Friday, November 25, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Taking this week off from writing to gear up for the end of the semester. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Connecting Developments - Detroit Center
Last week was busy and exciting for many reasons. On Wednesday, I visited another library, which I wrote about here and Thursday I had a chance to go to the Detroit Center, a UM-sponsored center downtown that houses UM projects such as UM Semester in Detroit, School of Social Work Technical Assistance, the Ginsberg Center, and many more that you can read about on their website.
The work at the Detroit Center is something in which I'll be engaged through May 2012. As part of my internship, I'm required to commit to a project in my second year of my graduate program that not only enhances my own professional development, but also helps fulfill a need in the library. I've always been interested in outreach and knew that the outreach librarians here at UM were doing interesting work. Once I learned more about their goals and projects, and started thinking more about my higher education degree, I was even more excited to work with them.
The library is at the Detroit Center to provide research assistance to the projects. Part of the work we're doing now is thinking about how to connect the correct librarian to the appropriate project. It's exciting to see things coming together. Other goals for the library at the Detroit Center include providing resources for grants, and helping the project leaders think about how they can use library resources to enhance their work.
This relates to my visit to the nearby academic library last week in one direct way. One of the Dean's visions was to create more partnerships and collaborations. UM is not perfect and thus one of my career goals is to create more partnerships between university libraries, university resources, and the surrounding communities that need them. The Detroit Center is a great example of how this is happening NOW and has a lot of potential to develop further.
The work at the Detroit Center is something in which I'll be engaged through May 2012. As part of my internship, I'm required to commit to a project in my second year of my graduate program that not only enhances my own professional development, but also helps fulfill a need in the library. I've always been interested in outreach and knew that the outreach librarians here at UM were doing interesting work. Once I learned more about their goals and projects, and started thinking more about my higher education degree, I was even more excited to work with them.
The library is at the Detroit Center to provide research assistance to the projects. Part of the work we're doing now is thinking about how to connect the correct librarian to the appropriate project. It's exciting to see things coming together. Other goals for the library at the Detroit Center include providing resources for grants, and helping the project leaders think about how they can use library resources to enhance their work.
This relates to my visit to the nearby academic library last week in one direct way. One of the Dean's visions was to create more partnerships and collaborations. UM is not perfect and thus one of my career goals is to create more partnerships between university libraries, university resources, and the surrounding communities that need them. The Detroit Center is a great example of how this is happening NOW and has a lot of potential to develop further.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Continual Professional Development
Professional practice means something different with each new professional development. This week, I had the valuable opportunity to visit another academic library, talk with their instruction coordinator, observe an instructional session, and have a conversation with the library's Dean. Having only spent time at the University of Michigan Library and one public library, this experience was both eye-opening and a great lesson learned.
Each of the pieces of my visit to the other university library was worthwhile in it's own way. The discussion with the instruction coordinator allowed me to peer into the inner-workings of how another library structures it's staff and views instruction. The instructional observation showed me how an actual lesson was constructed and executed at another library. The conversation with the Dean provided me with an inside view of an administrator's priorities and vision for the changing world of academia from the perspective of libraries and higher education.
The structure of this other academic library was very different from UM's library. The staff there are tenure-track faculty which allows them different challenges and opportunities within their work. The person I spoke with discussed their own goals and the goals of the instructional staff, but said that because there is no supervisor telling them what to do, that they have a lot of freedom in their positions and can focus on what they feel is important.
Another interesting piece of our discussion focused on the instructional goals that this librarian identified. Information literacy came up several times in the conversation which led me to believe that this was a large focus for his/her work. Additionally, the focus for this person's work was on the research process and helping students understand that process, as well as sources, in a more embedded way meaning that they believed the focus should not be on "one-shot workshops" but rather on intentional learning that included follow up.
The instructional observation also provided me a different view of this type of work. The instructional session was held in a large lab and the instructor "took over" the computers because there was not a large projection screen on which to show the demonstrations. There was time left over for students to work on their research while the instructor floated around.
The conversation with the Dean was very interesting to me, as I like to take a big picture view of situations. Without revealing too much, the focus of her/his vision was on partnerships and collaborations. They believe that the future success of libraries on university or college campuses depends on this. For me, this was exciting because it's exactly what I want to do in my career.
I probably could have written about 10 pages of reflection after my visit yesterday in conjunction with my visit today to the Detroit Center (which I'll focus on connecting next week) but for now I'll leave it at this and the overall value add to my professional development. The greatest lesson I learned was how continually learning and expanding my view of libraries and higher education can only enhance my career. The networking is key, yes, but especially because it's a great way to see what's going on on the ground in these fields which will continue to inform my work as I move forward.
Each of the pieces of my visit to the other university library was worthwhile in it's own way. The discussion with the instruction coordinator allowed me to peer into the inner-workings of how another library structures it's staff and views instruction. The instructional observation showed me how an actual lesson was constructed and executed at another library. The conversation with the Dean provided me with an inside view of an administrator's priorities and vision for the changing world of academia from the perspective of libraries and higher education.
The structure of this other academic library was very different from UM's library. The staff there are tenure-track faculty which allows them different challenges and opportunities within their work. The person I spoke with discussed their own goals and the goals of the instructional staff, but said that because there is no supervisor telling them what to do, that they have a lot of freedom in their positions and can focus on what they feel is important.
Another interesting piece of our discussion focused on the instructional goals that this librarian identified. Information literacy came up several times in the conversation which led me to believe that this was a large focus for his/her work. Additionally, the focus for this person's work was on the research process and helping students understand that process, as well as sources, in a more embedded way meaning that they believed the focus should not be on "one-shot workshops" but rather on intentional learning that included follow up.
The instructional observation also provided me a different view of this type of work. The instructional session was held in a large lab and the instructor "took over" the computers because there was not a large projection screen on which to show the demonstrations. There was time left over for students to work on their research while the instructor floated around.
The conversation with the Dean was very interesting to me, as I like to take a big picture view of situations. Without revealing too much, the focus of her/his vision was on partnerships and collaborations. They believe that the future success of libraries on university or college campuses depends on this. For me, this was exciting because it's exactly what I want to do in my career.
I probably could have written about 10 pages of reflection after my visit yesterday in conjunction with my visit today to the Detroit Center (which I'll focus on connecting next week) but for now I'll leave it at this and the overall value add to my professional development. The greatest lesson I learned was how continually learning and expanding my view of libraries and higher education can only enhance my career. The networking is key, yes, but especially because it's a great way to see what's going on on the ground in these fields which will continue to inform my work as I move forward.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
New Future Developments
Well, life keeps changing at warp speed. Lots of changes happen from one day to the next, not to mention how much happens in a week!
Part of the change this week is that part of my next endeavor is set. Nope, not a job - another degree. As I began my MSI, and started thinking about what it is I wanted to do long-term, I realized I wanted to be involved in budgeting, managing people, facilitating, project management...and so, I decided I wanted to give myself the best chance I could to go into administration in higher education. With a little investigation, I discovered that I could most likely complete the 30 credit Masters of Arts in Higher Education in one extra semester. One extra semester! I consulted with some professors and colleagues, and decided I had to do this. So, I applied over the summer and was accepted just last week.
I'm excited to start pairing my knowledge of information with new knowledge I'll gain of higher education. When writing my essay to the School of Education, I started actualizing how the two degrees really complement one another and also will provide me with a wealth of job opportunities when I start looking. My heart is in the library, but there are so many ways that the library could collaborate with other departments - I could help facilitate that.
My real goal for my career is to create partnerships between the community and higher education, and the library is one place this can happen. But there are other places as well, that I'll be excited to start exploring in my new coursework.
I'm still going to be looking for jobs. Ideally, I would like a part-time position or a full-time position with fairly negotiable hours (say 35 hrs/week over the fall semester while I finish the ED degree?). Not a lot to ask in this tough market, I know. But as I wrote a few weeks ago, it never hurts to ask, so I'm throwing this idea/request to my readers in case they hear of anything to pass along.
Until next time...thanks for reading!
Part of the change this week is that part of my next endeavor is set. Nope, not a job - another degree. As I began my MSI, and started thinking about what it is I wanted to do long-term, I realized I wanted to be involved in budgeting, managing people, facilitating, project management...and so, I decided I wanted to give myself the best chance I could to go into administration in higher education. With a little investigation, I discovered that I could most likely complete the 30 credit Masters of Arts in Higher Education in one extra semester. One extra semester! I consulted with some professors and colleagues, and decided I had to do this. So, I applied over the summer and was accepted just last week.
I'm excited to start pairing my knowledge of information with new knowledge I'll gain of higher education. When writing my essay to the School of Education, I started actualizing how the two degrees really complement one another and also will provide me with a wealth of job opportunities when I start looking. My heart is in the library, but there are so many ways that the library could collaborate with other departments - I could help facilitate that.
My real goal for my career is to create partnerships between the community and higher education, and the library is one place this can happen. But there are other places as well, that I'll be excited to start exploring in my new coursework.
I'm still going to be looking for jobs. Ideally, I would like a part-time position or a full-time position with fairly negotiable hours (say 35 hrs/week over the fall semester while I finish the ED degree?). Not a lot to ask in this tough market, I know. But as I wrote a few weeks ago, it never hurts to ask, so I'm throwing this idea/request to my readers in case they hear of anything to pass along.
Until next time...thanks for reading!
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