Reflections on being back on campus
This week I’ve returned to the Syracuse campus for the last residency of my MLIS degree: IST612, Youth Services and Libraries and Information Centers. Essentially, this is a collection development and youth literature course taught by Barbara Wall, librarian at the Krieger Elementary School in Poughkeepsie, NY. In this course, we are learning to booktalk books, write reviews and annotations, and develop a core collection of books for a library after analyzing the library’s demographics and services. This course is also a great opportunity to hear about lots and lots of different books for all age levels and discuss controversial and ethical issues in school library collection development. I have to say, I was really excited about coming to Syracuse for a week this year. After a year of juggling full time classes, part time work and a young family, the excuse to come here for a week and hang out with librarians and talk about books all day sounded heavenly! I joked to my facebook friends that I was going to “library camp!”
A weeklong class can be admittedly intense and exhausting, but stimulating at the same time. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with some new SU MLIS students who are just coming off their week of iSchool “boot camp.” They are understandably exhausted and somewhat overwhelmed, but it has been so much fun for me to talk to them and hear about the new additions to boot camp since last year (apparently there was a role playing game added which sounds like it was a blast, as well as student blogging). I’ve also been able to return the favor to some new students that was bestowed upon me by several students last year: advice on what courses to take when and with whom. Going back to school is for some people a major culture shock (it was for me), but once you get a rhythm going, it is a fantastic experience. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be this week (non-air conditioned dorms notwithstanding - figured the one week all summer it’s hot!). When else have I attended a book advisory lecture by Nancy Pearl and then wandered down to Marshall St. for some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had in the company of people I really enjoy talking to, all in a couple of hours time? Honestly!
Incidentally, if you’ve never heard of Nancy Pearl, she is the author of several wonderful reader’s advisory books such as Book Lust and Book Crush, and she even has her very own action figure, complete with shushing action! She is on campus this week teaching a course in Adult Services in the Public Library, and I had the good fortune to hear her speak at the Onondaga County Public Library. She booktalked a list of 21 books and was so obviously excited about them and so engaging that I couldn’t help but want to read them! If you ever get the chance to read her books or hear her speak, take it. SU is lucky to have her here.
Feel free to comment here or on the Syracuse iSchool LIS facebook page.
Posted by Rebecca Buerkett, Syracuse MLIS distance student, rlbuerke@syr.edu.