It Is Time To Celebrate

I just passed in my weeding assignment. Yeah, the semester is officially over!!!! I’m beat. I’m exhausted. It was an awful week. I had issues sleeping – and got very little. I have been working almost non stop on this assignment. I was only at work two days this week – and both days were beyond abysmal. The end of the semester seems to bring out the worst in most ways. But, I’m done with school for the semester (only ONE more to go!!) and am putting work out of my mind for the weekend (unless I get calls about network and wireless problems).

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts!!!!!

Weeding – Not So Much Fun!

Ok, there is something incredibly satisfying about throwing things out. One of my fondest memories from my time in the world of libraries is getting to toss many years of hardcover Index Medicus volumes out of a third-story fire door into a waiting dumpster. The fact that this was in preparation for a move into a new library made it that much more exciting. However, when weeding a section of a library for a school assignment, you don’t actually get to experience the thrill of the toss. And, while I have thoroughly enjoyed my collection development class, it has only reinforced my earlier belief that collection development is not a job that would make me happy.

As you might guess, I am knee deep in my final project for ILS519-Collection Development. I am weeding a section of QA76 books in my library. This is a very, very time consuming project. We need to examine each book, determine whether to discard, keep, replace, etc. Should we replace a volume with something else? We need to make recommendations about new titles where appropriate. I feel like I am up to my eyeballs in library catalogs, Books in Print, OCLC, Resources for College Libraries, Choice and other sources. Realistically, I probably have a good handle on the project. But, it isn’t due until Friday (which isn’t that far away) and I feel compelled to keep looking for more information on the titles in question. I think that I am physically incapable of finishing an assignment early. I have an obsessive compulsive need to keep working. I still have to do quite a bit of narrative also.

Well, it is time to get back to work!

Oops! The End Is Nearing

As I was trying to find a radio station in my car today that was not playing Christmas music, it dawned on me that the end of the semester is rapidly approaching. While I have been working on my final project, I have lots and lots of work left to do before it is due on December 7th. Wow, is weeding quite a time consuming project! Time just flies way too fast!

Thursday Night = Homework

Most of our assignments for ILS519-Collection Development are due on Thursdays. In many ways, this is a nice change. In the majority of my classes, papers, assignments and the like have been due on Sunday. This means that I have had the weekend to do work, but has also meant that I spent way too many weekends sitting in a chair in front of my laptop. This semester, I am doing much more of my homework during the week – furiously typing away in order to finish an assignment before the 11:30PM deadline. Usually, I finish with a couple of hours to spare.

In fact, I just turned in our fifth assignment for class. This assignment was actually related to the final project for the class – evaluating and weeding a specific subject area of a real collection. I have chosen to evaluate the QA76 (computer science) section of a library – one which hasn’t been evaluated in some time. It is shaping up to be an extremely interesting project – one from which I think I am learning quite a bit. Collection development is one thing with which I have very little experience.

The next thing up are several discussion questions that are due on November 17th (which isn’t a Thursday). I’m psyched to have my birthday weekend be homework free. That is the best present in the whole world!

Mid-Way Through The Semester

I just turned in my midterm exam for ILS519-Collection Development. As usual, I’m not sure how I did. It wasn’t that the exam was difficult, I just worry about whether or not I got the point. One of the nice things about this professor is that so many of her assignments are practical in nature. For this exam, we had to answer three questions relating to ethical concerns in collection development. While we are expected to justify our answers, we need to answer the questions based on personal opinion. I really like these assignments. They require a great deal of time and thought.

Last Thursday, our fourth assignment of the semester was due. The assignment dealt with researching serials and electronic resources vendors. Again, it wasn’t terribly difficult, but somewhat time consuming. I have been quite busy with school over the past week. I also have to answer three discussion questions by this Thursday night. I am looking forward to having a bit of time to relax once I have answered the discussion questions.

One a related note, I registered for my last class this morning – ILS680 Evaluation and Research. Wow! It is really starting to sink in that next semester should be it. I filled out my request to graduate in May of 2008. I have to do some follow up because although I have updated my planned program, the changes don’t seem to be reflected in the online systems at school. I would hate for a clerical type error to delay completion of the program. I get so nervous about whether or not I will have completed the graduation requirements. Hopefully, if I get some answers, I will be able to relax for a little while. Here’s hoping!

This Semester So Far

This semester is quite a bit different from most that I have experienced while in graduate school. Since, I’m only taking one class (ILS519-Collection Development), the workload is less intense – something for which I am extremely grateful. However, the class itself is a bit different in structure than most that I have taken. As per the syllabus, there are 7 assignments, 10 discussions, 1 midterm and a final project. This past Thursday our 3rd assignment was due – an assignment where we had to determine which specialty publisher would best suit for specific purposes. Our 4th assignment which deals with choosing vendors for serial and electronic publications is due on October 17th.

So far, we have only had one discussion question to answer – and that was due the second week of class. Since then, the only need to log into the class has been to get assignments, post assignments and read emails from the professor. The professor does send emails quite frequently. There is no need to log into class several times a day to keep up with discussion postings. This is kind of weird – and I often feel as if there is no cohesiveness to the class. It is a good class – with very interesting assignments. However, I do miss regular class discussions. They have a way of keeping one involved in the class.

On another subject, courses for spring 2008 were posted today. I knew things would be problematic at this stage because I only have one class left to take and it is a requirement. As it is a required course, it will definitely be offered. However, there may be a problem with who teaches it. This could definitely be a problem. I shouldn’t really be surprised that finishing the program may be the most difficult part of this entire experience!

The First Hurdle

One grade down. Last night, I received an email with a grade on my first assignment – and on the first disucssion. As always, this professor has good comments to make – ones that make it apparent she has in fact read the paper that I wrote. I’m happy with the grade and am ready to really get working on the second assignment – which is due this Thursday and deals with vendors.

Meanwhile, I got absolutely no sleep last night and I am not really functioning very coherently today. ARGH!!

Assignment Number 1

I just passed in my effort at the first assignment of the semester. The assignment was to twofold: to find a collection development policy on the web from the type of library one is specializing in and then to evaluate it according to the criteria set forth in our textbook; and to evaluate an actual policy given to us based upon collection development purposes in same textbook. How do I feel about it? Ok, I guess. I’ve taken this professor before, and I like her. I like her assignments. More importantly, I like her classes. Her assignments always tend towards the practical – and I think that is a good thing. First assignments are always nerve-wracking, and I really shouldn’t expect this one to be any different.

In terms of collection development policies, I’ve actually written one – specifically for a government documents collections (SUDOCS rule!). Was it a good one? I have no idea. However, it did get ok marks during an FDLP inspection. My problem? I did not actually want to take Collection Development. It isn’t a subject that I am interested in any way. I have no desire to take the subject lightly. It is obviously important. I’ve just developed significant interests in library systems and technology. That won’t change. So, I’m trying to make the best of this. I don’t want to suffer through this semester. I do want to learn something useful. Here’s hoping!

It’s Back To School

School started today. I’m taking ILS519-Collection Development (also known on the syllabus as Acquisitions and Development of Library and Information Resources) this fall. I will admit to being less than excited about the subject matter – there were so many other classes that I would have preferred to take. However, I do like the professor and am excited about having the opportunity to be in another class with her. I took ILS566-Library Management with her over the summer. Her assignments were both challenging and fun. Fortunately, the syllabus for ILS519 indicates this trend should continue. I’m also looking forward to the fact that I am only taking one class this semester. The last time that I took one class was during the summer 2006.

It appears as if there will be 7 assignments for this class, 10 discussion questions, a midterm and a final project. The first discussion question is due by the start the next unit – probably sometime next week. Although I don’t have any information about upcoming assignments, the syllabus did have information about our final project. For this project, we will essentially be weeding a section of an existing library collection. We are to choose a subject area (I will be doing a technology section) which has at least 50 titles in it, review the section, make recommendations about 50 specific titles and write a paper. I am actually looking forward to doing this.

Now, I’m off to do some reading!

My Last Two Weeks

Several family members have asked when school starts again. I was a wee bit embarrassed to have to admit that I was completely ignoring the thought of the fall semester and had no clue. Well, I knew it was after Labor Day. Anyway, classes start on September 4th – two weeks from tomorrow. I’m planning to fully enjoy my last two weeks without homework, heavy reading and paper writing.