When I accepted my first professional library position in late July, I was ecstatic. Less than two months had expired since I walked across the stage at Louisiana State University and was officially granted an MLIS. Like the other first-year bloggers, I was thrilled to land a job in the library setting of my choice (academic), doing something rewarding (library instruction). I started my first job knowing full well that the field of academic librarianship fosters continual learning and professional development. After all, how can we teach our students information literacy skills if we are lacking them ourselves? What I didn’t realize, however, is that this development would start my very first day of work. I am not embarrassed to admit that after my first day, I went straight home and watched several hours of television, just to clear my mind.
Soon, the pile of “to read†articles on my desk grew bigger and I spent quite a bit of time those first few weeks organizing my file cabinets into categories: Active Learning Techniques; Information Literacy Standards; and Reference Guidelines are just a few of the topics I began gathering information on. By now, most of the articles in that original pile have been read, highlighted, and filed away, but I never have a shortage of things to read.
Surprisingly, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the huge number of articles, books, and web sites available for my perusal, I feel grateful. It’s comforting to know that others started out just like me, as a new librarian with a lot to learn. I feel unbelievably lucky to have discovered a wealth of information that veteran and novice librarians alike are willing to share with one another. I have found fantastic ideas and lesson plans for making the most out of a one-shot LI session, and humorous suggestions for keeping Freshmen alert at 8:00 in the morning. I hope that someday I, too, will be able to contribute something beneficial that will be of use to my colleagues. I’m very happy (and appreciative) that I will have the chance to share my experiences with all of you on this blog. I look forward to reading your comments and seeking your sage advice. But to be honest, I’m mostly just happy I can finally see the top of my desk again!
You’d better take a picture of it while you can; that desk will likely get buried a lot!
Welcome to the blog – and to the profession! It’s true, we’ve all got a self-renewing pile of homework, but that’s why they call it lifelong learning. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing your adventures in the realm of instruction.
The staff and faculty from your new library home are certainly fortunate to have such an enthusiastic, dedicated LI Corrdinator! I look forward to reading your future posts…your thoughts are warm and inspiring.
Welcome to the profession Melissa! I too am a LSU MLIS alumni. This is my second position in the field (both instruction) and I too have spent time organizing the files just for reading material. Keep up the posts and enthusiasm!