Kristen Squire's Blog

first day of school

July 1, 2011 at 5:20 pm (librarian, University of Buffalo) (a safe space for nerds, first world, librarian stuff, welcome, Who am I again?)

Let’s talk about this from the beginning:

As I mentioned in a previous post (probably months ago at this point), I didn’t get into any of the doctorate programs I applied to. After receiving the first rejection from the University of Rochester, I pretty much knew that it was over (side note: It is worth mentioning that not two days after getting the rejection letter, I received a call from UR asking if I would like to donate money to the school. Classy, I know.). Week after week, I received another rejection letter, with nothing more than a “You’re a great candidate, but we’re not taking you.” It was pretty depressing.

So I began casting around for ideas of what to do with myself. Obviously, I had experience as an office drone (first at the law office, now at a real estate marketing office) but nothing else practical. I could make a mean sandwich, I could usually interpret what customers meant when they came up to me at Barnes and Noble and said, “Uh, yeah. I’m looking for a book? It has a blue cover?” but that didn’t really lend itself to a profession.

Then I looked into the University of Buffalo (UB) and their Library Science program (MLIS). It sounded pretty awesome: a program that would prepare me to be a librarian in pretty much any field I could think of, with two years of schooling. I’m cool with that. It would get me thinking again, and it had a definite end-game and a goal. So I applied, and after many panicked emails to professors for recommendations, things getting lost in the mail, and having to physically drive to Fredonia to get my transcripts sent, I was accepted to UB. It was pretty exciting and somewhat scary: I was making a pretty big decision on relatively short notice (I pretty much did everything in about a two week period).

But since the middle of April to now, I have done research and I have looked at message board threads where professionals talk about what the field looks like now and how things are going, and I feel pretty good about it. The funding situations are kind of bleak, but what academic/humanities-based area isn’t having that kind of problem? I found out that my first MA is going to be worth something in this field, as well as the importance of joining organizations. As soon as I have the cash, there is going to be an application and fees in the mail to the New York Librarian Association (NYLA) and to the American Librarian Association (ALA).

I just started classes this past week. In all of the time I spent at UR, working my ass off in those classes, I didn’t get as much out of it as I have this week in two sessions. This is where I am supposed to be. The value placed on information, the questions being asked about documents, documentation, preservation, worth, and aesthetics has made my head spin in an extremely pleasant way. I have been thinking about all of it for the past week, when I received my first syllabus and started researching library organizations (something for my first assignment). I am so thoroughly in love with this field already and everything I find out about it makes me more and more interested: the expanse of information, the collection of everything and anything… it makes my hoarder heart flutter. I’m sure that there will be a number of things to come along and break this impression I have, but I’m enjoying the puppy-love phase of my relationship to it as long as possible.

I think part of the reason I’m enjoying it so much is that it took my by surprise. I went into this with a very utilitarian mind-set: I would get the degree, then I would go out and get a job. But there is a lot more to it than that. Without an interest, a true interest in the field, there is no way someone could just get along. There is a lot of crap to be dealt with and there are a lot of bumps in the road that mostly are out of the hands of the librarians and are on the desks of fiscal managers and bureaucrats. But there are an immense number of amazing things that go with it.

I am taking the basic intro to Library Science class as well as the information and technology class. The tech class is pretty concrete and basic as far as information dealing with digital info, websites and databases, but the teacher is funny and is really knowledgeable. The other intro class so far is amazing: the discussions we’ve had and the things we’ve read have been amazing. There is so much significance being placed on truly defining what we, as librarians, will be doing and where our values lie. The five things laid out by Raganathan really sum it up:

1. Books are for use.

2. Every book its reader.

3. Every reader his book.

4. Save the time of the reader.

5. The library is a growing organism.

As always, I am going to say the weary phrase “I am going to try and keep up with this more often.” But now, with classes, I just think I might. I’ll have more to talk about.

And to cap it off, here’s an awesome video our teacher showed us in the intro class:

 

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