Feeling bright and breezy this morning about coming into work. I know it has something to do with the CPD25 conference on Friday. Never have I felt more like this is the ideal career for me. Met some like minded people, and ate some impressive (as far as conference lunches go) vegan friendly lunch. I was a little sad that I had to leave early to catch a train home, would have liked to have stuck around for a pint, and some conversation.
So, after doing some journal circulation, I had a sit down with Abby and talked about progression, references, applications etc. Little bit of a panic because I know that some of the deadlines are coming up, but feel secure in the fact that I know I can get them done, well. It all depends on whether or not the schools want to take me. Heh. Heh. Heh.
SO GET GOING EMMA!
And, I did. It was quiet on the first part of my issue desk shift, so managed to get a few basic parts of some applications done. Then it got real busy, with lots of little problems and enquiries. Proud of myself, really for just getting on with it. Y'know. Initiative and all. *wink wink*
This afternoon, I've been fiddling around, accessioning some books, swearing at bar code stickers, and getting lovely inky patterns on my hands. Also have been able to speak to some postgraduates, who gave me their own perspectives on distance, FT and PT learning. Very helpful indeed!
So, now I know what I want, I just have to get it!
Hello, hello. I feel a little detached from you all, talk to me, guide me, tell me your experiences. Feeling a little isolated in Suffolk.
Last week was all a bit of a horrible blur (personal circumstances), and Monday was taken off for the funeral. Hmm. Goodbyes are hard. HOWEVER, he wouldn't want me wallowing, so I graced Tuesday with a smile and got my head down!
Mostly had my hands covered in stickers, processing new DVDs. Arts and crafts, basically. Got a little too excited over the Twin Peaks box set that passed across my hands. Absolute fan girl. G'wan Cooper!
The issue desk was a good'n today. Lots of tricky problems to get my head around. Felt a little bad for a poor man who couldn't graduate until he returned/paid for books... (will pass over that)
Basic figures got the better of me; totalling up book costs once, twice checked (not the same), third checked (not the same), fourth check (bloody hell, I was right the first time). Vexed!
Cut and stick. Cut and stick. Home to Xbox, books, and bed.
Wednesday:
Ohai! It's the longest day of the week again. Working 8.30-17.00 here at the Library, and then 17.30-23.20 at Nando's, because I'm struggling to pay my rent, and pay my bills.
More cutting and sticking and processing this morning. Then received some journals and put the new ones on display and archived the older issues. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this job this morning, and I wonder, if this graduate trainee programme was for longer than six months, would the staff treat me any differently? It may be down to departmental organisation, but I feel that the communication between staff here is the libraries biggest downfall, and unfortunately this means that I feel a little at a loose end.
Depressing, really.
Already having to slam on some Bastille in the office to cheer me up. Hopefully, this afternoon will be better. Hopefully.
God damn, my mood has got me using Anaphora. God. See!
Thursday:
Last day of the week in office before CPD25 application event in London tomorrow (three day week, what a slacker!)
I had absolutely no idea about this yesterday, but I was put on the rota to be on the Issue desk from opening this morning. Brisk jog down the stairs it was then...
Very quiet shift down there, but was amused at the changes that had been made to the circulation notifications on Heritage. To make sure that they're not missed by anyone, they are in the process of being changed to be HUGE and, highlighter yellow. Made me jump. Felt a bit silly. Carried on.
Then learnt how to enter books from a new supplier onto Heritage. This meant I could have a leaf through some pretentious graphic design and architecture type books, and enjoying it, without having been at all pretentious myself. HA. HA. HA.
Another hour on the help desk, and now I'm sitting here spending some time on reflection and a bit of project work, before I drag myself down to London for DSHS at Camden Underworld, back to Ipswich tonight, then back down to London in the morning, bright and early, on two hours sleep.
Monday morning, Monday morning, need I say more? Well, I suppose not, but I'm going to anyway. I spent most of this morning checking to see if our Planet eStream recordings were listed on the catalogue. Quite a feat considering that there are roughly 650 recordings that need checking. Needless to say, I haven't finished all of them yet.
Stepping away from my little laptop in my cubby hole, I ventured down to the issue desk, and pretended to love human interaction.
Soup, roll, and vegan flapjack. Yum.
I then had a little catch up with my line manager to make sure everything was in order. It was brief, but that's a good thing. Means everything is okay, surely?
I carried on a while with the estream recordings, then decided to dip my fingers into the world of e-resources some more, by changing the availability dates of all the freedom collection journals that we subscribe to, on Summon. Needless to say, there were more than a few missing. People got angry.
That, was my working day. (Dreading going to the gym)
Tuesday:
Woke up bright and early, and mourned the fact that my partner is off work (school half term, no teachers required) and therefore didn't have to get out of bed until midday. Arrived in good spirits, and danced my way around the shelves, whilst shelving books, and doing the book returns from the night before.
Heritage is running slow, so can't look up the eStream recordings yet, so continuing on with online journal databases.
Suitiably full, I have already checked the ebook records and accessions, as well as withdrawing some books. The latter made me fell a little melancholy. Poor poor books in a big black bin bag.
Resuming work on journal databases. However, I have been given a final list of benchmark institutions, so will get crack-a-lacking on that soon-ish.
Okay, I'll admit... this is a little tedious. One of the many joys of libraryland I am told.
Wednesday:
Fragile.
Had my fellas sister and friend over last night. We ate, and we drank, in large quantities. Was supposed to be a Halloween extravaganza, but we ended up playing scene it, and kinect games for most of the night. There was Darkplace too...
So in honour, I say that this
...is my philosophy for the day.
So, finally managed to finish off checking the eStream recordings, and sent them off to the subject librarian. Awaiting further instruction. Meanwhile, I'm still checking the coverage dates for Summon inside the databases, as well as laying down a template for my benchmark analysis project. I'll be hiding in here until lunch. Don't have to see humans until 3pm when I'm on the issue desk.
I'll keep you posted.
11.50
SPREADSHEETS COMPLETE!
There are still sleeping people at my flat, so left again after lunch in a hurry. Green face.
S h e l v i n g
Thursday
Hello there.
Spent all morning starting the write up for my benchmarking project, which was lovely as it meant I could hide from the rain and the cold, and still be keeping busy.
*Ran home for soup (yes, I am indeed a soup enthusiast) *
Two hours on the Help Desk, which proved useful, as I learnt a little more about pointing people in the right direction for journal articles, searching other institutions catalogues, and a little more about refWorks. Honestly, I pick up so much from sitting there for a while. Handy!
*Caffiene*
Just finishing up recieving and securing some journals, not too taxing eh.
Now, for my last 45 mins, I'm going to look a littlte bit more into further qualifications, and maybe... just maybe... write up a little bit more of the project. That is, if my little brain can take it.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Week Three:
After my compassionate leave last week, I didn't think that the coming week could be so bad. I was wrong. A few of the library staff didn't realise that I was a full member of staff. Instead, they thought that I was here on work experience. Therefore, the first few days of my week were... grim.
Monday
I covered a lot of books, and neatened up the ebook pages on the library catalogue. Kept quiet, and thought that they might just be deciding what it was I was supposed to be doing.
Tuesday
In the morning, I was told to cover some more books. So was left to wallow in my thoughts, until I decided to speak up, and get a little angry.
I mean, I'm here to gain experience about what it means to work in a library in this sector. Yes, I know I need to know how to cover a book, but really.... all day? No. SO: I went and spoke to my lovely line manager, who agreed that it was unacceptable, so I went and sat on the issue desk for the remainder of the day. I am fully understanding of the processes here now, so at least in one area, I am comfortable.
Wednesday Much better
I put my finger in a lot of pies today. Felt good to feel like I was actually making some progress. I shelved a little, then went and shadowed on the helpdesk. This was good as I was able to pick up some of the common questions that staff and students ask, so I now know how to tackle them.
I then processed a few books that were left on the shelf. Keeping busy. Keeping busy.
Shelving. Lots and lots of shelving.
Thursday
On leave today, my partner graduated from the University I am working at. Lots of wine. Lots.
Friday
I have to admit, that this morning I had a lot of a boozy head. So cognative processes were s l o w.
However, press on. Again, I opened up on the issue desk, and focused on staying awake. I managed. Don't think anyone really noticed the hangover I was nursing. Secret's out.
After this, I went on a little treasure hunt around the shelves, and the workroom for some "missing books". I don't think that this had been done for a while, and a fair amount of books on the list were retreived and marked available once more. Surely this should be done more regularly?
returning missing books, talk with Ellen, matching heritage records with e stream records.
This afternoon, I had a chat with the Library Manager, who was able to tell me some more about the other library sectors that were open to me. Lets call it a pre-application lifeline?! And there it is. I survived week three. Daa dahhh!
Well, I tried not to let it get to the better of me, but unfortunately I've had some horrible things to face in non-library lifedom this weekend. Nonetheless, I wrapped myself up, zipped myself up, and battled against the mistral along the waterfront to get to work. Which is where I fell apart again, so, rather than having to brave face with Monday blue'd students on the Issue Desk this morning, the library manager was understanding enough to let me do some personal research and reflection until lunchtime (ka-ching!). Here, I managed to book myself on to this beast: "Applying To Study Library And Information Science ... And Beyond: A One-Day Conference". Lot's of key information to absorb here to keep the pre-application 'whattheeffsssdoIwrite...' at bay.
S h e l v i n g.
Art attack time. (Covering)
Beans on toast and *ahem* Resident Evil 6 until sleep.
Day 9:
MORNING!
For the rest of this week, I have been moved on to the 'dark side'. Stepping away from the e-resource focus of my training, and over into cataloguing, ordering, etc. etc. Managed to find my way around Dawson, to purchase any books that we a) didn't have, b) needed more of due to reading list demands. As this was my first time, I was absolutely scrupulous (the narcissists fear of failure), and it probably took me a lot more time than it should have done, so by the time I was finished, it was time for some soup and toast. Mmmm.
Hung out with Morph and the Scalpels; an imaginary new band who's setlists I could dream up, whilst covering some more dontated books.
Returned to reading lists, and now home... to curl into a small bundle, and never wake up again.
Hello there, internet world. I'm Emma, and I've started on a little bit of an adventure...
I've taken on a position as a Graduate Trainee at a university library. Not quite the adventure you were expecting, huh? Well, it's actually a huge adventure. The world around us is changing fast, technology is evolving at an extraordinary rate, and libraries seem to have become fairly stagnant, and reluctant to change. However, libraries are important, and well... kinda fun. Maybe it's sentimental value, but books, and the access to knowledge, have both been central to my personal, and professional development. I don't think that many people are aware of the necessity, and proactive nature of library useage. Especially in the Higher Education environment. I will go into this later.... (grits teeth)
So, this has been born; a journal of my journey into becoming a professional librarian. Exciting stuff.
So, week one has come to an end, sat in my little annex, on my little annex for a time of reflection. Here's what's going through my head:
Day One:
*Dramatic entrance sequence* *corrupt sound*, I can't get in the door. Good start Em.
At lunchtime, I remember I felt like crawling up into a little hole and crying. As a literature student, I am used to taking in lots and lots of information. However, this was all entirely new. Therefore, I decided to just let it wash over me, and see what happened. I was introduced to the ins and outs of Heritage.
3 hours into the next 6 months. Just got to get through the first week, and remember that it's only day one. Things will get better. Push on. Press on.
I really enjoyed talking with a Subject Librarian about what the job entails. From what I've heard, it's something I could really see myself doing, perhaps, in the future.
Shelved til home time. No comment.
Day Two:
To be honest, I remember the day starting pretty pear-shaped. The internal servers were down, so students couldn't access online databases, journals, and ebooks. However, I was able to use the 'free-time' to learn how to use the circulation forms for the Issue Desk. After this enthralling (haaaa...) time was over, I was talked at about the print journal collection. The system appears to be pretty dated, and evidently fading fast. The evidence of this is proven in the dwindling supply of both current, and archived journals. I view this as simultaneously sad, and exciting, as the availability for online journals is vast. I'll need to learn more about the budgets for these, but we'll see.
Refworks: Seems to be a very useful tool for reference management, and is a central focus for the e-resource librarians. If staff and students become literate in it's usage, it's a research tool that can be kept for life, or no doubt, will be able to be exported into new emerging technologies.
Found out I'm the first intern that the Library have had for a very long time! Going to spend some time thinking about why they've chosen this year to recruit someone in my position. They've clearly been reluctant in the last decade, so why now?! *detective face*
Shelving. Snooze.
Day Three:
Attended a student induction, which was interesting to scope how the libraries can engage with students, without appearing dated, intimidating, daunting, and condescending. It is however, hard, not to assume a condescending manner when the staff are dense, dense, DENSE with their computer literacy. I do not understand how tutors expect their students to access e-resources, when they can't even do it themselves! I was genuinely, raging inside. Anger. Angerrr.
Shelving.
Day Four:
By now, I have a basic understanding of Heritage circulation forms and how to implement them at the Issue Desk. Confident enough to be left on my own down there now, really. Can issue, return, renew, and enter user details onto the system. A mundane task, but at least it's the first thing, other than Refworks and Summon, that I've got my head around.
Staff and students appear to be having issues with the transfer from one interface to another, which occured just before the summer break. Thought that it might be useful to provide online feedback forms to make the interface reflective of their needs, rather than have it littered with library jargon. Let's face it, some people are not the brightest crayons... they need as much help as they can get. Ahem.
Attended a user induction for Psych students. They were stone cold silent for the whole hour. Apparently Psychology students are vampires who switch off all day, to absorb the chemicals in human brains for analysis. Maybe not. However, this highlighted the need for a more engaging communication system for the more... challenging... students.
Shelving.
Day Five:
I made it! My first week here is over! Today was mostly used for reflection and review of what I have picked up over the last 5 days.
Issue Desk on the first light of morn, which was very quiet.
Shelving.
Back on the Issue Desk, where I'm feeling really confident now, so that's good. It was slow again though, so ended up having a rather in depth conversation about literature, and House of Leaves(my ultimate obsession), got a bit carried away... forgot the time.
I noticed that there really, really, needs to be some uniformity with the way Heritage is used, there seem to be a lot of complications between staff, the majority of which could be avoided with a set standard.
Felt very encouraged by my first review with my mentor, my enthusiasm isn't inward after all! It's been picked up upon already! Wheyy! So, my first week into becoming a progressive librarian has come to an end. If nothing else, it has ignited a fire within me, to never allow the libraries to stagnate, but instead to move forward, and to create an information service which is up to date with emerging technologies. They should be embraced, and used in favour of the users and staff.
USE LIBRARIES AND LEARN STUFF.
Signing out for this week as a freshly inspired, aspiring librarian.
Monday
