Back to school

When I finished my last Master's degree, I thought I was done. That degree was in Medieval Studies, and even though I do not regret getting it, I will fully acknowledge that there weren't many career tracks leading out of it. I was ready to walk away from school and into the real world! That was 2008. Not the best time to join the real world, if you remember. So I puttered around in a book store for a year, then was hired at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. I was hired as a library assistant in the rare books section of Technical Services (home of the catalogers). 

I spent four and a half years telling anyone who asked that I would never get an MLS or MLIS. Everyone I met at the library looked on it as drudgery that you just happen to need if you want to work in the library field. Then, around the holidays last year, I realized that this is where I'm supposed to be. My parents refrained from saying "I told you so", because they're good people, but they've probably known for years that this is the direction I was headed.

Given my previous, negative attitude towards library school, I was somewhat trepidatious when I finally chose a school, the University of Alabama, and when I showed up for orientation last week I was pleased and surprised by the experience - everyone there, students and instructors, were all so motivated and enthusiastic. 

Distance education is a new experience for me, and although I use technology, I don't think of myself as a tech person. The difference between "fluency" and "literacy" that Professor Bonnici was talking about on Wednesday provides an interesting framework for thinking about how we use technology. I tend to do well on the literacy side, but am a bit of a hold-out on the fluency side. I can fix most minor malfunctions ("Have you tried turning it off and on again?") while avoiding the technical explanations. That's going to have to change now, I guess.

I thought I would end each of my posts with a picture and link to something that I've worked on at the Huntington. We'll start out with a lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair.