06.17.08
Cool beans
I remember saying that all the time in high school many years ago.
Anyway, my university’s IDT people hosted an E-Learning Institute here last week. I wasn’t sure what I’d actually get out of it since I’m not currently teaching any online courses. But some things actually are relevant even in face-to-face instruction. Like responsiveness and making the course content relevant.
However, the best thing I got out of it had nothing to do with the Institute itself. It was also a good time to network with other university faculty. And I had the chance to talk with one of my communication dept. faculty members about being an embedded librarian in the capstone class she is teaching in the fall.
It’s a research intensive course, which is exactly what I was looking for to try this out. I’ve heard about other librarians who have done similar things and I’m excited to see if this will improve the level of research conducted and their final papers. I don’t know if she plans to have an online component as well, but if there is, I’ve got some ideas for that. I’m going to put together a plan of what I’d like to offer beyond just my physical presence to see what she thinks. Like perhaps making it a requirement for them to schedule an individual research consultation with me mid-semester. I would also be willing to help grade annotated bibliographies. I see this type of thing as being a great way to build collaboration and increase students’ research skills.
The Red Cross needs our help
I heard on the radio this morning that the Red Cross is in desperate need of monetary donations to help all those effected by the flooding in the Midwest. Don’t worry! Generally I will never make a plea for money for any organization. But so many of us likely know people living in these areas.
You can donate online here. Just go to the link on the left hand side that says “Donate”. Every little bit helps. And who knows when the Red Cross might be there to help you out.
Thanks!
Evolving
It seems that this blog is evolving or devolving…or possibly even revolving. I don’t know. What I do know is that like many things, what I originally envisioned isn’t exactly what it’s become or might become. Which is why there hasn’t been much action.
See, there are lots of really great library blogs out there. I’m trying to decide if I personally have anything new to add to the blogosphere. Right now, I’m not so sure that I do, but I’m going to keep going for a bit longer.
So, what I feel about writing about today is a reflection on my first year on the tenure track. I’ve just passed my one year anniversary. Honestly there were times I wasn’t sure I was going to make it this far.
It’s been a challenging year in many ways. Often things do not turn out like you expect, and while I didn’t know what to expect exactly, I was thrown by a lot. Maybe that says something about me. I don’t know.
Being tenure track is interesting. One of the biggest challenges has been finding time to work on the research and service parts of my requirements while performing my actual job. If you are a reference and/or instruction librarian, you can understand how much of our day is taking up just doing the work. Actually it’s probably like that in all library departments, but I can only speak for the areas I’m familiar with. Often I had weeks where there weren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that I wanted to. Finally, I’ve developed a system that seems to be working for me and am getting that balance, but it’s been interesting. One of the best tools I’ve discovered for keeping it all together is Remember the Milk, the online to-do list. Between that and my day planner, I’m fairly on top of all my commitments. But I’m still working on getting the universe to add 20 more hours to my week.
I’ve done a good amount of presenting at conferences this year and co-authored a paper published in a conference proceeding. However, I struggle with trying to determine if I really have something worth presenting about. Who wants to go to conferences to hear the same stuff over and over? So, I’ve decided to pull back a bit over the coming year to work on some ideas and projects. Maybe in another year I’ll have something to talk about when I see how my ideas work.
It really does take at least a year to learn your job. In fact, it probably takes longer than that, but it has taken me about a year to really get my feet under me and learn about the university where I work. Every place is going to be different and there is so much stuff that you have to kind of sit back and observe. I’m trying to be tactful here, so I’ll just leave it at that. Those of you in academe will get what I’m referring to. As to my actual job duties, the biggest area where I’m still developing is in instruction. While I’ve been teaching for awhile, face-to-face library instruction is really different. Turns out I’m pretty good at it. Yet, there is still so much more for me to learn.
In general, it’s been an interesting year. I’ve learned a lot about myself also and hope that I’ve grown professionally and as a person by taking the lessons to heart. I did come in with the expectation that there would be a spirit of a team and support for new librarians. What happened is that I’ve had to look outside of my workplace to find support from colleagues and to find people to share and collaborate with. While this can be seen as a negative, it really has been a positive because it’s meant that I’ve been exposed to so many creative, innovative, intelligent, and wonderful librarians and library-types that I might not have reached out to in different circumstances. I’ve stepped out and become part of a greater community.
I look forward to what the next year will bring on this interesting journey towards tenure.
