Lesson Learned: Taking Opportunities

Today was quite a day.  Both the School of Information (SI) Networking Fair and the SI ExpoSItion (which I wrote about last week) were held as part of SI's amazing opportunities for students to broaden their job networks and increase their presentation skills.  Last year, I did not participate in either the Networking Fair or the ExpoSItion.  I can't remember why, but I didn't.  When the chance to do both came around again this spring, I quickly decided both events were opportunities in which I wanted to take part.

I went into the Networking Fair with an apprehensive attitude.  I'm not graduating from the School of Education until December, so while I will have my MSI next month (whoa!) I'm probably not "officially" on the job market until winter 2012.  I gathered my Employer Booklet and went straight to a university library table where I already had contacts.  The chat went well and I left having met yet another person at that library.  Yay :)

The second table I chose to go to was that of another large research university in Michigan, where I've had little contact.  However, I quickly learned that the employers were very interested in my current line of study, my skills, and my background.  It didn't take much (except friendliness and preparedness on my part) and I walked away with the Library Director's email address and an offer to visit them after graduation.

I went into the Networking Fair expecting very little and left with a lesson that is invaluable.  There were few libraries at the Fair, and of those, I knew people at all but one.  All but the one that I walked away from with a chance to network further.  This helped me learn the lesson that I learned today.  Take the opportunities that are presented to you.  It is as simple as that.  Go into opportunities with an open mind, be prepared to present yourself as well as you possibly can, and take some chances.  If I had not gone to the Fair, which would have been very easy, I would NOT have expanded my networking circle or met the people who are going to give me yet another opportunity.

This same lesson applies to the ExpoSItion.  I went to the ExpoSItion thinking that most of the other projects would be much more interesting than my group's library research project (because frankly, many of the projects at the ExpoSItion are created by designers who do cool, interesting things and make their posters look really pretty).  But I was busy talking to guests at the ExpoSItion almost the entire time.  People were interested in our project, and commented on the poster's design.  Without taking that chance, I never would have created a poster all on my own, learned that you don't mount your poster before getting to the conference, or met people who wanted to hear about what we were doing.

This lesson is something to carry with me - when someone gives me an opportunity to do something, take it.  I simply never could have imagined all of the great things that happened today, and they wouldn't have happened if I didn't take the chances that were presented.

Explaining what we do

I have probably not talked much about my current position here, but I do often write about the types of activities in which I participate including outreach and instruction.  For me, it's fairly simple to write about one event or class, but the idea of explaining what I do as a whole is slightly more difficult.  Compound this with trying to explain what others in my same job do, and we've got a real challenge. 

Next week, I'm presenting a poster with some of my colleagues at the School of Information expoSItion, which provides a chance for students to show off a project on which they've worked to potential employers.  This can include a class, work, or internship experience and allows students to highlight an important part of their time at the School of Information.

So what do my colleagues and I have in common that is worth presenting?  Well, we hope it's the idea of our entire collective experience as University Library Associates (ULA) and the lessons learned from that experience.  As ULAs we've all been given the opportunity to work in a professional capacity (part-time) at the University of Michigan Library while completing our graduate studies full-time at the School of Information. 

The ULA positions are competitive and require us to manage our time and connect our education with our work experience.   The positions require a second-year project, which includes digging into an unknown territory of the library and producing a deliverable (more on that later this spring).  The job requires reflection and flexibility, and truly is, I believe, a great way to learn what it is like to work in an academic library.

So, the other current ULAs and I have been working together to find out what our positions really mean for the School of Information, the Library, and for us in our professional development.  One of our group members presented on this at a conference (read her reflective blog post here), we're completing a poster for the expoSItion, and our goal is to write a paper on our findings. 

It has been an interesting learning process trying to work together to pull our experiences into something that is meaningful and useful for academia and the library field.  And it will be great to get reactions on our work from employers and fellow students at expoSItion next week.

Creating Campus-Community Connections: The Event

Last Friday was the big event - the event between the Detroit Center and UM librarians.  This event aimed to provide a space for in-person explanation of the collaboration possibilities and as a networking event between UM librarians and Detroit Center project leaders.

The event, held at the Detroit Center, did all of that and more.  I arrived with my planning colleagues and we started setting up food, laying out placecards at the horseshoe shaped table (strategically placed so that librarians with an expertise would sit by project leaders of that topic), and preparing the little miscellaneous things that come with event planning (do we have cups?  what about ice?  what if so-and-so doesn't come?).

Finally it was time.  The Detroit Center folks arrived first and chatted with one another until they found their seats.  The librarians arrived shortly after, said a brief hello to one another and the Detroit Center project managers, and then immediately sat in their suggested place.  The UM Outreach Librarian who is leading this effort gave welcoming remarks and then people got food, sat back down, and started networking.  It was clear that there were some immediate connections; actually, in most cases it seemed there were. 

The conversations appeared, by my observation, lively and engaged.  No one seemed to say "why are we here?" or "I'm not sure the library can help me...."   Before people were finished eating, the UM Outreach Librarian gave a short presentation on what the Library can provide (including a research guide) and then opened the room up for questions and discussion.  This is where my previous assumptions were challenged.

The Detroit Center project managers had great questions, but they weren't - as I had expected - always about library resources such as journals or books.  They wanted to know about the services the library could provide, how they could access materials, and they provided suggestions about how the Librarians could assist them.  To me, this spoke loudly and clearly to the fact that these individuals see how valuable the library can be.  Most of them had used the library previously, but many did not know how to get books sent to the Center, about the possibilities of using the Espresso Book Machine (with the ability to print student work), or Serials and Microforms (where they could view old copies of Detroit and other newspapers) or HathiTrust (where a collection of books about Detroit could be collected).

These were great questions, and it was great to have librarians there to answer the questions... but this also provided us clues about what these folks needed.  Not what they thought we needed, but what they actually needed.  This was a valuable lesson learned about creating strong collaborations and partnerships.

I look forward to seeing the work that continues to develop as these relationships grow.

Refreshed and Ready to Roll - Community Connections Happening!

There's something about spring break as a student... knowing that the first half of the semester is over, getting a chance to unwind, and then coming back refreshed and ready to finish the term strong.

This is a busy time of year and a very exciting one at that... here's a preview of some of what I'll be doing, and subsequently writing about this term. 

This week, I'll be participating in a meeting at the Detroit Center that includes Detroit Center project leaders and U of M Librarians.  The aim is to start finding connections between their work and how the library can assist their work.  The meeting is a short introduction to the many possibilities that can come from this parternship.

Later in March, I'll be working with Arts of Citizenship on putting together lunches for their Engaged Scholarship Initiative which aims to civically engage graduate students. 

I'm looking forward to moving into the summer with a lot of possibilities ahead, and one Master's degree behind me.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.