Anita's Blog

Why SI is for me...

So as application season begins and people are deciding where to apply and where to go I thought I'd talk a little big about why I chose SI. As an LIS student I obviously wanted a program that was ALA accredited but the decision to go to a more traditional library school versus an iSchool or Information School was a little trickier. iSchools are generally geared toward a variety of information professions, for example the UM School of Information includes specializations in Archives, Human-Computer Information, Preservation of Information, Information Policy and more. The Library world and a student interested in library information services can benefit from both. I chose SI because it was an iSchool, I knew I would be able to gain the library skills I needed and have an ALA accredited degree while also being able to take classes and learn in other areas like web design, usability, databases, and archiving. Even though there is a broad focus at SI, everyone here is working toward the same basic goals. I knew when applying to library schools that I wanted to gain some of the more technical skills I lacked that are proving to be more and more necessary in library settings.

SI's Visitng Days for admitted students further made me feel like I was making the right decision in choosing SI. Through visiting the school, meeting with faculty, current students, and my future peers I was able to more fully comprehend just how much I would be able to gain from the program. Obviously you should do your own research on schools but by actually visiting a school you're able to see yourself being a student there and understand how you fit in.

As far as doing research on schools I would recommend looking at websites. What does the website focus on? What is the school's mission statement? You can learn a lot about a school by what's featured on their homepage. You should also look at the course catalog, see what kind of classes are offered, do they look interesting to you? Do they look like classes you would want to take? Finally take the time to contact a current student. Ask them how they feel about the program, ask them why they chose it, how they feel about classes, job prospects, or any questions you couldn't find answers to elsewhere.

Good Luck!

New Burdens for Libraries

Here is an interesting article on the newfound popularity of libraries in economic downturns and the strain they can put on materials and services: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02library.html?_r=1&em

Cataloging the Librarian

I recently went to a workshop with SI Career Services called Cataloging the Librarian. They provided information on the Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator and facilitate a discussion about how the various library career paths and related skills and preferences fit with different personality types. The test can be taken here http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp. If you've never taken the Briggs-Myer test it's basically just a series of questions used to gauge where you lie on the 4 Briggs Myer type indicators. The MBTI sorts some of these psychological opposites into four opposite pairs, or dichotomies, with a resulting sixteen possible combinations.
None of these combinations is 'better' or 'worse', however Briggs and Myers recognized that everyone has an overall combination which is most comfortable for them: in the same way as writing with the left hand is hard work for a right-hander, so people tend to find using their opposite psychological preference more difficult, even if they can become more proficient with practice and development.

I for example am an ESTP which is Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving. I've never really thought of myself as an extroverted person but extroverted doesn't necessarily mean outgoing and the life of the party, it could also just mean you're comfortable around people and prefer working in groups, which is definitely true of me and I feel a good preference to have for someone who wants to work with people in a public library like myself. I feel I am definitely a Sensing (S) person as opposed to Intuition (N). S types are described as practical, conservative, dependable, precise, and methodical. N types are oriented towards the future, like to exercise creativity, tend towards independence, and inclined to see the overall picture. Librarians overall I think tend to be more precise and methodical. T/F indicates Thinking or Feeling, they show how one comes to conclusions or making decisions, Ts believe it is more important to be right than be liked, Fs like harmony more than clarity. I'm not really sure I'm too strongly a T (although who doesn't like being right), but I do agree that it is important to get things done right even if it causes a disruption in harmony. The last type indicator, J/P or Judging/Perceiving, demonstrates how one deals with the outer world J orders one’s life; and is described as industrious and painstaking. P is more spontaneous, adaptable, and prefers to collect information and stay open to new options. I am strongly P and most librarians are a J, I often make last minute decisions and adapt pretty easily to new situations, which I think is another good quality for a public librarian. Public librarians deal with various situations everyday and it's important to be able to adapt.

"As people use their preferred function more, they tend to be much more practiced and comfortable with its use. This can be compared to an athlete: a person cannot have an innate ability to play a particular sport. A person who enjoys that sport, and practices constantly to improve in that sport, will most likely become good at that sport.
Similarly, a person who has a clear preference for thinking or feeling will tend to become better at that particular function, simply because they practice it more."

ASB New York Public Library!

Recently, over spring break, I was able to participate in SI's Alternative Spring Break Program. I worked at the Children's Center at the 42nd St. and 5th Ave. branch of the New York Public Library (that's the famous one with the lions in front). I chose the Children's Center because although I've had experience working with children, I wanted to learn more about being a Youth Librarian. This was the perfect opportunity to get a taste of life as a youth librarian and as a New Yorker!

My first day there the NYPL was nice enough to hold a breakfast for all the SI ASB students that would be working there for the week. Over the breakfast we discussed our backgrounds and why we chose the NYPL. I chose the NYPL because I know I want to work in a public library particularly a large urban system like the NYPL, who deal with a broad and diverse community.

Over the course of the week I helped out with programming, reference, selection, and was exposed to a lot of children's literature. The NYPL holds story times twice a week for children of 3-5 years. During the story time the kids are read to from a few picture books, they sing songs, and at the end work on a craft. The first story time I helped with over 50 people including children, mothers, and nannies showed up! And at 4:00 on a Monday it definitely took some effort to keep up with all the children there and have the energy to sing songs, read, and play games for an hour.

Spending time at a youth reference desk was also a totally new experience, here are some examples of reference questions from children:

1. Do you have any books on dragons?
2. Do you have books on animals?
3. I like otters.

Alright the last one wasn't a question but I've learned that if you think reference interviews are hard with adults it's even harder to gauge what children are actually looking for.

I was also encouraged and able to read the children's material. The librarians I worked with would recommend items to me and even hold material aside for me to read during the day. I've always enjoyed children's literature but don't often find the time to get into it. This was a great opportunity to learn about innovations in children's literature and remember the books I had read growing up. I even got to meet a great children's illustrator that just stopped by for a visit! Shaun Tan, who wrote or rather illustrated The Arrival paid a visit to the Children's Center. If you've never read The Arrival I highly recommend it, there is no dialogue and the illustrations tell the story of a man making a journey to a new place. It is unbelievably moving.

On my last day there the library had gotten Nintendo Wii and PS3 gaming systems. I was able to use my gaming expertise to set up the systems for them and hook them up to the internet via the gaming systems. I was excited about being able to help in a unique way to the environment of the Children's Center.

Before I end this I think I should talk about the Children's Center space. They had just moved to the 42nd and 5th ave. branch in November so the room had been re-done. There is an awesome mural of NYC sites done by a children's book illustrator that wraps around the entire room. There is a lot of fun and colorful furniture, bean bags, and sofas that the kids can lay down on, bounce on, and slide all over. It was just a very cool space. The NYPL owns and has on display the original Winnie the Pooh characters and the Mary Poppins umbrella, and there is a separate display room for those items that is also accessible to children. All in all it was a very cool space.

So I'm not yet sure if youth librarianship is my passion but it is definitely something I'm open to and would like to learn more about.

New classes

So now that I have my schedule finalized for this second semester I thought I would share how I decided on what classes to take. I know it can be overwhelming with all the choices offered and coordinating a schedule you can handle. So with 500, 501, and 502 out of the way I knew I wanted to take more library classes, also looking at the requirements for LIS I knew I needed to take at least one in each of the three categories. I also knew I still needed a methods course and a management course. I saw that SI 626: Management of Libraries and Information Services covered both a management course and Area 3 of the LIS requirements so that was one that I definitely needed to register for. I had taken 581 last semester and saw that there was a second half to the course, SI 644: Advanced Preservation Administration, which would take the Preservation Assessment we did in 581 to the next level in creating a Preservation Policy for the same site we did the Assessment. It's only a 1.5 credit course so I wanted to pick up at least 3 more classes. I had surprisingly enjoyed 502 and wanted to take my web/network/programming skills further so I signed up for SI 539: Complex Web Design. I then started talking to friends and 2nd year students and so many of them recommended SI 620: Collection Development. They raved about the professor and felt it was a "must" for anyone that wants to be a librarian. Finally, I'm still exploring my options as far as a second specialization, whether or not I want one or what would fit best with the career I want. I had been thinking about adding Information Policy as a second specialization, I spoke with my advisor and he recommended SI 550: Seminar on Information Policy. It's kind of a survey course on Information Policy where students pick a policy issue then write an in depth research paper and present it to the class. This would enable me to get a feel for the spectrum of policy issues out there. And that's how I came to my current schedule.

Update on me!

I've noticed a significant increase in my workload the past couple weeks so it's probably a good idea to write about it because 1) gives me a reason to procrastinate, 2) I can organize and think about the work to come. There's only about 2 weeks left till Thanksgiving and there seems to be a push to get things done. So I guess I'll organize my workload by class.

SI 500 - Information in Social Systems: Collections, Flows, and Processing
This is one of the core courses required by the program. It basically introduces information concepts to students and their implications for information professionals working with both people and technology. We currently have a small group project working on an assignment called Library 2.0. Google books is currently scanning all the books that are out of copyright at the UM libraries. This new collection will be called the Hathi Trust Digital Library. So our assignment consists of creating a way to browse the digital books, finding a way to mash up the UM catalog data with reviews and other stuff available from Amazon, and to create a system that retrieves text about a place and link it to a GIS map. So as a library student I'm a little daunted by all the technology, but also excited about getting to think about something so cool! That these books are going to be online accessible by anybody and everybody is very exciting. So thinking about how to easily allow access and provide a way to easily find these books is definitely something librarians think about.

SI 501- Contextual Inquiry and Project Management
All semester long we've been working with an organization to improve one of their processes through analysis, specifically through a process called contextual inquiry. So we've been gathering information on this organization all semester, interviewing people, observing, taking notes, etc. And now we have to organize all these individual notes into an affinity diagram, which is basically all your notes organized into different groups. This method allows you to see different patterns with your data, that maybe you previously overlooked. So my group and I have been working all week on this and need to present to our GSI and client on Monday! Very nerve racking but exciting because we finally get to show off over half a semester's worth of work.

SI 647 - Information Resources and Services
This is probably one of my favorite classes this semester, it basically introduces reference work. Something all librarians will probably end up doing at some point in their career. We analyze resources on different aspects, their credibility, usability, etc. I have a paper due on an issues in reference work. I think I'm going to address patron education, specifically with technology. I volunteered for awhile with Chicago Public Libraries, and assisted with teaching a computer literacy class. Before taking this class I took for granted my ability to use a computer. There are a lot of people that don't haven't had any interaction with computers and don't have the basic knowledge you and I take for granted, and in a world where we rely heavily on computers its an important skill. Many of these people simply wanted to be able to fill out a job application on the computer, create an email account, or understand how to navigate the internet. I think the information I find will be fascinating!

So those are my big projects right now! I should probably be more panicked than I am with this workload, but I know I'll be able adjust to work it out.

Application Stuff

Filling out applications isn't always the most fun thing to do, it can be stressful, time consuming, and frustrating. So as many of you are probably currently in the application process right now I thought I would share some words of wisdom from my not too long ago application experiences.

1. Recommendation Letters
I would start asking for recommendation letters now if you haven't already. Ask people who you feel would be able to speak in depth about your ability to be a graduate student, someone who knows the kind of work that you are capable of. These letters don't have to be from professors or academic advisers, just people that can speak accurately and with detail about your abilities. The letters after the person's signature don't matter, the content of the letters do. These letters can come from a multitude of places. Because I had been out of college for a year when I was applying I asked my manager at work to write me a letter. She was one of the people I worked closely with and was able to attest to my strengths and skills. I also asked a professor I had worked closely with during my undergraduate career. Thirdly, I asked a librarian that I had volunteered with; she was able to speak about my desire to attend grad school and become a librarian. If you can ask in person, it’s more personal and it’s easier to say “No�? to an email than a face. If you have to ask by email I would just make sure you include as much detail as possible and be as polite as possible. If you are in regular contact with the people you have asked then it will be easier to coordinate sending letters. If you ask a professor and aren't on your college campus it can be difficult to coordinate. I had asked my letter writer on my college campus about a month in advance and it definitely took multiple emails to get this letter sent. Just remember that the people you ask are very busy and they are doing this as a favor to you so give them the necessary time to complete the task. So just remember to ask the right people and ask early.
2. The GRE
I took the GRE in November, this gave me enough time to receive my scores and make sure my scores got out to all the right schools. I would recommend taking the GRE at least 6 weeks before the application deadline. And remember that this score does not make or break your admittance, all application materials are looked at together so if you have a lower GRE score many other things in your application could make up for it like a great undergraduate GPA, or a lot of experience, or an awesome personal statement. Finding time to study for the GRE proved more difficult than I anticipated. As I was working 40 hours a week the last thing you want to do when coming home from work is to start studying, but you’ve got to do it. I feel especially if you’ve been out of school for a little while, I really felt that even my basic test taking skills needed brushing up on. So taking the time to brush up on some old skills and taking a practice test will go a loooong way.
3. Transcripts
Order your transcripts early, early, early! I ended up paying extra overnight and rush fees because I did not do this. So save some money and make sure you give yourself at least 2-3 weeks to get your transcripts from point A to B.
4. Personal Statement
Be honest. It’s what everyone says but it’s true! It’s best to be honest about yourself when talking about yourself. It’s also easier! It’s hard making up stuff about you. Talk about your experiences, what you want to do with your degree, basically how you got to where you are right now. I’m not sure what the personal statement is this year but last year I think I wrote about why I wanted to be a librarian. I talked about my childhood and how my parents had always encouraged us to seek out information, to always be inquisitive and how powerful information is as a tool to succeed. I also talked about my experience volunteering at a library and how powerful it felt to be the keepers of information and also enablers of those wished to seek it. I remember when writing it realizing and thinking “Oh yeah, this is why I want to do this!�? I had just been so overstressed and worked by applying to schools that I had forgotten just why I wanted to be a librarian in the first place. The only thing that seemed important was getting into school, when what’s really important is finding the right place to achieve your goals.

I think that pretty much covers the basics of the application process. If I’ve missed anything you think is important feel free to email me! My email is ansh@umich.edu. I’d love to hear from you!

First things first...

Hello Readers of my Blog!

I guess we'll start with introductions. My name is Anita Shankar. I am a native of the Midwest, I grew up in the Chicagoland area and completed my Bachelors in Psychology and Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. After graduation I worked for almost 2 years at a law firm before realizing I had no interest whatsoever in the field of law. I began volunteering at my local public library and realized my true calling, needless to say now I'm here at SI!

My specialization is currently LIS (Library and Information Services), although I am very interested in ARM (Archives and Records Management), and I'm also really excited about all the programming and technology classes that SI offers. So who knows what specialization I'll end up having when I leave.

I’m only about 3 and a half weeks into my career here at SI but I think my knowledge will be valuable to you nonetheless. I’ll have fresh insight into the goings on here and I went through the application, orientation and admission process not too long ago.
So feel free to email me with any questions, concerns, thoughts, ideas, or insights you might have and I’ll try my best to have an answer and if I don’t I’ll find someone that does!

I hope to hear from you all soon!

Anita :)