Mid-Semester Reflections

I have made it to the halfway point in my first semester in the School of Library and Information Science graduate school.  Time to celebrate...well, at least a little bit! My first week of school was incredibly scary for me, perhaps because I am a little older than the average student. :) (Actually, a lot older.) Not only was I facing having to work through graduate level reading and writing, I was going to need to figure out how to do it through technology that was relatively new to me.  Thankfully,  I feel more confident in my ability to navigate around in Blackboard and I have actually enjoyed my assignments.

Blogging, a new experience for me, has provided a place for me to reflect on my goals and my studies. It has encouraged me it ask, "Why did I decide to pursue a graduate degree at this point in my life?" "What are the dream and goals I hope to accomplish?" "How am I preparing myself to meet those aspirations?" Blogging has helped me to be intentional about asking questions and looking for answers.

The Bb forums, where my classmates and I pose topics, questions and discuss them thoroughly has also been a place of discernment for me.  I am always amazed at what I learn!  Sometimes I get frustrated and bogged down with the number of discussion threads one needs to read and respond to, but in the end I am always grateful for the knowledge shared and questions answered.  New ideas and new perspectives crop up each and every week.

A recurring theme for me throughout this semester has been: what is the definition of a librarian? What does a librarian do? What kind of librarian do I want to be? What are my goals?  I have found it interesting that I want to be a public librarian but the academic world intrigues me as well.  I think it is because I spent so many years teaching that I want to look and see if there's a job that combines both teaching and librarianship.  I am looking forward to my library visit to help me discern this.  I am certain it is a path that I will continue to explore throughout my studies.

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