Library Day in the Life is a blog event in which library workers share the details of their work each day for a week. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
This summer, I’m working as a student assistant in a university library’s cataloging and metadata services department. My primary responsibility is shelf processing: call number labeling, stamping, inserting security devices and otherwise preparing items for circulation. While the work can be tedious and repetitive, I usually enjoy it because I get to see many of the new acquisitions as they make their way from cataloging to the stacks. Shelf preparation has also exposed me to the care and feeding of books. Books damaged from circulation or otherwise needing special care are handled in the department, and I’ve enjoyed watching another assistant, a graduate of the university’s MFA in the Book Arts program, restore several items to a usable condition.
I worked today, preparing items for circulation in the university’s main library and education, science and engineering, and business libraries. Most of the items I processed were books, but I also worked with some stand-alone DVDs for the education collection. What little cataloging experience I have comes from my work in this department-this summer and previously as a graduate assistant- so seeing how non-book items are cataloged in an academic library environment interests me. I also get to process CDs, CD-ROMs, and DVDs accompanying texts. These often supplement books on topics related to computers and technology but not always; today I handled Traditional barn dances with calls & fiddling. Contra, anyone?
Mine is a student assistant position, which leads me to my other work: I am an MLIS candidate at The University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies. This summer I am taking a course in academic libraries and, while I’ll write about that later this week, I do want to share a picture of the classroom.
my work area
As with several courses I’ve taken via eLearning, I’m participating in this evening’s class from the comfort of my own home. One of my favorite things about my LIS program is the opportunities it affords to learn about technology by practicing its use.
That’s a day in the life of this LIS student and library worker. How was yours?
LINKS IN THIS POST
- Library Day in the Life wiki
- Library of Congress: Caring for Your Collections
- meLISsa BLOG posts tagged with librarydayinthelife
- University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies
- University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies: MFA in the Book Arts
- Wikipedia: Electronic learning
- WorldCat.org: Traditional barn dances with calls & fiddling
Related posts
Tags: librarydayinthelife
Leave a Reply