I subscribe to a couple listservs through the UW that target both student and professional positions, and one of the emails that made the rounds this morning advertised a Library Assistant position opening up in Cataloguing at Seattle Pacific University. In a frenzy of excitement, I clicked on the job description, decided to ignore the fact that I don't have any direct experience in cataloguing (yet), and got to work filling out a job profile during my morning break that I never ever take.
About two questions in, I noticed something odd about the tone of the application. I was asked to read the mission statement and statement of faith of the university and state whether or not I agreed and supported them. Normally, I'd have just not read them at all, clicked the Yes button, and gone on without a second thought like 98% of the other applicants will probably do. But I was curious, so I actually read them. And got extremely uncomfortable extremely fast. One of the options regarding your opinion of the mission and faith statements was a "Yes, with the following reservations:" button followed by a text box, and I wrote a basic "was raised Christian, now no longer follow the faith, still have the highest respect for people who choose to do so" blurb, and moved on.
The next two questions basically assumed I'd answered Yes in my support of the mission and faith statements. They asked me to explain in detail my assumed personal relationship with Jesus Christ and about my assumed involvement with a church or youth group, including any leadership roles I had taken. At this point, I clicked out of the application, and I'm still debating whether or not to continue it.
I feel like I'm an extremely accepting person when it comes to issues of faith. While my personal church-going experience has been mostly negative (leading to a current diagnosis of "I don't know what the hell I believe" and a definite aversion to most church-related activities), I have zero problems with other people's beliefs as long as they aren't getting shoved down my throat. To be confronted with these questions of faith in a job application really made me stop and think: should I go through with this application even though I can't justify being anything but totally honest about my lack of faith? And if I do decide to apply, would I be ruled out from the get go because I don't ascribe to their particular brand of belief? Is it more valuable in the long run to be honest on a job application than to just say what you think they want to hear?
Interesting thoughts, for sure. On a happier note, please read this. It totally made my afternoon.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
I really didn't mean for this to dissolve into a rant, but what can you do. Once it starts, there's no stopping it.
When I re-downloaded WoW a few days ago, I was sort of afraid I'd fall back into the pattern I developed the first time I played the game: going to work, coming home, turning on the computer, falling into bed five or six hours later after a hefty bout of leveling. I'd never played competitively or even really collaboratively in the past, as by the time I got on board, most of the friends I knew who played had been doing so for years, while the most complicated video game I'd tackled prior to WoW was Ocarina of Time (fucking Water Temple forced me to pull out the FAQs every time). As a result, I'd maybe actually play with friends about 10% of the time, while the other 90% was spent running around blissfully killing everything I could see.
I was listening to a Stuff You Should Know podcast on the Vikings the other day, and their discussion of the Berserkers definitely rang a bell when it comes to my video game playing - I am an admitted button masher, and I am not ashamed to say so. This makes me little more than a huge nuisance when I play with other people, so I usually wind up soloing my characters, as doing anything more than moving the mouse WHILE hitting a key or two on the keyboard, like strategizing or attempting to chat during a battle, turns into me dying in a matter of seconds. So while WoW is probably going to be a lot of fun to mess around with during break, I somehow doubt I'll have that much of a problem putting it away once classes start back up again.
School has finally started to get back under control for me, which has been great. After a last-minute crunch to get my IB paper and presentation put together (the latter largely thanks to my incredibly on-the-ball teammates without whom I probably would have totally bombed the thing...or at least certain deadlines), as well as an incredibly frustrating afternoon putting together my final website design project for the quarter, I'm 10 presentation reviews in and looking good to finish out the quarter strong. I decided to only take two classes next quarter instead of trying to squeeze in an elective, since I'm guessing that admissions committee work is going to be pretty intense and time-consuming, and of course, probably going to amp up about two or three weeks before the end of the quarter.
A frustration has begun to surface as of late that I've hit in the past before, but had hoped not to encounter in my library science journey. I've been keeping an eye out for any library jobs in the greater Seattle area that would suit a 23 year old graduate student, and while a couple have popped up, despite a pretty significant amount of library experience and one hell of a resume, I still haven't gotten any bites whatsoever. I'd interviewed with one institution in particular quite some time ago when I'd just graduated from Linfield and was desperately searching for a job, any job, and while the evening shift library supervisor position I applied for would have been the perfect next step, I was passed over in favor of someone a couple decades older than me. Since then, despite frequent follow-up with the library positions I've applied for there during the past couple months, I've never even gotten an email back to thank me for my interest in the position. And sure enough, a couple weeks after the job closes, I see another 40-50 year old in the position.
I'm trying really hard not to draw the wrong conclusions about this cold-shouldering, but getting a foot in the door is turning out to be extremely difficult. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the job I currently have - I've taught myself quite a lot about the legal process, and met some very nice people. But one of the reasons I thought I was hired there would be to aid in legal research using the skills I acquired during 3 years as a student worker in reference, and to date, I haven't done one damn bit of research. My days are mostly spent doing copy jobs, data entry, and basic filing, which I probably could have accomplished just fine when I was 15 years old. Being 23 and trying to find a challenging, interesting job that pays enough to support you is starting to seem like a mythical state of being at this point.
While I know my eventual MLIS degree will probably help, I suppose I'm just afraid that after graduation, I'll run smack into the same wall I'm beating my head against right now - it'll just be a little further along the path. I don't expect to waltz my way to the top of the library world, but I'd like to be given the chance to accomplish the things I know I'm capable of doing, and want desperately to do. I miss working in a library. I miss interacting with patrons, and having every day hold something different. I miss the feeling of being excited to go to work. I suppose that's one big reason I volunteer at SPL, but even there, I get chewed out pretty frequently for stepping beyond the established boundaries for volunteer aid. About a month ago, for example, a patron came up to me who spoke only Korean, and he managed to convey he needed a translator. I asked the circ desk worker what the normal procedure would be for that, and she handed me a placard with the number of the free translation service used by the library. I called the service, explained the situation, and set up the call for the patron. After speaking with the translator, he handed the phone back to me, and the translator conveyed his request (he'd forgotten his library card at home and needed someone to look up his number for him) to me, which I passed along to the right person. Simple enough, right? You'd think I'd have run up to one of the stacks, doused it in whiskey, and lit the thing on fire based on the librarian-in-charge's reaction to my account of handling the situation myself.
I think half of what attracts me to library administration is the concept of self-management, and not being constantly bitched at by people higher up on the food chain than me. Realistically, you can learn all there is to know about an entry-level job (if you aren't a total idiot) in a month. Why 3-5 years of experience on average is required for most of these positions is totally beyond me.
Okay, enough ranting for now. Trust me, I could go on, but that isn't exactly productive. For now, I'm going to stick with networking as much as humanly possible, which doesn't really feel like work, actually. My interest in the field is absolutely genuine, so meeting and interacting with as many people as possible that are currently in it is extremely interesting, and I've really enjoyed talking with the folks I've met so far! I'm hoping to get a chance to speak with some of the reference librarians at SPL sometime soon about what exactly they do, and in an informal, conversational context. I'm interested in getting to know what people really think about their jobs as librarians - not just the rainbows and butterflies that's projected to everyone that doesn't know better.
Sorry about the enormous post - despite taking an HTML class, I'm still trying to figure out the easiest way to hide chunks of text behind links in a blog post. I was a champ at that during my Livejournal days, but since there isn't a handy little button anymore, I'm a little lost. Hokay, time to Worgen it up for a while before bed. Later!
I was listening to a Stuff You Should Know podcast on the Vikings the other day, and their discussion of the Berserkers definitely rang a bell when it comes to my video game playing - I am an admitted button masher, and I am not ashamed to say so. This makes me little more than a huge nuisance when I play with other people, so I usually wind up soloing my characters, as doing anything more than moving the mouse WHILE hitting a key or two on the keyboard, like strategizing or attempting to chat during a battle, turns into me dying in a matter of seconds. So while WoW is probably going to be a lot of fun to mess around with during break, I somehow doubt I'll have that much of a problem putting it away once classes start back up again.
School has finally started to get back under control for me, which has been great. After a last-minute crunch to get my IB paper and presentation put together (the latter largely thanks to my incredibly on-the-ball teammates without whom I probably would have totally bombed the thing...or at least certain deadlines), as well as an incredibly frustrating afternoon putting together my final website design project for the quarter, I'm 10 presentation reviews in and looking good to finish out the quarter strong. I decided to only take two classes next quarter instead of trying to squeeze in an elective, since I'm guessing that admissions committee work is going to be pretty intense and time-consuming, and of course, probably going to amp up about two or three weeks before the end of the quarter.
A frustration has begun to surface as of late that I've hit in the past before, but had hoped not to encounter in my library science journey. I've been keeping an eye out for any library jobs in the greater Seattle area that would suit a 23 year old graduate student, and while a couple have popped up, despite a pretty significant amount of library experience and one hell of a resume, I still haven't gotten any bites whatsoever. I'd interviewed with one institution in particular quite some time ago when I'd just graduated from Linfield and was desperately searching for a job, any job, and while the evening shift library supervisor position I applied for would have been the perfect next step, I was passed over in favor of someone a couple decades older than me. Since then, despite frequent follow-up with the library positions I've applied for there during the past couple months, I've never even gotten an email back to thank me for my interest in the position. And sure enough, a couple weeks after the job closes, I see another 40-50 year old in the position.
I'm trying really hard not to draw the wrong conclusions about this cold-shouldering, but getting a foot in the door is turning out to be extremely difficult. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the job I currently have - I've taught myself quite a lot about the legal process, and met some very nice people. But one of the reasons I thought I was hired there would be to aid in legal research using the skills I acquired during 3 years as a student worker in reference, and to date, I haven't done one damn bit of research. My days are mostly spent doing copy jobs, data entry, and basic filing, which I probably could have accomplished just fine when I was 15 years old. Being 23 and trying to find a challenging, interesting job that pays enough to support you is starting to seem like a mythical state of being at this point.
While I know my eventual MLIS degree will probably help, I suppose I'm just afraid that after graduation, I'll run smack into the same wall I'm beating my head against right now - it'll just be a little further along the path. I don't expect to waltz my way to the top of the library world, but I'd like to be given the chance to accomplish the things I know I'm capable of doing, and want desperately to do. I miss working in a library. I miss interacting with patrons, and having every day hold something different. I miss the feeling of being excited to go to work. I suppose that's one big reason I volunteer at SPL, but even there, I get chewed out pretty frequently for stepping beyond the established boundaries for volunteer aid. About a month ago, for example, a patron came up to me who spoke only Korean, and he managed to convey he needed a translator. I asked the circ desk worker what the normal procedure would be for that, and she handed me a placard with the number of the free translation service used by the library. I called the service, explained the situation, and set up the call for the patron. After speaking with the translator, he handed the phone back to me, and the translator conveyed his request (he'd forgotten his library card at home and needed someone to look up his number for him) to me, which I passed along to the right person. Simple enough, right? You'd think I'd have run up to one of the stacks, doused it in whiskey, and lit the thing on fire based on the librarian-in-charge's reaction to my account of handling the situation myself.
I think half of what attracts me to library administration is the concept of self-management, and not being constantly bitched at by people higher up on the food chain than me. Realistically, you can learn all there is to know about an entry-level job (if you aren't a total idiot) in a month. Why 3-5 years of experience on average is required for most of these positions is totally beyond me.
Sorry about the enormous post - despite taking an HTML class, I'm still trying to figure out the easiest way to hide chunks of text behind links in a blog post. I was a champ at that during my Livejournal days, but since there isn't a handy little button anymore, I'm a little lost. Hokay, time to Worgen it up for a while before bed. Later!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Resurfacing!
Hi everyone! I just put the finishing touches on my portion of the 510 group IB project, and holy crap am I glad the past two weeks are over. Now that I've turned in my IB paper and our IB project is done (collectively worth 50% of my total grade in the class), I feel like I can finally breathe again.
I'd planned on writing a longer post about everything, but I think I'll wait and let my brain recover a bit first. But hallelujah to the ever lubbin jeebus I survived that gauntlet. :)
I'd planned on writing a longer post about everything, but I think I'll wait and let my brain recover a bit first. But hallelujah to the ever lubbin jeebus I survived that gauntlet. :)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pessimistic-affective break time!
I'm currently smack in the middle of watching Everything is Illuminated from a perspective based on Dervin's info-gaps, and since I'm drowning a little in IB theory, figured I could use a quick blog break before heading back to it.
Writing papers for this program, even though I've only completed one so far (not counting the midterm), is unlike any kind of writing I've done before in a really interesting way. I was an English Lit major in college with a smattering of History, Religion, and European Studies thrown in, so most of the papers I've written deal with relatively concrete ideas, concepts, and events. I took a grand total of one literary criticism class, which was both my least favorite lit class at Linfield and my only exposure to stand-alone literary theory. Studying information behavior theory independent from context, which is mostly what we've been doing this quarter, has been a definite learning experience for me. I'm much more used to applying theory to example situations or works, so figuring out how to discuss IB theory from a broader perspective has been challenging.
As things stand, I feel much more comfortable than I did a month ago with the multitude of IB theories out there. I'm really starting to be able to quickly identify the key elements of the work of certain theorists, and some of what I've read is absolutely fascinating. Favorites so far include Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory, Kuhlthau's Information Search Process (ISP), Salvolainen's Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS), Erdelez's Information Encountering, and Dervin's Sense-Making. We've done so much reading for this course that sometimes it feels like I can't stuff any more theory into my brain, but of what we've read, these theories and models have stuck more than most. I've decided to focus primarily on Dervin and Kuhthau for my IB paper, mostly because Dervin's discussion of the affective factors of information seeking fits in well with the emotional tone of the search in the film and because I think Kuhlthau's model thoroughly represents the typical information search by including those affective factors instead of glossing over them as some of the other models we've examined tend to do.
All that being said, I'm having a hard time not letting myself sink into a bit of a panic. The IB paper is due in a week, but even more dauntingly, our IB group presentation is due in two weeks, and although some good work has been done on it all so far, consolidating the vast amount of information and research we've gathered in into a coherent, focused thirty minute presentation is going to be a pretty enormous challenge. I think my strategy is to get the paper written as quickly as I can (ideally over the next two or three evenings) so that all my energy can be focused on putting the presentation together.
I seriously can't wait for the end of this quarter. For better or worse, shit will get done, but it'll be so nice to have a break.
On the plus side of things, I ordered myself a Droid 2 on Friday, so I should have a shiny new toy to play with come tomorrow evening. :)
Writing papers for this program, even though I've only completed one so far (not counting the midterm), is unlike any kind of writing I've done before in a really interesting way. I was an English Lit major in college with a smattering of History, Religion, and European Studies thrown in, so most of the papers I've written deal with relatively concrete ideas, concepts, and events. I took a grand total of one literary criticism class, which was both my least favorite lit class at Linfield and my only exposure to stand-alone literary theory. Studying information behavior theory independent from context, which is mostly what we've been doing this quarter, has been a definite learning experience for me. I'm much more used to applying theory to example situations or works, so figuring out how to discuss IB theory from a broader perspective has been challenging.
As things stand, I feel much more comfortable than I did a month ago with the multitude of IB theories out there. I'm really starting to be able to quickly identify the key elements of the work of certain theorists, and some of what I've read is absolutely fascinating. Favorites so far include Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory, Kuhlthau's Information Search Process (ISP), Salvolainen's Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS), Erdelez's Information Encountering, and Dervin's Sense-Making. We've done so much reading for this course that sometimes it feels like I can't stuff any more theory into my brain, but of what we've read, these theories and models have stuck more than most. I've decided to focus primarily on Dervin and Kuhthau for my IB paper, mostly because Dervin's discussion of the affective factors of information seeking fits in well with the emotional tone of the search in the film and because I think Kuhlthau's model thoroughly represents the typical information search by including those affective factors instead of glossing over them as some of the other models we've examined tend to do.
All that being said, I'm having a hard time not letting myself sink into a bit of a panic. The IB paper is due in a week, but even more dauntingly, our IB group presentation is due in two weeks, and although some good work has been done on it all so far, consolidating the vast amount of information and research we've gathered in into a coherent, focused thirty minute presentation is going to be a pretty enormous challenge. I think my strategy is to get the paper written as quickly as I can (ideally over the next two or three evenings) so that all my energy can be focused on putting the presentation together.
I seriously can't wait for the end of this quarter. For better or worse, shit will get done, but it'll be so nice to have a break.
On the plus side of things, I ordered myself a Droid 2 on Friday, so I should have a shiny new toy to play with come tomorrow evening. :)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Theraflu is a close second to Vick's for grossest medicine ever created.
Because I should probably stay as far as possible from the discussion boards while I'm in the state I'm in, and because the fuzziness in my head is refusing to let me focus on any one task for more than thirty seconds at a time, BLOG POST! Hopefully I won't regret this later when I regain consciousness!
School update time! Everything's been going pretty well, surprisingly enough. I'm sure I'll crack up reading that sentence in a couple weeks when everything starts coming due, but for now, I feel relatively on top of things. Well, at least not behind to the point of panic, anyway. I've got a lot to catch up on with the lit review for my Information Behaviors group presentation, but there's a good chance I'll actually have two interviews and a set or two of observations under my belt by the end of next week. I'm hoping to interview one of the librarians at the central branch of SPL about her experiences helping senior citizens in their info seeking needs, and if I can pin him down, my grandfather (who builds computers in his spare time). I think both of them would give some pretty awesome and unique perspectives on the info behaviors of senior citizens, and that combined with our lit review and observations should make for a pretty great presentation. I hope. O_o
Another looming project coming up is a paper that analyzes information behavior in a social setting. Sounds redundant when placed next to the IB project, non? The thing that distinguishes this paper from that project (and makes me pretty freaking stoked to write it, actually) is that this social setting can be real or imagined, meaning I can pick a favorite book or movie in lieu of a real life scenario if I so choose. I'm thinking of dibsing one of my absolute favorite films, based on one of my absolute favorite books: Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. The book itself is one big information seeking quest, but since the scope of the novel is much more grand than what's appropriate for a 7-10 page paper, I'm thinking focusing on the film will be more realistic given the time constraints.
Other than the IB project and the paper, 510's going pretty well! I'm actually enjoying posting in the discussion boards a lot, and it's been fun picking everyone's brains about the intricacies of information behaviors. I've probably said this in a blog post before, but it bears repeating that I feel we're finally being given the vocabulary to describe processes that we've all engaged in our entire lives. Learning in this way always makes me think of a phenomena that until recently I'd thought was just a me thing - whenever I learn something new, it feels like it's being learned for the first time. Period. Because it didn't exist to me before I learned it, it didn't exist period. Very Descartes of me, I know. :3 At least I think it was Descartes...I checked out of my freshman philosophy class about a week in, so I may be misquoting.
Life in general is also proceeding pretty well. My orientation meeting for the MLIS Admissions Committee is coming up next Monday morning, and I'm really REALLY excited for it. Work is shmurk. Hopefully soon, when I've recovered from this cold, I'll be able to rejoin the social world. But for now? More Dr. Who and *sigh* more Theraflu. Cheers!
School update time! Everything's been going pretty well, surprisingly enough. I'm sure I'll crack up reading that sentence in a couple weeks when everything starts coming due, but for now, I feel relatively on top of things. Well, at least not behind to the point of panic, anyway. I've got a lot to catch up on with the lit review for my Information Behaviors group presentation, but there's a good chance I'll actually have two interviews and a set or two of observations under my belt by the end of next week. I'm hoping to interview one of the librarians at the central branch of SPL about her experiences helping senior citizens in their info seeking needs, and if I can pin him down, my grandfather (who builds computers in his spare time). I think both of them would give some pretty awesome and unique perspectives on the info behaviors of senior citizens, and that combined with our lit review and observations should make for a pretty great presentation. I hope. O_o
Another looming project coming up is a paper that analyzes information behavior in a social setting. Sounds redundant when placed next to the IB project, non? The thing that distinguishes this paper from that project (and makes me pretty freaking stoked to write it, actually) is that this social setting can be real or imagined, meaning I can pick a favorite book or movie in lieu of a real life scenario if I so choose. I'm thinking of dibsing one of my absolute favorite films, based on one of my absolute favorite books: Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. The book itself is one big information seeking quest, but since the scope of the novel is much more grand than what's appropriate for a 7-10 page paper, I'm thinking focusing on the film will be more realistic given the time constraints.
Other than the IB project and the paper, 510's going pretty well! I'm actually enjoying posting in the discussion boards a lot, and it's been fun picking everyone's brains about the intricacies of information behaviors. I've probably said this in a blog post before, but it bears repeating that I feel we're finally being given the vocabulary to describe processes that we've all engaged in our entire lives. Learning in this way always makes me think of a phenomena that until recently I'd thought was just a me thing - whenever I learn something new, it feels like it's being learned for the first time. Period. Because it didn't exist to me before I learned it, it didn't exist period. Very Descartes of me, I know. :3 At least I think it was Descartes...I checked out of my freshman philosophy class about a week in, so I may be misquoting.
Life in general is also proceeding pretty well. My orientation meeting for the MLIS Admissions Committee is coming up next Monday morning, and I'm really REALLY excited for it. Work is shmurk. Hopefully soon, when I've recovered from this cold, I'll be able to rejoin the social world. But for now? More Dr. Who and *sigh* more Theraflu. Cheers!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Seriously EXCITING news :D
I just got word tonight that my application for the MLIS Admissions Committee for next year was accepted! Meaning I will be serving as one of four student representatives on the committee that selects next year's group of residential and online MLISers!
I could not be more excited, honestly. I'll be reading close to 50 applications, and fully participating in the work and deliberation carried out by the other members of the committee (i.e. iSchool faculty, staff, and administration). It's going to be a metric fuckton of work on top of the pile I already have for school, but to be in a position to help give a new group of students the chance to begin what I've started with the iSchool is such an amazing thing to be involved with, and I'm very honored.
Maybe eventually I'll have the time to sit down and write a proper entry, but for now, I like the brief entries. Keeps me from procrastinating if I don't have to write an essay every time. :)
I could not be more excited, honestly. I'll be reading close to 50 applications, and fully participating in the work and deliberation carried out by the other members of the committee (i.e. iSchool faculty, staff, and administration). It's going to be a metric fuckton of work on top of the pile I already have for school, but to be in a position to help give a new group of students the chance to begin what I've started with the iSchool is such an amazing thing to be involved with, and I'm very honored.
Maybe eventually I'll have the time to sit down and write a proper entry, but for now, I like the brief entries. Keeps me from procrastinating if I don't have to write an essay every time. :)
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