For the newly released spawn....

In my avid desperate search over the web for meaning in Library School, I have come across a few well intentioned shockers...

First up-Meredith Farkas (yeah, another Vermonter) in her great blog Information wants to be Free mentioned about the NON shortage of librarians out there in one of her blogs, getting me all in a ruckus about my life plans. I have two (count em) bachelors degrees....in art history and English....

You guess what I'm scared about...being another educated nonhirable.

But there is Hope!

Here is a new book to help all of us there in MLIS land...

And another little resource to see another viewpoint on our journey through school.

What I am starting to realize through my blog surfing is that there is a serious neglect of technology in library school, no matter how the tag Information Science is used in the degree. I like the fact that we are learning HTML in our class, I like the fact that we wont need to use the little buttons on Blogger.com if they don't show up. I also realize the need for more instruction in our curriculum.

Lately I have been looking at changing my plans from archives to public. I have this vision of bringing podcasting and wikis to some rural town and watching it explode. I realize that I will forever be learning. I'm kinda excited, but I'm also scared that I will get out there and some 10 year old boy will be giving that look (you know, that look) and thinking, "Duh! I learnt that on LeapFrog!" My other colleagues (bless em) are now making me relent a bit on my ranting about the History of Libraries being a necessary part of the curriculum. History is great, but I don't want to be it!

Here is a little crib sheet I have been using to help me bone up...at least to an eight grade level.