Back to School

Classes have resumed again and it looks like it will be a busy semester, if somewhat slower paced than the summer session.

I just received my textbooks, minus one, in the mail, which was exciting. My health science info services course will be reading and discussing Foucault, which looks very challenging but also very interesting. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m not sure how much blogging I will get in…

And It Ends…

Summer school is finished, and I survived my first 6 hours of library school. I’ve got a two week break before I return for the fall semester.

It seems I didn’t have too much to say here regarding my summer classes. I guess I wasn’t ready for the fast pace of taking classes, working, maintaining my personal blog and trying to post here and on the wiki!

I’m not throwing in the towel, yet, though. I still plan to post here about my experiences this coming semester.

We’ll see.

My thoughts on my first two classes? Well, they really confirmed for me that librarianship is the career path for me. And I’ve decided that if I can be involved in health science libraries, that is the place I want to be, too.

Only 4 more semesters to go!

It Begins…

Technically, today was my first day of “classes.” Since I am taking classes online, I don’t really go to class. I just access the class website. It looks like I am going to be very busy this summer. I’m glad I only took 2 classes. I’ve got a few projects to look into and lots to read.

Something I am actually looking forward to is the Library Tour I have to do as part of my Information Professions course. Because I am here in China, I have to go to a local Chinese library. I’m trying to find out if the University has a library I can access, just to check it out. Too bad I am not in Beijing, because I have found out that the National Library of China is pretty nice. They have over one million Western books, and they offer document delivery and database access to their periodicals. They even have a special section for librarians. That should help.

I think I will only be able to update the blog once per week. Perhaps the day I receive my new class modules. I want to blog about my feelings, experiences, troubles and successes.

Wish me luck!

Summer 07 Lineup

My course lineup for Summer 07:

LS 5813 Information Professions (Core Course)

LS 5013 Information Storage & Retrieval (Core Course)

A Scholarship?

I’ve been awarded an academic scholarship from TWU! I was so shocked. I honestly didn’t expect to receive anything, although I had hoped…

So I will receive $3,600 payable in $900 per semester payments times four semesters. This will pay for half of my entire degree!

Sweet news!

Oops! Seems I’ve Been Neglectful

Yes, months and months have passed, but no, unfortunately, I have not been spending my time slaving away in library school.

I was accepted into Texas Woman’s University Master of Library Science program  in December, 2006. I was overwhelmed and quite excited about the coming adventure. Then…the earthquake hit. December 26th, 2006, an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan ruptured some cables that provided internet service between the US and the Chinese mainland, along with Hong Kong and a few other areas. Basically, I couldn’t even access TWU’s website until the end of January, which meant no grad school for me that semester.

I will be registering tomorrow for the Summer 07 session and hopefully, I will not be too off track. Truthfully, these few months have given me time to read up on library school and related topics and also time to think about what I might like to take away with me. Do I want a specialty? What kind of library do I want to work in when I finish.

My current adviser specializes in Health Science Librarianship and I wonder why he was chosen. Is it because of my background? At the time I made application, I wasn’t sure what area I wanted to concentrate in, and I am still not 100% decided.

After doing some research, I am now fairly certain I want to specialize in Health Science Libraries. With my background, I feel I would be very good in this role, and I honestly do enjoy reading and researching about disease and treatments. I guess my fear is that I might be too limited to one area. I have a huge need to be very marketable, over a broad range of areas. I suppose because of my penchant for moving. I can’t be tied to one kind of job in one kind of region.

Other than working in a health library, I have also been thinking a lot about special library roles, like a researcher for a private company or being involved in information policies like copyright and intellectual freedom. In addition, I really want to ensure that I am as technologically savvy as possible. If possible, I’d also like to work in some sort of multi-cultural or diversity edge.

So, in order to meet these varied needs, I have decided to pursue courses in the health science area that will provide me with valuable skills that I could use in other settings as well. Also, I’ve elected to take a couple of general library skills and tech courses that would be useful no matter what I do.

Hello Library World!

This blog is meant to be a place for me to blog about my time in library school. I hope to begin in January of 2007. I will hear about my acceptance next week!