Based on discussions from classes, several posts have been cooking in my head, so those will be coming soon. I haven’t had time to post because I had the following things due this week:

• an annotated bibliography of articles in the library literature, which I did focusing on OPAC research over the last five years (thoughts on this forthcoming)
• a reference assignment using encyclopedias and similar reference materials (I loved this)
• a searching assignment using Dialog (I actually didn’t mind its CLI or strange archaic qualities)
• an observation of reference transactions in a library
• a plan for a group project on digital libraries (looks like we’re working with a local university library on some theatre collections; definitely more on this later, too)

Yeah, so I don’t really mind coming to work today, having two meetings and three different projects, because it’s really much less than I had to do earlier in the week. Now I’m “free” this weekend to work at i-fest (a series of events to promote the School of Information Sciences), finish roofing the shed, catch up on my reading, go to a Halloween party…

My alma mater undergraduate institution, a small liberal arts college, has spent the last year or more rebuilding the library. (It’s good, because it really needed it.) I think that what they’re doing is really great—they’ve put a lot of thought into things, starting with putting the reference desk on the right as you enter and the circulation desk on the right as you leave. (Sure, it makes total sense—send users to the ref desk as soon as they walk in wanting information—but how many libraries can you think of that make you trip over the circulation desk when you come in?) There’s going to be a lovely, large reading room with fireplaces, and they’ve also been really smart about putting in video and audio editing studios.

On the virtual side, it looks like they’re putting a good bit of money and effort into a redesign of the OPAC, more and better databases, and technology in general, including a blog!

The library is part of an overarching Information Services department, which includes the IT people, media services, etc. Not only are they in the same department, they’re in the same building, and I think this is paying dividends. (It’s been a single department for some time, but I think they’re really hitting their stride with the idea now.) I can only imagine that having the computer help desk in the same building is good for drawing in students, and it looks like the librarians and the IT folks have been talking over the water cooler—a good thing, in my book.

According to the blog, the books in storage over the hiatus have been moved back into the library, and it’s going to be open for winter quarter in January. (During the construction people and books have been stuck in pigeonholes all over campus.) I’m going to Kalamazoo for a wedding in December, and I’m hoping I can score a sneak peek.

I’m about five weeks into library school, and I’ve learned tons. Among the highlights:

• It’s frickin’ freezin’ in the IS building, Mr. Bigglesworth. Except when it’s hot and stuffy. Note to self: wear layers.
• No one has mentioned Ranganathan yet. Melvil Dui, of course, and even Paul Otlet, another forgotten library forefather, whose name popped up in the biblioblogosphere recently. What gives? How can I be an effective librarian without the Five Laws?

Seriously, though, I have been learning things at a nearly exhausting pace.

I am taking a fantastic reference class with an instructor who is terrified she’s going to be mentioned on a blog somewhere—she just found un-flattering descriptions of herself on a former student’s blog. Well, I think she’s fabulous, so I’m mentioning her, though I’ll refrain from using her name.

I’m also taking introductory courses with completely opaque names like Understanding Information (the general theory of library-ness) and Retrieving Information (searching and retrieval) and a course on digital libraries. All very exciting. And working as a graduate student assistant. And working at my old job. All of this makes me feel pretty much whelmed, but it’s all manageable for now. And I can’t wait to be a real librarian.