Okay, just one more

I said I was done, but then I read Meredith Farkas's post on the MLS vs. non-MLS issue and I think she's hit the jackpot, exactly what I've been trying to say, but much more positively (and she was able to do so in one post). I particularly think it boils down to the second-to-last paragraph.

Reference Resource of the Week

I started another blog called Reference Resource of the Week this afternoon to highlight things in our reference collection to the other librarians here. We recently reviewed our reference standing orders and there were many items on that list that I was very unfamiliar with but sound like they could do some great things.

The blog format seems like it will be perfect for this. I can easily update and change this, it allows for comments from my fellow librarians. If anyone else wants to contribute, I can set up access for them, posts will show up by title (a.k.a. resource title) in the archives and will be searchable, plus it comes with an RSS feed which I turned into an e-mail alert since the other librarians here don't do much with RSS.

I started today with Gale Directory Library since we just got access to it today. When I look at print resources, I can leave it at the reference desk for the week. I hope this will make us utilize a broader portion of the reference collection when we help people at the desk, and select a broader range of resources to highlight during instruction sessions.

Google Calendars

Google Calendars wasn't working well on Friday, so I had to wait until today to play with it. The result is so neat, I just hope the other librarians will buy into it. It is so easy to set up, then you can simply embed it somewhere on your Web site. You can even choose if you want a week or month display as the default.

I want to use this as part of an advertising "campaign" to let more students know about the 8 extra computers we have in the library classroom. They are available for use whenever there isn't a class scheduled in there, but students don't know that. This way they can check to see if the room is available before they bother to come to the library.

I didn't think anyone would want to know where individual librarians were, but apparently some librarians have been using this for a while to make their schedules available to students. I suppose that Iris is at a school with more office visits and less sitting at the reference desk. Here, we don't have very many office visits and we spend lots of time out at the reference desk.

It's so great to find blogs that talk about things you would like to do, but also embarrassing when you get so excited in a post about something you want to try, and find out people were doing that years ago. I am trying to become more technologically aware. This is a big adjustment for me, but also for my library. We are often ahead of the curve when it comes to new technologies, but I haven't been able to get anyone else here excited about widgets, iGoogle, RSS, blogs, and other easy technologies with so much potential.

I'm also regretting having been a bit hot-headed in my judgement of WebFeat and federated searching in general. I still think it would confuse the heck out of a student who is good at database research, but it will be great for those who want databases to work like google. Plus I love what Villanova did for their quick-search box on their library Web site. I want to do that on our Web site... but must wait until this summer to find out if our budget (for federated searching) got approved.

Just once more

I think this will be my last post on this issue, unless I see someone else's comments who get me all fired up again (which isn't hard). I e-mailed my favorite library school professor who did work as a non-MLS reference librarian in a country that didn't have an MLS program before coming to the U.S. to get his MLS, and kept going through a Ph.D. I know better than to write a long e-mail to him if I have any hopes of him responding any time in the next six months, so all I said was I seem to be the only librarian that even partially disagrees with the Liminal Librarian. His response was:

There is no doubt that experience gained on the job cannot be compared with what you learn through an MLS degree, but vice versa is true as well. I think the easiest way to make an argument against these people is to compare yourself and your skills and knowledge with those people "who do librarians' work" but do not have an MLS degree. Do they know more than you do about reference, cataloging, web design, and so on? An MLS degree is not just about courses; it is an entire two years of work: courses, interacting with faculty and students, working in groups, working in libraries and gaining a variety of experiences, management, frustration, fun, politics, networking, and so on. I can go on and on talking about the benefits of an MLS degree.

I will whole-heartedly agree with this. Okay, if all I did was go to classes, I could agree with the Annoyed Librarian that library school is a complete joke. But I worked as a virtual reference assistsant nearly 30 hours per week, more in the summer, did an internship, went for long walks with one of my professors, did some work for the same professor, co-authored an article (which I still don't like), and spent a lot of time with friends who were doing similar things. It's the whole package. I had amazing mentors in my professor, my work supervisor, and my internship supervisor. These are people who love the profession dearly, in very different ways. They did their best to make sure I had the experience needed to be a successful librarian when I got out of school, and it paid off in the interview process.

So getting your MLS coupled with great experience, or landing in the profession and getting great experience are two different ways... but I'm not sure if they lead to the same thing. Not all MLS programs are equal, not all people are equal.

I guess it doesn't matter. I got my degree, will be paying for it for years to come, but I've also two excellent years of "paraprofessional" experience and two excellent years of professional experience. And most importantly, I'm happy where I'm at, which I wouldn't have gotten to any other way.

Presidential Visit

Look for Lycoming College in the news tomorrow. Bill Clinton just came to give a talk in our gym! Our tiny little school in our tiny little town! It just got announced yesterday and it's already over. I had to go, I mean, how can you pass up seeing the former President of the United States when he comes to speak only a few hundred feet from your desk??? I don't feel comfortable putting any of my political opinions up here since I can never hold my own when I get into a political debate. But I will say he is very charismatic and an excellent speaker.

Oh, and he was wearing cowboy boots with his expensive suit. I think my French host families will enjoy that next time I write.

I thought of embedding "Hail to the Chief" for this post, but decided to respect my few readers, esp. if anyone happens to be reading this at the reference desk!

I went to the photoarchives of the local newspaper and found a picture of the visit that I appear in. I highlighted myself in a red rectangle so you can actually see me. If you click on the picture, you'll get a bigger view. This is so cool!

Widgets

I am having computer difficulties this morning, but wanted to point out some widgets that have a lot of potential. Two were mentioned in an article called Widgets and Widgetry for Librarians, which mentions a number of neat widgets, but either I already use them or don't see much use for them yet.

The first is the Google Calendar, where you can create a calendar and I believe post it on your Web site as a "widget". I see this as being a good tool for us in letting students know when the extra comptuters in the classroom are available, and when the room has been reserved. Of course you could have the librarians post their calendars, but anyone who wants to know that bad is really creepy.

Google Maps also has a widget where you can not only post a map of where your library is, but also it allows you to annotate your maps with pinpoints, lines, and shapes. You could create maps of recommended restaurants and interesting things to do as the library's contribution to parents during summer orientation.

del.ici.ous is a bookmarking social network application. I'm exploring ways of using it as a type of home-made library portal, but haven't done much with it yet. Others are singing its praises, but I don't yet get it. But it also has a widget where you can cutomize a "linkroll" and post that on your Web site. The author of the article suggests a list of "What I've Seen Today." I think this could have potential for our Subject Links Web site pages that are very difficult to maintain without a database behind it.

The author suggests visiting Widgipedia or Widgetbox for more widgets. I love Widgetbox, though haven't necessarily connected what I have found to useful applications. But widgets are making really need functions available to us non-programers that have a little creativity. I have been thinking continuously of other widgets/gadgets to suggest on a Library Resources tab of iGoogle. I think a dictionary, citation creator (perhaps with an its-not-perfect warning), and a countdown clock to when projects are due. Please leave me a note if you can think of other recommendations beyond what I have here.

What's in a name?

What about the term "Library Professionals"? Is this better and more respectful? You get the "para" thing out so that it doesn't then center around the MLS-librarians. What we're arguing about here is a word, and perhaps we wouldn't argue about it if we could find the right word that adequately describes it.

I found this casually mentioned in the Hedgehog Librarian, who has some good points not mentioned in other posts. I am impressed by the intelligence of the posts about Rachel Singer Gordon's post, though surprised that my opinion seems to be the only one who is even remotely against her. I'm not entirely, really, just concerned at the implications.

One thing in nearly all of the posts that seems mis-represented is how easy it is to get an MLS. The Hedgehog Librarian suggests to non-MLS library professionals that they may want to go ahead and pick one up to provide mobility for the future... just in case. There are very few library schools in the country as all of us with an MLS know. If you happen to live close to one and can pay in-state tuition or have your employer cover some of the cost, and happen not to have young children, then go for it. But most people have to move, most people have family obligations which are more important than a just-in-case degree. Education, even in a state school, is incredibly expensive, and many people are not able to go in-state for library school since there are so few of them. There are online programs, but most still require you to travel at some point, so you're still geographically limited. Or you need to have a job that will give you time off for residencies. While the courses tend to be easier than other graduate programs, they are still incredibly time-consuming.

I put my heart into library school and got myself into a tight financial situation for my MLS. I have a hard time believing that other peoples' programs were so much easier that they see getting an MLS similar to picking up a value meal at a Wendy's drive-through on the way home from work one day.