Reflective Journal Crystal Grimes LI 801 Donna Reed November 30, 2010

Crystal Grimes LI 801 Reflective Journal

This is my reflective journal for LI 801. In this journal I will be writing my thoughts about various things I read during my classes this term. I will also be writing about movies and other things that I see if they pertain to information or the library system. Another thing I will be exploring is where I want to go in this career.

School Observations: Sam Wallin Video

I finally was able to watch the video of Sam Wallin and his presentation of the Information Transfer Model. I really liked it and it made since of all the different ways that the model can go and be used. I agree that the flower (where the pieces where the opposite way of how they were originally) makes sense of what we were trying to accomplish in our job. I also looked at the model that was done by Diane Couture and when I compare the two I have to say that I like the drawn model better. It makes more sense to me in the way that everything seems to be connected and constantly flowing.

What is your Learning Style?

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Last night for my 802 class I completed my learning styles inventory. Now I have done this before when I first started my undergraduate degree, but that was six years ago so I was excited to see what results I would get this time around. It was no surprise that for the first two tests (visual, tactile-kinesthetic, auditory) that I got predominantly visual with a close second as tactile-kinesthetic. Ever since I have been little I have always learned and grasped concepts better if I am shown and then allowed to have hands on experience. Auditory was very much in the distance, I just cant learn very well when I am getting talked at. The third test was whether I was global or analytic, and I was mildly surprised to have been more analytic. I guess I agree but I will say that I do have characteristics of being globally minded, such as going with my feelings and seeing the big picture as opposed to the details. The last test was the most interesting and the one that has changed the most since I last took it six years ago; the multiple intelligences test. According to the test there are seven types of intelligence: Spatial/Visual Musical/Rhythmic Linguistic/Verbal Interpersonal Intrapersonal Bodily/Kinesthetic Logical/Mathematical

When I last took the test my top two were Visual/ Spatial and Interpersonal. These results where no surprise considering at the time, besides being very visual, I was also the one who gave advice and seemed to know what was going on with my friends when they didnt know. This time however I got a different run down, my top two were tied this time. I got Visual/Spatial and Musical/Rhythmic. I only came to the conclusion that this makes sense after talking to my mom and she informed me that to learn things when I was little we would make up songs and clap rhythms for spelling, math, and the like. I realized that I still do these things while I am learning and would use my pencil to tap out beats while I studied for tests. Im excited because I can use these strengths to help teach others when I get done with graduate school, I also know what my weaknesses are and can work on them while I am still in school and throughout the rest of my life, that way I can relate to others better and can help them to find the answers that they need.

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Recommended Readings
Rural Libraries

When I decided what article I would read and write an entry on I was not sure as to which one to pick. There are so many different paths that I want to explore and see what I would find interesting. So even though I am only required to read one, I think I want to take the time to explore as many different paths as I can using my classmates reading recommendations. The first article that I will be looking at is from the rural libraries list. In the article The Backyard Librarian a twenty-five year old librarian is profiled as the director of a small community college library in southeastern Kansas. The article addresses the need for MLS librarians in rural settings and suggests one way to bring them in is to appeal to the influx of new, young graduates from library schools. The article brings up the idea of the hipster librarian and the fact that libraries are now considered cool. The ideal is that once out of library school the now graduated student can then land a job in a cool urban library and be able to use their creative talent in ways that can inspire and motivate their patrons when they enter the library. The harsh reality is that once a student graduates from school they may not be able to get a job in an urban setting, and may have to look elsewhere. Perhaps a rural library is where they will get hired. Is this a bad thing for a new comer to the library world? Not according to the article, it in fact states that there is a high need for librarians that have been trained and have MLS degrees. The thing is that new, young librarians can bring fresh ideas to a rural setting where they may not have experienced a lot of change in a very long time. A new way of doing things may be the best thing for some of these particular libraries and may help to breathe a new breath of fresh air into the dusty shelves. This is definitely an area that I want to look at and maybe pursue with more
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interest. I love the idea of being able to bring ideas to a place where even just something small could make a big impact on the life of the library.

Records Management

Another area of interest for me is archives and records management. I think this has always stuck out to me due to my background in computers. In my mind I see stacks of paper and think of how they could be digitized and easier to manage. I guess that makes me a rather strange breed of librarian, liking paper but not being opposed to digitizing things. I think in the case of records management this is where digitizing could really be a huge time saver. In the article Can records management save the world? The idea of digitizing records is the focus of the piece, however it not shown in a light of how it is better than paper, it is instead in the light of maybe that it might not be the end all solution to the problem of organizing these records. It does help matters to keep objects digitized, since we do not have an unlimited supply of trees, but we just cannot assume that everything is going to keep going along as it is now. The article also mentions that we also do not have an unlimited electricity to keep powering all the drives, servers, and other devices that we need to keep all these records intact. One solution that they mention is to delete any records that dont need to be kept and to keep up on it and not slack off after an initial period of deletion. Just doing this can greatly decrease the strain on information resources and free them up for more demands. This is where the librarian comes in, I personally would love to be able to get in and organize, delete, and rearrange whatever needs to be and to help optimize how the hardware works. This is one thing that would completely merge my two favorite things, libraries and computers/technology. So maybe a path for me could be records management and I could work in some business or health center to keep those records organized.
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Life observations: Information/Advertising Overload

Why is it that I cant even walk into a Wal-Mart without being bombarded by ads all over the place? Its ridiculous that on the end of every isle there is a small TV that is advertising some product that I just cant live without. To top it off there are large TVs hanging from the ceilings advertising things too, and then there is the overhead radio that will play ads as well. No wonder we as a society are experiencing information overload, how can we not when we cant escape even when we just need to buy a gallon of milk from the corner market. My 802 readings are really helping me to see this issue, which I was mostly oblivious to before now.

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Why did I choose Librarianship? AKA My History

Why did you decide to become a librarian? This is a question that I am asked every time I tell someone about my graduate school program. The answer I normally give is that of Well I have loved to read ever since I was a child and I want to be able to give others that joy as well or something else along those lines. That seems to please most of those who ask me and allows me to expand on why I want to bring information to others who may not have easy access to it. After these conversations though I often find myself asking myself why I am doing this. If I were to look at it logically this is not the most high profile career I could have chosen. I mean I got my bachelors degree in Information Systems and I do know how to do networking and I am pretty good with a computer. So why did I choose this path in my education and career path? If I were to be honest I never pictured myself being a librarian. When I was a child I had one goal and that was to be a wife and mother, if I was to get a job it would be one that would help people. My first choice was something in the medical field and my aspirations were anything from nursing to pediatrics to finally settling on medical research. It was only when I was told you had to be a doctor for a long time to actually be a researcher that I finally gave up on that dream. It was after that when I was told that if I liked to research then I should look into being a paralegal. I was just starting high school at the time and so I honestly had no idea what went into this job. After two years or so I decided that I had really no interest in law and so came to the conclusion that it was not the job for me. When I was 17 my best friend told me about a college fair going on at the high school and took me along with her. It was here that I talked to some tech schools and thought about the idea of going into computers since it was a growing field. About halfway through the day I saw the University of Washington booth and wandered over to glance at their offerings. I saw that they had a good tech program and that they were a well-known school. I glanced at the pamphlet and also saw a paralegal program and then four words caught my eye: Masters in Library Science. They had a program for librarians? I was curious so I asked the workers there and they said that yes they had a great program for aspiring librarians at the school. After hearing a little more about the program it was as if a giant light appeared above my head and I was like Yes this is what I want to do! I then didnt do much about it until after I graduated and started community college. I talked to my advisor about what to do and he told me to talk to the colleges librarian and to get her perspective. She had graduated from the University of Washington and some of the first words she told me were Dont pursue a degree in English. I told her that my interest was actually in
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computers and she was silent for a while and then she said that would probably be a great way to go. After two years at Community College I then transferred to Western Oregon and began my undergrad. It ended up taking me a lot longer to get my four year degree than a lot of my friends and peers and it was during that time that I found out why I love the library so much, and I can attribute it all to my work study at Dallas Public Library. It was here that I saw the inner workings of the library, the way books were carried to and from locations and how information could be found with just a few keystrokes and a computer. How the reference librarian it seemed had memorized the entire collection and could recite from memory the most random facts that came up. It was also the first time I saw how information could truly help people. It was during this time I believe I started deciding what path that I wanted to take, a path that forged both old and new together to make something different. I was the certified computer person and loved it when I could help the seniors or adults with computer services. Searching for lost items was so much fun because I had to use creative thinking skills to figure out where they could be. Every day I didnt know what item I would need to help locate, or what computer question would get brought up. It was as if every time I went into work it was a new adventure and I loved every minute of it. So after this very long history lesson of how I got to this point, I guess I do have to answer the question I posed for myself at the beginning of this entry. Why did I pick this profession? The reason I picked it isnt because of some great revelation or anything like that, I picked it because I want to help people and I believe this is the best, and most beneficial, way that I can do it. Yes I do have talent in finding things and then relating those facts to people; yes I can fix many computer issues and show others how to work a computer; and yes I can even alphabetize a bookshelf in no time flat. Yet these arent the reasons that I choose to do this. I wanted to do something that would make a difference, something that impacted people and could make the world a better place. I believe that is what library services do. We do more than just organize books, we guide people to the information they seek. Its like we are safari guides in this crazy jungle of information and without us then those who wander in would get eaten alive. (Crazy illustration but it gets the point across). I want to be a guide, to help someone leap into an old system of organizing information and to come out with new ways to access it. I want to be the reason a little kid found the right books for their report, or science fair project. I just want to help those who need help on a daily basis.

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The Wonders of Technology

It happens every couple months without fail. I walk up to the large warehouse store and the automatic doors open with a whoosh and splash me with warm air. The employee at the front welcomes me to the store and I am immediately struck by the noise coming from the wall of televisions in the back. My true destination calls to me from the right side of the store. As I get closer the noise of the TVs fade and it is instead replaced by the sound of videos playing from small brightly lit screens. The computer section. I could spend hours in this section if I choose to. Looking at all the new models, seeing the new specifications, wondering what is coming out in the next few months. I just love seeing all the possibilities of what could be and what is already out. The one thing that I want to do when I am a librarian is to try and incorporate technology in ways that everyone can use it. This includes those who are intimidated by technology and those who are comfortable with it as well. One thing I saw during my work study was the constant use of our internet stations and our resume work room in the back. These were always in high demand and they would all be booked within five minutes of us opening. Every day though there would be more questions about how to use the computers then not. It was something lacking in our library that surprised me at first, the lack of computer support. One of the jobs that a librarian has is to guide users to the information that they seek. As someone who wants to do this then isnt my job to also help those who are seeking computer help? I have been wondering if there is a space that would let me teach those who dont know a lot about computers and need to learn basic skills to help them cope. Maybe I should look into what kind of librarian I could be that could work with collections and also teach computer skills. Im honestly not sure what I am looking for, but the fun is in the search.

Information Overload
On November 29, 2010 NPR interviewed Harvard professor Ann Blair about the idea that information overload is not something that is new to this generation. The idea she presents is that this is something that has been going on ever since information started getting put into books and saved in collections. The idea is that when books were first starting to get put together it created a situation where it seemed there were too many books and in turn there was too much information to sort through. Nowadays according to Blair there are cultural differences as to how they deal with information. In China for instance there is an anthology of all the known works and they were originally
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designed for the emperor and not for the general public. However in Europe reference books are always published for the consumption of the general public and they are made to be sold for a profit. Due to the differences in how they are consumed it seems as if in Europe information is more readily available and so it would seem as if there was more of an overload than in parts of the world where the access to information is restricted. Blair also goes on to say that she thinks that there is a zettabyte of digital information available on the web. A zettabyte is a 10 with 21 zeroes after it. I find it interesting that if we have that much information on the web that we can find anything at all. Some of the callers had the same train of thought as me when it came to how much information is available in digital and physical forms and how do we even navigate it at all. One caller says that you need to be able to tune out information that is not important to what you are readily searching for. Another person says that you need to find good and reliable sources or else you will get lost very fast. One of the ways that we can keep from getting lost is to go to information professionals like librarians. They are the ones who have been trained to know the good sources from the ones that you cant trust. Blair also makes a good point in saying that even though we are relying on computers to help us find the information that we seek we also need to engage our own minds otherwise we will forget how to focus our attention on a single task and if we cant do that then we will end up straying from what we were originally focusing on.

Net Neutrality

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It seems as if net neutrality is something that is a huge issue in todays day and age. I seem to be hearing about it from two different sides since I am in library school and I am very involved in the technology culture. When I first heard about it I really wasnt sure what it was, but after doing some research I know have a clearer understanding of what exactly it is. The idea of net neutrality is that everyone, everywhere can access the same information as everyone else without having to pay a premium, or having their ISP slow down access to certain sites. The problem is that there is no law that states that businesses have to keep this idea and when it comes to large businesses if they can make a little bit more money, then they will it is basic simple business sense. In my opinion I really dont see how restriction others access is really going to help things at all. With the web so pervasive in our everyday life it seems like it would just set everyone back; that is unless they are able to pay a premium to get high speed access. One thing that could be affected is the fact that there is such a huge portion of learning happening online. Streaming videos, video conferencing, sharing large presentations over the web, all these things require high amounts of bandwidth. High bandwidth would be restricted and then unless you could pay a fee you would be unable to access these speeds to do your schoolwork. There are just no real positives when it comes to restricting net access. It will end up hurting the population and the way we go about getting things done. I will be keeping up with this as it keeps developing and I am desperately hoping that the FCC is able to pass net neutrality for good.

Movie observations: Desk Set

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For this journal one of the things we needed to do was watch a movie pertaining to libraries or librarians and the movie I choose to watch was Desk Set. I may decide to watch another movie and talk about it but as of right now Im just going to discuss the one. Desk Set (1957) stars Spencer Tracy as Richard Sumner and Katharine Hepburn as Bunny Watson. Bunny is the head of a TV networks research department and between her and the other three girls who work in the office the many questions of those who work for the company get answered every day without fail. All is great for the four women until a mysterious man by the name of Sumner shows up and starts hanging out in the office constantly. When they first see him he is measuring their office for an unknown purpose and pretty soon he starts showing up every day, just observing how the women work. It isnt until about 3/4ths of the way through the movie that it is revealed that he is a computer designer and he has been hired to computerize the research office. Naturally Bunny and the others are worried about losing their jobs to a computer so they take it upon themselves to show that a computer can never do what a human can. During the first part of the movie it shows a very clear representation of what being an informational professional was like before technology was integrated into our everyday lives. Once of the characters mentions that it took her weeks to find an answer to a question posed to the computer, which then spits out the answer in one minute. This is exactly what the women are so afraid of, that they will be replaced with a piece of new technology that can do things faster, and better than they can. This is something that has not changed in the last fifty years since this movie came out. Even today librarians, and other professions, are worried about being replaced by automated machines that can do the job for no pay. It is always a fear that these jobs will become obsolete and those who work them will then be unable to find work. I dont think that librarians will ever become obsolete due to the fact that information is always changing and we need that human element to figure out what to do with new information in the first place. In the movie the computer could only use what information had already been fed to it, and that hasnt changed. A computer can only organize what information has been programmed into it. It is not a thinking object and can only work within its programming. Even A.I. makes decisions based on complex algorithms that a human had to program into its memory. At the end of the movie it is explained that Sumner made the computer to help ease the workload so that the women could dedicate more time to researching and less on answering routine or simple questions that could be answered without a lot of work. It was shown that with simple questions the computer exceled at answering them but when it came to complex or in-depth questions the human element was much better at answering those. Even though it has changed and computers have become much more complex and able to handle more difficult queries, it is

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still the human element that is needed to truly find answers for some really tough and intricate questions.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

So I decided to go ahead and watch another movie from the list of movies that we could choose from. I choose my second one to be Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, and even though this one, Chamber of Secrets, and Goblet of Fire all appeared on the list, I feel as if this one has a story that relies more on searching for information and relying on printed sources than the other two movies. I am sure that most everyone is familiar with the story of Harry Potter but I will do a quick recap just in case. Harry is ten year old orphan who is currently living with his uncle, aunt, and mean cousin Dudley. On his eleventh birthday he discovers that his parents were wizards killed by the Dark Lord and that he is also a wizard. He then heads off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to hone his new found powers. During his first year Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione stumble upon a secret at Hogwarts concerning Harrys past, a three-headed dog, and a strange stone. One of the main reasons that the three kids figure out the mystery is due to Hermiones skills at finding information in the schools library. She is the one to place the name Nicholas Flamel that Harry remembers reading on the train to school, with the one who created the Sorcerers Stone. It is also due to her hunting skills that she remembers that the history of the stone is in one of her light reading books that she Checked out weeks ago. In the movie there is one main scene that shows Harry using the Restricted Section of the library, which is full of books that are off limits to the younger students, in hopes of finding information
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about Nicholas Flamel. He is promptly shooed out by the schools caretaker and he and the others are forced to look elsewhere. One thing about how they go about finding the information is that not once do any of the kids use a computer, or any other electronic device to help them. You can make the argument that in the story they have magic and so using computers is a moot point, but while doing their searching they do not use magic at all. In fact because they are first years they most likely do not know any spells that would speed up the searching. It seems as if the teachers want the children to know how to do searching without aid before they learn shortcuts (this is not stated in the movie anywhere, I am just making an assumption). The main reason I like this movie the best out the ones we could have picked is because I think it best shows childlike curiosity. The main reason children ask why, how, what, or any other question they can think of is due to an insatiable desire to know what is going on around them. As we get older we are taught to not ask questions and to quietly just look up the answer if we dont know it. I dont understand where this attitude seemed to come from. When we ask questions we are learning and observing the world around us. When we dont ask questions we are letting potentially helpful facts and knowledge pass us by so fast we will never know that it was there. As information professionals we are in the business to ask questions and to figure out who, what, how, and any other question that comes our way. I think adults need to ask more questions, to get in touch with that curiosity that we are taught to ignore as we get older. It is amazing how much you can learn just by asking a few simple questions. Also the more you ask and the more places you are shown to look, the easier it is then for you to find the information on your own the next time.

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Wrap Up, for Now

Well I am near the end of another term. I sit here amazed that I have nearly completed my very first term of library school. I can say that this has been a crazy and unexpected journey into what I want to do with my career path. When I first started I was expecting this program to be like it my undergraduate degree was like. While there are similarities, there are many more differences that I have come to embrace. It was during my second weekends of both classes that I started feeling the pieces of this puzzle start coming together. One thing that has changed a lot with me is where I want to specialize in libraries. When I started back in August I had no idea what path I wanted to take. I knew I probably wouldnt go for school libraries of any kind, but other than that I had no clue. I have now decided on public libraries, records and archives, or maybe a special library that deals with something technical in its nature. I know that in these options themselves there are many paths that I could take, but that is ok. I have to come to understand that flexibility is something that is just common in the library world. It is not a static job, a job that offers no stimulation or excitement. It is something where every day you are not sure what you are going to get. Where when you come into work you are faced with questions, problems, and you need to be creative with your solutions. I usually do not like change at all, but for some reason I am excited about the changes happening in this field. The way that things change on a whim every day excites me for what I am going into. I did not pick a static career; I picked something that is going to offer me a new challenge every day. How many jobs can say that they offer a new and exciting puzzle nearly every day and that it hardly ever gets routine and boring? I can pretty much guarantee there are not many that can. Even though this may not be the job for a lot of people, Im glad that it is a job for me. I wanted to end my journal with something visual, since I am a visual learner primarily. I made a worldle out of my journal when I was halfway through. I want to show it next to one that I made right after my last entry.

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Halfway through:

End of term:

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References List

Abiator's Online Learning Styles Inventory. (2005). Retrieved from: http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html Boeri, R.J. (2008). Can records management save the world? EcontentMag, Retrieved From http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Info-Insider/Can-RecordsManagement-Save-the-World-48826.htm Case, D. O. (2007). Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior. 2nd ed. Wagon Lane, Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Couture, D. (2004). Information Transfer Model [Picture], Retrieved from: http://elearning.emporia.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-33000_1 Ephron, H. (Producer), & Lang, W. (Director). (1957). Desk Set [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century-Fox Heyman, D. (Producer), & Columbus, C. (Director). (2001). Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone [Motion Picture]. United Kingdom & United States: Warner Bros. Pictures Information Overload is not Unique to Digital Age. (2010, November 29). Talk of the Nation. [Radio News Program]. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/29/131671951/information-overload-is-not-unique-to-digital-age LaFlamme, M. (2008, June 10). The Backroad Librarian: Generation Next [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.dailyyonder.com/backroad-librarian-generation-next Net Neutrality. (2010). Retrived from: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/telecom/netneutrality/index.cfm Wallin, S, (Presenter). (2007). Information Transfer Model. Retrieved from mms://mythos.emporia.edu/esumedia/slim/803informationtransfermodel.wmv

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