Reference Desk, 9/22/2010

Back at the desk again. Yesterday's class went very well, and I have been assigned to teach two classes next week. I am learning more and more about this place everyday. It won't be long before all of this is old hat. :) Shift 1 (9 - 11):

1. Had question about whether or not he was allowed to use the 2 computers on the second floor.
2. Looking for classroom A
3. Looking for a textbook for a class
4. Looking for a textbook for a class
5. Looking for change
6. Having trouble with a Word doc. It froze when she tried to print it. I tried to cancel the print job in order to unfreeze it, but when that didn't work she had to force the program to quit.
7. Wanted 2 blank sheets of paper
8. Student had a question about the APA workshop that is being taught today. Wanted to know where it was going to be.
9. (Chat) APA in text citation question

Shift 2 (3-5):

1. Wanted help finding a reference book. Couldn't help them because they were playing the UNIV 100 Game.
2. Looking for book reviews
3. (Chat) Wanted to know how to get to the first floor. (With the way this building is laid out that is a very good question.)
4. Having trouble printing her paper that contained pictures. Had her turn it into a pdf per Sarah suggestion and it worked. :)
5. Wanted to know if they could use the stapler
6. Looking for a book and an article about propaganda
   
7. Question about scanning

I finally got a few chat questions. Yay me! ;)

Reference Desk 9/21/2010

Another day, another reference shift. So far, McConnell is definitely not as hectic as Jackson was. Then again this is only my third shift on the reference desk. Things can change in the blink of an eye on the reference desk.

1. Looking for a stapler

Got that one question right before the shift was over. :) I teach at 11:00 a.m.

Reference Desk, 9/20/2010

First day at the reference desk as a professional librarian. How exciting. :) I admit I'm a little nervous about it. Must show no fear. Shift #1:

1. Student had trouble printing because document opened in protected view. Had to figure out how to get document out of protected view so that it could be printed. Had to figure out how to get document out of protected view so that it could be printed. Went under document settings. It was a 97-2003 Word doc, was trying to open in Word 2010.
2. Student brought up keys that had been left at a computer in the back. I took the keys to the lost and found at the front desk.
3. Student was having problems printing from a Mac. Student needed to make sure her RU login ID was being used instead of her full name. After that was changed it worked.
4. Student had question about printing from her laptop. Gave student instructions about wireless printing. Suggested that if that didn't work that she email the paper to herself and print from one of the computers here in reference.
5. Student wanted to save a webpage as a pdf. Was unable to help her figure it out, but she figured it out herself after a few minutes.
6. Closed classroom A, opened classroom B
7. Looking for the bathrooms
8. Looking for Classroom A
9. Student having trouble opening assignment in Blackboard. Suggested she try another browser, it worked then.
   

Not bad for a one hour shift. It went well and I was able to answer some of the questions with no assistance. It is a learning process though. The more I do it, the better I'll be at it.

Second shift on the desk today. Another hour of knowledge dropping fun. Shift #2:

1. Student was looking for the book The Coal Tattoo.
   
2. Student wanted to borrow some scissors.
3. Looking for classroom A
4. Looking for classroom A

Today consisted of mostly directional questions and printing problems. This library makes Jackson look like a printing Nirvana. Hopefully all of the printing bugs will be worked out soon. Tomorrow I team teach for the first time. We'll see how that goes.

Just when I think I'm out...

Well, I am truly speechless. I received a very surprising phone call yesterday afternoon. It was the director for the library I had interviewed at 2 weeks ago. He was calling to offer me the job. I truly thought they had already offered the job to someone else. You see I interviewed for the job on a Wednesday, and at the end of the interview I was told that I would hear something if not Monday then definitely Wednesday. So when I didn't hear anything, I assumed that they had given the job to someone with more teaching experience, like had happened with the other job I interviewed for that week. I am so glad I was wrong. After he said they wanted to offer me the job, all I could say for a full minute was OK. I know I sounded like a complete idiot! :) But who cares, we are moving to VA!!! I will be a reference and instruction librarian there. Now the real fun begins...

The Temp Job

The temp job that I started in June has been a colorful garden in a bleak landscape for me. I am really enjoying the work I am doing on the NC DOCKS project. I find a great deal of satisfaction in being able to work on a certain article or profile and then I can go to that item in the IR and see the result of my hard work. It's always nice to have something to show for the time an effort you invest. I'm glad I took that Digital Libraries class in during the Fall 2009 semester. I feel that it gave me a good foundation to build upon as I progress in this position. Thank God for this job and this library.

The Job Search

Anyone who tells you that looking for a job is a rewarding experience is a liar. I've been applying for jobs since December 2009, 37 in all, and this whole experience has not rewarded me in the least bit. I have had 4 phone interviews and have been on 4 job interviews. I have not had a single job offer. I have also turned down 2 other in person job interviews, because this whole process is too taxing and difficult for me to go for interviews for jobs that I do not want or are in places I do not want to live. This job search has left me more frustrated than I have ever been in my life, with very little confidence in myself, and at times, to question my faith. But I'm in good company, many of my fellow graduates have not fared much better. I can count on 2 fingers the number of library school friends that now have professional jobs.

While this experience has not been rewarding, I have learned a few things.

1. Never go on a job interview without knowing what they are going to pay you (at least get a range) or what benefits they offer.
2. Do not schedule 2 interviews 2 days in a row, especially if they are day long interviews. Not a good idea.
3. Never go on an interview for a job you do not want. These interviews are very stressful and taxing on the psyche. It is not worth the stress and aggravation to go through the interview process for a job you would turn down if offered.

With the Fall semester approaching there will be fewer and fewer academic jobs available. I am very unsure and confused about what my place in the library world should be. I'm trying to stay positive though. I really wanted to leave NC, but it looks like fate is trying to keep me here. We'll see how it plays out. I am a very impatient person and this summer has been torture for me. I'm disappointed that I will not be leaving NC. I really wanted to get out of here and experience new places. But who knows, I may look back on this in 5 years and say this was the greatest thing that could have happened, staying in NC. I hope so.

One positive thing that happened this summer is the temporary job that I have in Technical Services at Jackson Library. It is wonderful. I am working on the North Carolina Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (NC DOCKS) project. NC DOCKS is a cooperative effort to make the scholarly output of the University of North Carolina System more available to the world. Current institutional participants include Appalachian State University, Eastern Carolina University, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, and UNC Wilmington. NC DOCKS includes many full text articles, audio recordings, dissertations, and other formats. All materials are indexed by Google and are freely available to scholars and researchers world-wide. I have been retrieving articles, reformatting them and then uploading them to the IR. I've also been preparing an IR follow-up report by reviewing what has been uploaded and what still needs to be uploaded for the faculty members that the staff have been working on. I'm really enjoying my work there. I've always wanted to work in Technical Services. I hope this leads to a future in cataloging for me. Cataloging is what I always wanted to do anyway.

Reference Questions, 5/8/10

This is my last shift ever at Jackson. It's Saturday, and graduation is less than a week away. Yay!

1. Looking for a color printer
2. Needed guest login

This library was empty tonight. I can't believe I only got 2 questions. The only excitement was when a student walked past the desk in a Speedo and a t-shirt. I do not know what he was thinking. What a great story for my last shift. :)