-nomic Concern” as designated by the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development.
What is the nature of your work?
As the single administrative head, I am the only professional within the Co-op who has a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. The individual counties cannot afford to pay the salary for an MLS in each library, so by being members of the Cooperative, they are still eligible to receive State Aid and LSTA [Library Services and Technology Act] grants because I have the MLS required to receive such funding.
I report to a 12-member governing board and serve as the default IT person, SirsiDynix administrator, webmaster, grant-writer, training coordinator, and library advocate. I research policies and library innovation and report back to the Board for approval of new projects and planning strategies. And then there’s the budget, the long-range plans, technology plans, Internet safety curriculum, and a myriad of other planning and evaluating procedures that must be completed each year. We measure time by report deadlines.
Is there any special project you’re working on now that you’d like to high-light?
I just completed applying for an LSTA grant that would provide training, staff and additional resources for E-Government services in our communities. I re-cently attended Library Day at the Capitol and spoke to our Legislators about retaining funding for libraries in the state budget. This is a fight every year, so being an advocate for libraries is important for the future of our careers and our communities. Visit http://www.flalib.org/advocacy_tools.php for details.
Are there any resources that could help students pursuing this kind of work?
The outlook for our career is quite dire at the moment. But the older librar-ians will soon retire and the next generation of information professionals will need to step up with advanced technological and social networking skills. Innovation is the key to our survival. Libraries are constantly evolving and it takes dedicated professionals who aren’t afraid of change to make magic happen for our patrons.
My best advice for students is to be as active in the library world as possible. Be an advocate; join FLA, ALA, and any other professional library organization that pertains to your specific genre. Join committees and show your leader-ship skills from the get-go. I graduated from the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science in 1999, and I am still in close contact with most of my colleagues. I am a member of FLA, ALA and Beta Phi Mu, the International Library and Information Studies Honor Society. Confer-ences are a great place for keeping up to date on library trends, networking and catching up with your peers. You will get out of your career what you put into it. Go forth and conquer!
Justin de la Cruz is an Administrative Assistant for the FSU HistoryDepartment. He is in his second semester and will be travelling to Florence, Italy in August to intern at FSU’s Study Center Library. Contact him with questions or ideas at: [email protected].
What Can I Do With My MLIS?
There’s more to Goldstein than checking in those books and journals you need to complete your end of semester projects. Join us for these Goldstein Happenings in AprilApril 7th 1-2 p.m. (in The CAVE) Booklist Webinar: Tackling Tough Topics in Books for Youth. Find-ing ways to talk to children and teens about tough issues, from the Holocaust to contemporary racism, can be daunting. Booklist YA editor Gillian Engberg hosts a panel discussing high-quality youth literature that can help young people expand their awareness and start discussions on challenging subjects. Attendees will hear the perspectives of a publisher, an author, a youth-literature professor, and an educational consultant, and they will also have the opportunity to connect with panelists by submitting questions and comments of their own.
April 10-16: National Library WeekDisplays throughout the library, librarian and storytelling themed films in The CAVE, snacks, and contest for creating your own Goldstein story to win magnetic poetry from ALA. See our Facebook page for details.
Monday, April 11th: 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Episodes from Season 1 of Buffy theVampire Slayer
Tuesday, April 12th: 1:30 Create Your Own Snack: Library Stacks w/Lemonade2 – 3 p.m.: The Call of Story
Wednesday, April 13th: Noon to 1:30: Save & Burn1:30: Create Your Own Snack: Library Chow w/Lemonade
Thursday, April 14th: 2 - 4 p.m.: The Hollywood Librarian
Friday, April 15th: 10 – 11:30 a.m. Party Girl1 - 3: SLC Ice Cream Sandwich Social2 – 4 p.m. : Desk Set
April 20th 2-3 p.m. (in The CAVE) PLAN Webinar: Books and Boys Though boys have been behind girls in nearly every subject for more than thirty years, many teachers and librarians are still struggling to find the key to encouraging boys to read. This webinar will cover the special issues faced in reaching boys through books. Research on early teen and tween boys will provide participants with a glimpse into the differing needs of boys, how they learn and how to captivate boys through outreach, programs (including after school and summer reading programs), readers advisory, book talks, and other ways to utilize course resources that will get boys reading at your library.
April 22-29: Goldstein Library Better World Books End of Semester Book DriveHave some books at home that you’re looking to unload? Drop them off at Goldstein Library (or strategic boxes located throughout the Shores Building. Your donation will both benefit the library and contribute to a “global bookstore that harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world.” April 24-30: Preservation WeekStop by the library (virtually or in-person) for displays and resource lists addressing the impor-tant issue of preservation for information professionals. According to the American Library Asso-ciation “Some 630 million items in collecting institutions require immediate attention and care. Eighty percent of these institutions have no paid staff assigned responsibility for collections care; 22 percent have no collections care personnel at all.” Great opportunity to learn something new!
April 28 Noon – 2 p.m.: Diffendoofer Day (a la Goldstein)A fun end- of- the- semester celebration inspired by the last book written by esteemed children’s author Dr. Seuss. Make sure to stop by for pizza and cake and library goodness.
And as always: we’re here for you locally and virtually; 850 644-1803, skype: Goldstein.library, Facebook and Twitter…[email protected]
Pam Doffek is Director and University Librarian of the Harold Goldstein Library in the Shores Building.
Got Goldstein?Brought to you by Pam Doffek, Leila Gibradze and the Great Goldstein GA’S!!!
Spotlight On...
Jon Hollister is a Gradu-ate Assistant at Goldstein Library, a SLIS Graduate
Research Assistant, and the Vice President of the FSU
ALA Student Chapter . He will begin his PhD prgram
in the fall.
Jon Hollister
Chapter News
How to “Hack” Libray SchoolBy: Micah Vandegrift
Get Involved!Blackboard Organizations: ALA Student Chapter
Goldtsein Library on Facebook
Online at: http:// ala.ci.fsu.edu
Follow us on Twitter @ FSUStudentALA
Have ideas, articles, news, question? Email your officers.
What will your research focus be for your PhD: Everything? No? Fine. I’m interested in assessing information literacy skills development and evaluating curricula to see whether or not these skills are being taught and utilized, especially in our own field. It is imperative that we, as information profes-sionals and librarians, have these skills - our success and livelihood depend on them.
Where are you from: I hail from Hastings, Michigan; which is located in the Southwestern portion of the mitten.
How long have you been at FSU:Since August of 2009.
What degrees do you have, and where did you study: West-ern Michigan University with a major in Biological Sciences and minors in Mathematics and Chemistry.
Favorite course: Easily Introduction to Information Services taught by Dr. Latham. This class will help develop and famil-iarize you with the skills and resources needed to excel as an information professional, librarian and graduate student. Although, Dr. Koontz’s Storytelling and Dr. Tripp’s Multicul-tural Literature and Information Resources for Youth were both enlightening, engaging and, dare I say, fun!
What are you reading now: Besides required course materi-als, I’ve been reading some short stories by H.G. Wells like The Door in the Wall and The Sea Raiders. I also have a stack of books on my nightstand waiting to be read (some of them for a second time) that includes Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and Origin of Spe-cies by my pal Chuck D.
What do you do for fun: Read, of course, but I also enjoy tennis (if you’re local and want to play, let me know!), rock out listening to metal (Parkway Drive’s Deep Blue currently on rotation), or slaying dragons and stun-locking some poor sap in my current MMO of choice.
Favorite place in Tally: Goldstein Library, or anywhere with AC.
Words of wisdom for students: To paraphrase Tool’s song Schism, “find beauty in the dissonance.”
Not so long ago I wrote an article for this very newsletter titled “What I’ve learned in Library School (So Far).” Two semesters into the program, I was captured by the variety of methods for approaching Library and Information studies. Now, at the culmination of my time as an MLIS student at FSU, I’m excited about what I have yet to learn in the working world. It is with that in mind that I offer some tips on how to “hack” library school, the job search, and the profession.
The most valuable thing I learned wasn’t taught in a classroom (well… in Elluminate). Coursework, lectures and projects will only get one so far; the real value of education is when you take it into your own hands and make it relevant to your life and interests. For me, it took the form of an idea, inspired by some professors and academics that I followed online who took it upon themselves to create a community and share ideas in a collaborative way. Their project was called “Hacking the Academy,” mine became Hack Library School. The basic idea is the same; it is the responsibility of the community to own, change and build whatever is important to them.
So, I wrote an article for a peer-reviewed library blog. I spent a lot of time talking (mostly online) with my colleagues - LIS students - about what mattered in our education, and what needed to change. I read a lot. I wrote a lot more. I made connections with others who felt the same way (that our education was our responsibility), and we launched a group blog aptly titled HackLibSchool that has been recognized by LISnews, ALA JobList Direct, Kim Dority’s Infonista blog and more. And now, I feel confident that my developing voice in the LIS community matters, although I have plenty left to learn, and that peers and colleagues respect my ideas and opinions about transliteracy, Digital Humanities and alternative careers for LIS students.
I meant this to be a nice little essay about how to leverage an online presence into a successful job hunt, but you can read that in plenty of places around the web. What I’ve learned in library school is that coursework will probably not prepare you for the work-force, group projects can be frustrating (especially all online), and that one way or the other, like it nor not, technology and technological skills are going to define our profes-sion in the near future. However, what I learned through becoming actively engaged with ideas and conversations about LIS is far more valuable; that what we do matters (in school and beyond!), that challenging work situations make the end product better, and that technology offers the possibility to influence the future of the information professions. So pay attention in Dr. Tripp’s Digital Media: Concepts and Production Class. I’m poised and ready to get a job based solely on the fact that I’m “good at the internet.” And that is how I hacked library school.
Student Chapter OfficersEvent Coordinator: Robyn [email protected]
Webmaster: Juan [email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Suzanne [email protected]
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christie [email protected]
President: Rebecca [email protected]
Vice President: Jon [email protected]
Secretary: Joseph [email protected]
Treasurer: John Hinrichs [email protected]
