TLA

I've just returned from two days at the Texas Library Association Conference in Austin. For the first time I must say I had a really good time there. My previous trips to Austin had left me with the feeling that Austin felt like the least Texan town I had ever been in. This time I didn't really have that feeling. People were friendly and warm. Maybe it was the influence of hundreds of librarians being in the city...

I presented for the first time on the rights research I've been doing for Houston Public Library. I was on a panel of three, the other two being the Vice President of Digital Services at Baylor University and the other being the Copyright Librarian at University of Michigan. When I first was invited to be on the panel and I found out who the others were, my thoughts were, "Oh my God! Who am I to be on this panel. I'm just a student...!" Then my good friend Nicole set me straight saying I'd be fine because I'm the one in the trenches, so to speak, doing the actual work. Well, after hearing the presentations of the others, I realized she may have been a little off on that assessment, but it did what I needed: a little self-esteem boost, a little encouragement. I must say I think I did en excellent job on my presentation. I wasn't nervous at all. I got some laughs in the right places and people asking good questions that I knew the answers to. The best part was afterward, the VP from Baylor handed me his card and said to give him a call when I graduated. I think that was a pretty nice compliment.

At this conference I also go to meet Karen Coyle. How big a nerd am I that I'm still bouncing a little inside when I think about having met her? She gave a great talk about the future of the semantic web. Once I finish my school work, I plan to think more about the ideas I had while listening to her presentation and to read more about the current developments. I agree with her that while the computer nerds, as she put it, have done a lot, it really is up to librarians to help push this forward in the direction it needs to go since we have the experience thinking about how users search and what a useful interface would look like for them and, really, for all of us.

UH Special Collections

I started my practicum at the University of Houston last week. Today, as a part of an on-going series where the different parts of the library invite other library staff to come to a presentation about their services, I went to a presentation by Special Collections. They started by introducing several of the people who work in that area, including talking about current projects, which sounded really great. I'd list them here, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to or not, so I won't. I would just recommend keeping an or an ear out for new exhibits produced by Special Collections. I was able to see some of the old and rare stuff they have like a 16th century King James Bible in excellent condition.

They also took us on a tour of the vault, which is a very large and very cold room where they keep all the really old stuff--and some new stuff. They explained that they also keep all the theses written by UH PhD students and some new books that have been published that they feel are or will be classic works of literature in the future, like Gone with the Wind. As we walked down the rows, it was really neat to get a glimpse of some of their rare books. When we walked out, I saw a whole row of nothing but bibles of varying ages. I do have a question about the fifty years after Gutenberg created his printing press. Why is it only those books published during that time that get a special name? (By the way, they're called incunabule.)

Cataloging the World

Last night I had a dream that two friends and I were traveling around the world cataloging everything. Hmm...now that I think about it, maybe we were a part of that scene in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where they had to replace the earth and everything on it back in its right spot. Or maybe it just means that I have finally taken in enough library stuff that I'm starting to live it...or something like that. It's kind of like you really know when you're truly understanding a foreign language when you dream in that language. Maybe it just means I'm finally getting this library stuff.

Third Semester

I'm starting my third semester of library school. I am taking and indexing and abstracting course, a cataloging course, and a preservation course. I am also going to be working on two practica, both in digital services, one public and one academic. I am running for Vice President of Houston LISSA. I am now the Secretary of GCAM. I am doing volunteer work for Houston ARCH. I'll be working on the wiki. I am volunteering at Houston Public Library. Oh, and I'm looking for a part-time job. I was hoping to find something along the lines of personal assistant to world leader since that's a job I hope to take on in the future. ;)

(I really am looking for a part-time job, though, in case anyone knows of anything library or database related. Thanks!)

Second Semester

Today was the last day of the face to face potion of my web institute. From here on out, my classes are all online. I must say after this weekend I am very excited about my new career path into the library field. I can't believe the variety of jobs and environments my library degree from University of North Texas (I had to mention the name) can take me. I went into the program thinking I wanted to be a librarian in children and youth services, but now I think I want to do something more technologically based. I want to make the (digital) world a better place.

In 5600 we have to do a group service project and I came up with a grandiose plan that could actually become something more than just a project for one class. My team is terrific, and they are just as excited as I am about the project, which is thrilling since they, too, believe it could go beyond this class. We'll see how that goes. Now, to complete homework!