ALA

Since deciding to become a Librarian, I have found the stars are beginning to align. I was accepted, received financial aid that would enable me to focus on my studies, and meet students at SJSU through random encounters.

The best part about this "timing" thing was this past weekend when the American Library Association (ALA) held their Mid-Winter meeting here in San Diego.

Since I am a student (and this would be my first professional conference), I choose the Exhibit Supreme pass over any of the other bigger priced passes. There was a part of me that was a little sad that I wasn't able to attend some of the meetings. Yet, after walking through the exhibit hall after the first evening, I felt overwhelmed with the amount of information.

The exhibit booths were AMAZING. Just the idea that publishers want you to take a copy of their new books was the best part. And since I'm trying to catch up on a larger amount of the Young Adult titles that are available, it was the perfect opportunity to load up on some of these titles. In the coming months, you'll see some of those titles reviewed on this blog.

Walking the exhibit floor was a great introduction to the world outside of the library. The types of technology that are available to library systems is vast and expanding. Though eBook readers usage is rising, the amount of physical copies still available lead me to wonder when the larger switch from physical to digital might occur.

I know that this is an exciting time to enter the world of Library Science because this is a time for change. What that change will be, and how it will translate it modern libraries, is what excites me and what was fun about the ALA Mid-Winter Meeting. 

Christmas Present

So I have the greatest friend in the world.

This Christmas she handed me a box, wrapped in pretty paper. Inside was a brand new iPad.

A shiny, pretty, ENGRAVED iPad.

Naturally I cried. A lot.

But what has emerged from this pretty gift has been a new format of studying. On my first day of class I noticed the different types of ways I was now absorbing information. I was typing notes on my laptop and then sending the notes to my iPad. Instead of staring, hunched over my laptop, I was reading my school notes in a leisurely manner as I would a book. I found that I am retaining more information by this new method than my previous studying techniques.

I have also found that the Kindle app on my iPad is a very fun and handy feature. The vast amount of free classics are very appealing. Highlighting my favorite Sherlock Holmes passages has been fun as well.

I haven't begun to fully capture what the iPad can do for this semester's courses. I think that's the part I'm more excited about. How my shiny new toy can translate to a higher academic success. Let the games begin!

My Small Introduction

In the middle of my last semester at Washington State University, I was struck with the knowledge that I had no idea what I was going to do with my shiny new Bachelor's Degree. My major was to be Humanities with a minor in Political Science. It's a great general degree that would serve as a background but nothing that would establish myself in the art/literary fields I enjoyed. I had no experience  to back up my passions and no clue of how to proceed.

My work experience had always been (and still is) in retail. I spent many years working as a clerk, and later as a manager, in various bookstores. When my boyfriend, now husband, and I moved to the San Diego area, I began a new retail career with Starbucks. It was a drastic change from books to food retail. In the beginning I enjoyed my new position, but over time I realized that it was not the career that sparked my passion. This lead to a revealuation of what my passion had been, books.

One of my favorite parts of working at a bookstore had been the conversations with customers. The ability to discuss their loves and translate that into a book suggestion has always been one of my great retail skills. That and my absolute honesty if I don't agree with a sales pitch. I cannot sell something I don't believe in.

The problem with returning to the book world was that I didn't want to return to the world of book retail. I needed something new, a challenge. I wanted to be a librarian. I want to change the world through words, conversation and information.

I wanted to be say with pride, just like Rachel Weisz's character in The Mummy, that "I am a Librarian."

So here I am. Fresh off the boat starting my Master's program at San Jose State University. And like any overachiever, I have my next two years plotted out. It is my aspiration to study Youth Librarianship. There is something so endearing when children, tweens, and teens seek literature as a passion instead of a chore. Maybe that the idea that our future isn't complete lost in the chaos of the public school system.

To be honest, this passion sounds great on paper. It sounds even better when I talk about it with friends, family, and the library connections I have established in the past few months. The problem with this passion, and one of the reason for this blog, is that my knowledge of children/teen literature has dwindled since I left book retail. A few days ago I strolled through a Barnes and Noble to look at current Young Adult trends. I knew that Twilight series had been the "hot" read for awhile. I didn't realize how the series had now inspired a larger influx of Young Adult Paranormal Romance titles. Clearly, I felt out of my depth.

I want this blog to become an examination of these Young Adult titles and trends. I want to explore how the growing eBook world will effect the manner in which Children/Young Adult literature is now perceived in bookstores and in the world of education. I also want to use this blog to explore how a new MLIS student can use this challenging time of technological growth to her advantage. 

Basically, this is the story of how I survive my master's program and emerge as a Librarian.