Tuesday, January 8, 2008

new year, new focus

    The last post on this pitiful little blog was at the beginning of the fall term of 2007. Those classes are over and grades are posted. I only somehow managed a "B" an "A" in Lib Mgmt, and had to take an incomplete in Intro to IS. So much for my 4.0.

    Needless to say, it was a rough semeseter. Problems with health, problems at work, stress over both . . . an absent husband for 7 weeks and nothing but car troubles that whole time. But, things began to improve in December, and now a new year is upon me.

    In order to speed along my degree progress, and because the class appealed to me, I decided to take an interim (or mini-) session course about Internet resources and applications. It is taught by a visiting professor from Texas.

We are covering: establishment and development of the Internet, use of the Internet, evaluating information on the Internet, basic webpage creation, emerging Internet-based software and tools (specifically focusing on social software, including blogs, RSS, wikis, online communities, podcasting, gaming) -- all with a look toward how libraries can (and whether they should??) incorporate these tools into their programs and websites.

    I suppose younger students will think me terribly old to be interested in such things, but I've been involved in online communities for over 10 years. I've built my own PCs, I've worked on my own and others' computers, I've repaired my own laptops on many occasions. I love computers and I love what the Internet has done to increase my access to information and to other people.

For example, I met online a woman from New Zealand, now living in Oregon, who was born on the same date as me. Not the same day of the year, but the same day in the same year. We became good friends, and although our paths have diverged since I returned to college in 2004, we still exchange birthday greetings and small, special (usually handmade -- we met on a beading forum) gifts now and then. We call ourselves "Moon Sisters."

    Although I currently work in cataloging (and I do love processing the new books), I think my heart is in systems or IT librarianship. This is the first non-required course in my degree program, and I am rethinking the others I had planned to take in light of how they will or will not provide training in the IT areas.

    I am certainly looking forward to the path my life will take in the next 12 to 24 months.

No comments: