So I am halfway through my first semester of library school, and I am pretty frustrated. I'm only taking one class, but it's an intro class and pretty boring, plus lots of busywork. I feel like I'm not really learning anything except an occasional fact about the history of libraries and library science, nothing of practical use. I've got an A so far, and it's not that difficult (for the most part), but it feels like a big waste of time, and I don't enjoy online classes at all. There is no instruction, just reading and assignments; I feel like I'm paying a lot of money to teach myself.
The worst part is I'm not getting that much out of the class, yet the busywork required takes time away from the things I could be doing that benefit me much more professionally. I feel like I get so much more from participating in library-related Facebook groups, reading and discussing various topics, reading other library related blogs, and writing my own. Now I have almost no time for any of that, and worst of all, no time to read anything that is not required for my class! I have a stack of books that I want/need to read, some I'd like to review, but I don't see how I can get to them.
I think that is the part that frustrates me the most. I enjoy reading, and I try to read as much as I can, for pleasure and for RA purposes. I have the new Rick Riordan book, along with a couple of other new books I pulled at random, books for the tween book club, and the book Hidden Figures about an African-American female scientist who did crucial work for NASA, which I really want to read and will probably have to return before I can :( I don't know if I'll have time to read anything until winter break.
I hate not being able to keep up with my blogging, after I was finally starting to build up some readership, especially on my storytime site. Blogging helps me process my thoughts and keep a record of everything I've done, and I like being able to share with others. I only hope not all the classes will feel this pedestrian and impractical, but I really feel like I could learn so much more on my own. I keep telling myself it will be better when I get past these intro classes, but everyone tells me that's just how library school is.
Which begs the question, if most people feel that the MLIS degree really did not help them much, and they had to learn everything they really needed to know on their own and on the job, then what is the point?? Other than to be a money-making program for the schools?
"So, tell us about your favorite book or author...."
I cannot tell you how much I HATE this question (especially in an interview)! I was reminded of this recently when we were asked this question as an ice-breaker at my MLIS orientation. This question doesn't bother me so much in casual conversation, but in a job interview or any other professional interaction, it really puts me on the spot and causes instant anxiety. Apparently I'm a real oddball, particularly in the library field, because I don't have a favorite book or author.
Everyone else seems to have one particular life-changing book that they loved, and/or an author that they love, but not me. I do love to read, and there have been many books that I have liked, even loved, at various times in my life, but not one stands out as being a singular favorite. Definitely nothing life-altering. There are several authors whose books I have liked, but many have not written a large enough body of work to say they are my favorite, or if they have written a number of works, I have only read or only liked a few.
I don't even really have a favorite genre; it's all relative and situational. I love to read, and I will pretty much read almost anything that's in front of me given the time. I work in youth services, so I read mostly middle-grade and young adult novels for professional reasons, though I do try to read some adult books every now and then. I do find the teen fiction that *I* like tends not to be what is most popular with teens. I gravitate towards realistic and historical fiction, and I'm so over the whole vampire thing, and I don't really care for magical realism in general.
I'm not a huge fan of fantasy or sci-fi, but, if the story and writing are good enough, I can enjoy them. I loved Harry Potter (if I were really pressed to pick a favorite series, that might be it, but I don't like Rowling's adult novels at all) and Ender's Game, and liked Hunger Games quite a bit (once I got past the children killing children aspect). I really don't care for novels in verse or graphic novels; I have nothing against them and do recognize their value, it's just not my thing. But again, if they are well-written with a good story, I enjoy them. For example, Kwame Alexander's The Crossover and Booked, and the graphic novels El Deafo and Roller Girl.
One book I really liked this year was Echo, with four stories for the price of one, mostly historical fiction, with just a little magic thrown in, but not enough to be annoying. Also, I just read both The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate and felt they were written for my 10-year old self. I loved them, but they still don't outshine everything else, and it's so hard to compare different genres and ages.
As far as adult literature, I don't get to read that much, but some that I've enjoyed in the last 3-4 years were Unbroken, A Higher Call, and The Book Thief (that they all have to do with WWII is entirely coincidental). Some others were the popular Gone Girl as well as Flynn's earlier Dark Places, The Dovekeepers, and being a child of the '80's, I LOVED Ready Player One (can't wait for the movie!).
Some of my childhood favorites were Heidi, Little Women, Pippi Longstocking, The Mouse and the Motorcyle, Socks, and the Little House series. My guilty pleasure as a teen through adulthood is historical romance, mostly by Kathleen Woodiwiss and Johanna Lindsey as they are steamy enough, without being too slutty and sordid, and I just love the historical aspect and being immersed in different time periods. I save these to read on vacation, since they are purely for escape and entertainment.
But out of all of these, I cannot pick any one book as my favorite, and in a few years most will probably be replaced by newer titles in my mind.
So, am I weird for not having a favorite book? Does everyone else have a favorite? What's yours?
So my regular readers have probably noticed I have not been posting as much, and I have let a fair amount of time pass since my last post. If you do follow me, then you've probably guessed it has to do with my starting an MLIS program this fall.
While I'm only taking one class, and it does not really take up all of my time, I'm finding it's taking up most of my creative energy, and the amount of screen time I can tolerate. Since it is an online program, starting school has meant a huge increase in the amount of time I have to spend on the computer, participating in discussions, doing research, writing assignments, etc. And on top of that, I've got two presentations coming up at work that I've been spending time making Power Points for, so that's even more screen time than normal at work. This huge increase in computer time has taken a tole, causing significant eye strain and frequent headaches (and I did have my eyes checked recently).
So, what this boils down to is that I have less time to read books to review, and have many days I just can't spend another minute on the computer, and if I could, I can't seem to some up with anything to write about! It's a little easier maintaining at least weekly posting on my storytime blog, since storytime is the main part of my job, so I always have that to write about, and it's more straightforward.
I'm going to try to keep this blog going, but will only be able to post 2-3 times a month at most. I'll see how it goes for a while, but if I find I can't post that often I may have to reconsider, and possible switch to putting my book reviews on Goodreads and working some of the other content into my storytime blog, since I have many more readers for that one, and I only do programming for older groups sporadically.
At any rate, I will see how it goes!
So that's what I am now, a "non-traditional student," also known as the "returning student," "adult student," "life-long learner," or other euphemisms that we all know are code for "old". Some, like my husband, took a while to grow up and didn't get around to finishing college until later, some took time off to raise a family, some are getting an advanced degree to further their careers, and some of us are starting a second career.
I'm somewhat of a combination, I suppose. I have two degrees already, and worked in a previous career for a few years, then took a number of years off to have a family, during which time I volunteered and had a small home business. When the kids were older, I got a part-time job in the library and fell in love with it. So now I'm starting an MLIS program to get my degree so I can hopefully become a professional librarian.
What's it like being back in school after 25 years? Well, it's no picnic. First of all, there are constant reminders of how much older I am than many of my classmates. Some of them are barely older than my daughter, many don't really remember what life was like pre-internet. While on the other hand, the last time I wrote a research paper (my master's thesis) was in 1991, and all research was done in the library the hard way, using printed abstracts and indices to find articles in printed and bound professional journals. I did use a computer, but only for word processing, all of my charts, graphs, tables, and figures were done by hand using stick-on graphics tape, numbers and letters, then photographed and printed. I did all the photography myself, developing my own negative and prints, and making my own slides for my defense presentation (I actually think it's kinda cool I got to do all that).
So I feel like at least initially, having to re-learn how to do that kind of research using digital resources and materials will put me at a slight disadvantage; working in children's services doesn't really require any more in-depth reference than Google 99% of the time. Also I have not done any scholarly writing since my thesis, either, so I'm quite out of practice with using a more stuffy, scholarly writing style and remembering to cite everything properly.
Physically it's different this time around as well. My poor old eyes are having a hard time with the increased amount of computer time, and trying to read the teeny-tiny print in our rather dry and dull reading assignments, and I certainly can't pull all-nighters anymore, unless I don't have to work the next day. Even when I have free time in the evenings, I find I am too tired to stay focused on reading or put a reasonably coherent thought together to write anything. School is definitely going to be a little more challenging and require much more careful time-management than the first time around!
I am not typically a vain person, but I have to confess when I went to my orientation and looked around, realizing I was probably the oldest person there (other than some of the professors), it really bothered me and made me doubt myself. Is it too late? Am I just wasting my time and money getting a library degree? Will it ever actually pay off, with all these much younger people competing with me for jobs? After all, we all know how crappy the job market is in general, but it's even worse once you're over 40.
Oh well, at least one good thing about being in an online class is that I don't have to see people face-to-face and be confronted almost daily with their young shiny faces and reminded that I am old enough to be their mother. Online I can forget, and pretend we are all the same age.
Until another "mature" student makes a movie reference to "Field of Dreams" and I'm the only one who gets it, that is.
