A reader's life

Since I'm currently at a library conference, I thought that this quotation was appropriate to post: "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." -George RR Martin

Enjoy your weekend and may you work on your one thousand lives!

Library love

by jannem via Flickr

"A library is not, as some would have it, a place for the retiring of disposition or the faint of heart. It is not an ivory tower or quiet room in a sanitarium facing away from the afternoon sun. It is, rather, a command center, a power base. A board room; a war room. An oval office for all who preside over their own destinies. One does not retreat from the world here; one prepares to join in at an advantage."

-Eric Burns, from his book The Joy of Books: Confessions of a Lifelong Reader, emphasis mine

How to decide if you should continue working while in grad school

by clok_moitie via Flickr

Two weeks ago, I outlined some tactics that I used to survive working full-time while going to grad school full-time (part 1 and part 2). While I wrote those posts as a way to help out those who are in a similar situation or who are going to be in a similar situation, I thought it would be even more helpful to explain why I decided to undertake those two years of hell and present some questions to ask yourself if you are debating whether or not to do something similar.

A case for working full-time
The main reason why I decided not to quit my job to go to grad school was because I knew my field. Believe it or not, library science has become a pretty competitive field these days thanks to drastically slashed budgets (meaning fewer positions available) and a high number of newly minted librarians finishing their degrees every year. I knew from reading job postings and from participating in many, many job interviews at my library that experience is a key factor in landing a library job. Many entry level positions require you to have anywhere between one to three years of experience (sometimes even 5!) to be seriously considered for the position. If I had quit my full-time job, I would have been cutting my experience length short by at least two years and I had no guarantee that I would be able to secure an assistantship and or part-time library job to add to the experience I already had. It was a risk I was not willing to take.

Another key reason I did not quit my job was because of the paycheck. By keeping my job, I was able to take out fewer student loans to cover my expenses. The only loans I took out were to cover tuition and a new computer; everything else was paid for by my salary. The smaller debt burden was a huge relief for me.

Things you should consider when debating whether or not to quit your full-time job to pursue grad school:

• Your field. How competitive is your field/the field you want to break into? Is your current job in the field you are interested in? How much work experience does the typical entry level job require in your field? Do you have the required work experience already? If so, would a few extra years make you stand out from the competition? 
• Your financial situation. If you continue working, would you need to take out student loans to pay for tuition? How about living expenses? If you don’t continue working, would you need to take out student loans to pay for tuition? How about living expenses? How much student loan debt do you already have? Are you comfortable adding to that debt?

A case for going to grad school full-time

The main reason why I decided to go to grad school full-time was because I knew my "school stress style," for lack of a better term. In order to get back into the swing of being in school, I took a graduate level class that was not related to my library program the spring before I started grad school (which is something I would recommend to anyone thinking about going back to school full-time, but who has gotten out of the swing of school). Even though it was only one class, it took over my life. I spent all of my extra time reading, writing, and studying for that class (even though the grades I got weren't really going to count for anything beyond a personal sense of satisfaction since it wasn't a part of my real graduate program and it was at a different school). I knew that taking one class would already leave me stressed out and time crunched, so I figured I might as well take multiple classes because I knew that less classes did not necessarily mean less stress for me. 

Another large reason I decided to go full-time was because of my pretty open schedule. I didn’t have kids to take care of, a husband to feed, a business to run, an organization to chair. I worked full-time and that was about it. Time is a gift and I decided to take advantage of the relative abundance of it that I knew I would have at my disposal over those two years. If I dragged school out, there was a possibility that my time would not be as open in the future and my degree would take forever and a day to complete. 

Which leads me to the next reason why I did grad school full-time: I was simply impatient. I wanted my degree and I wanted it right then. I was already chomping at the bit knowing that I was going at it as fast as I could. I just knew that if I slowed it down any, I would feel like I was going to burst out of my skin with anticipation. The only thing holding me back from the life and job I wanted was a few measly letters after my name. That small hurdle was targeted and phasers were set to destroy. 

The last reason for my choosing to go full-time was my belief that it was a requirement in order to get in-state tuition. You see, Virginia does not have any library schools and so I was entitled to in-state tuition from whichever school I attended that was a participant in the Academic Common Market (I did an online program which was also included in the agreement). One of the requirements to get in-state tuition is supposedly full-time status, but the school I got my degree from wound up not enforcing this technicality.

Things you should consider when debating whether or not to pursue grad school full-time: 

• Your school stress style. How do you handle stress from school? Would one class be just as stressful for you as taking two or more classes? 
• Your schedule. How busy are you? Can you drop any obligations in order to free up more of your time to dedicate to schoolwork? Is there anything coming up in your life over the next few years that would hinder your ability to attend classes and get your schoolwork done? 
• Your eagerness. Do you feel like you’re being held back by not having your advanced degree? How tenacious are you about earning those extra letters? Would you be a Grumpy Gus if you felt like you were going at a snail’s pace? 
• Your financial situation. Are there opportunities available to you for either saving or earning money that are only available if you are a full-time student? If you went to grad school at a slower pace, would you be able to pay out of pocket for school expenses rather than having to take out student loans to cover a full-time course load? 

I realize (and I hope you realize too!) that just because jumping in with both feet worked for me, it will not work for everyone. Please look at your own situation with honesty and evaluate what is doable for you. Grad school is a big commitment and you should not take it lightly. Taking it at your own pace will be far more rewarding than pushing your limits unnecessarily and not getting anything out of it but gray hairs.

Whirlwind weekend

by scrobz via Flickr

I am super tired y'all, so this is going to be short, but I wanted to recount my weekend since it was largely awesome.

The boyfriend and I made reservations to stay in the Blue Ridge Mountains next weekend and I cannot wait. I've been wanting to go out there for such a long time and we're finally doing it- yay! We're going to go hiking, probably around Old Rag, the first day and visit Luray Caverns on the second day.

I went to a college friend/past roommate's bridal shower on Sunday with another friend of mine. It was out in Lynchburg, so the drive was long, but it was so great to catch up with both of them, see a new city, and have some delicious pizza while I was at it.

Monday morning I checked my email to discover that the university in California that I phone interviewed with wants me to come out and do an in-person interview! Majorly exciting, relieving, and terrifying! I'm still waiting to see what day it'll be, but I know that it'll be in September. Baby's finally going to see the west coast!

Two more of my college friends (one of whom was Jess from Animated Cardigan) passed through Richmond last night and stopped to have some Mexican food and frozen yogurt with me. We also posed for some goofy pictures which I'm sure will be posted on Jess's blog soon.

Lastly, my weekend ended on a sour note as the boyfriend and I had our first argument over my pending move. We both walked away with a lot to think about and way more questions than answers. It's hard to make any plans or say anything for certain since I don't know where I'll be getting a job (California is looking promising though), but I will be moving somewhere and we need to decide if he'll be following me eventually or if we'd be better off going our separate ways. We're leaning more on him following me and the relationship potentially leading to marriage (gulp!), but life is unpredictable and only time will tell.

I cannot wait to get home from work and go to bed. I'm going to sleep all of the hours and catch all of the Zs.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Guest appearance

by Joseph Robertson via Flickr

Today you can find me over at Hack Library School where I wrote a guest post about study abroad opportunities for library school students.

If you found your way to my blog from HLS, welcome! You might be interested in my other posts on librarianship.

Highs and lows

by mtsofan via Flickr

Well, friends, this week has been an interesting one.

My supervisor was on vacation this week and, boy, did she pick one hell of a week to take off. Things are gearing up thanks to the impending start of the fall semester and requests came rolling in. I felt like all I did was put out fires left and right so that my department didn't become consumed by a blaze.

Yesterday I received an email from my alma mater informing me that I was not chosen as a candidate for a librarian position I had applied for. I wasn't particularly surprised or upset by this news, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't sting a bit. The familiar feeling of desperation came back tenfold and I scrambled to find some more jobs to apply for regardless of how good of a fit they were or where they were located. My stress level soared and I began to make all sorts of alternative plans for myself. Clearly, if one library doesn't want you, none of them will, right?

As I lay next to my boyfriend after work, feeling pitiful and half watching episodes of Star Trek, I reached over and mindlessly checked my email. In between two pieces of junk was a sender's name I recognized. I sat up and poured over the email, simultaneously smiling and crying. A university in California wants to have a phone interview with me.

I don't think the reality of the whole thing has really hit me yet. Granted, the reality it's really anything permanent or sure. A phone interview is not a guarantee for an in person interview or for being offered a job. But it is a start. I'm waiting for confirmation on the time of the interview and I'm guessing once I have the date and time in mind, the reality and, therefore, the nerves will begin to set in.

One of my concerns about the position is the fact that California is really far away. The farthest west I've been is Nashville (which I think is pretty laughable). Living in California will be pretty lonely at first since I barely know anyone out there. Sure, I have some extended family members and an acquaintance of sorts who live there, but that's not much compared to the support system I have in place on the east coast. And we of course can't forget about the Virginia based boyfriend. I know that I'll make friends, just as I've always managed to make friends where ever I've gone, but packing your life up and starting over is a grueling process.

The job does sound pretty awesome though and my work experience fits well with their requirements. Moving to the west coast would enable me to have so many new adventures. It's not like I'll have to live there forever either. I could try it out for a year or two and move somewhere else if it doesn't pan out.

Sigh. Being an adult is tough, y'all.

Waiting is the hardest part

by CmdrFire via Flickr

As I've mentioned previously, I am searching for a new job. I've been seriously searching since May, when I finished my masters. I haven't felt super pressured to find a new job immediately because I currently have a stable, full-time library assistant job. As I also mentioned previously, however, I'm getting rather sick of feeling stuck in an in between phase. I know in the grand scheme of things, an almost 3 month job search is not a very long one, considering the state of the economy and the state of librarianship, but I can't help but feel desperation growing inside of me.

It's not that I've been getting rejection letters. Since the start of my search, I've had one interview and two rejections. All of the other jobs have either just closed or are still posted and accepting applications. I can handle being turned down, but this not knowing is killing me.

I'm starting to reach a point where I'm considering some alternatives that I hadn't considered before. I could stay in the area and get a part time job at another local library or bookstore where I could work nights and on my days off so that I would be able to afford an apartment and student loan payments. Or I could apply for a better paying staff position outside of the area and get a part time job for night and weekend work if it doesn't pay enough.

I think what I'll do is wait until the new school year begins to shift into this desperation mode. Since many of the places I've applied to are universities, they are most likely looking to hire by or near the start the fall semester. If I don't hear more from potential employers by then, I think I'll let my nerves and anxiety get the best of me and start taking more drastic measures.

If you're also in libraryland, does this sound like a reasonable plan to you? How long was your job search?

Librarian job search

by AngelaArcher.com via Flickr

As I mentioned previously, I am in the midst of a job search. My current employer does not have the budget to boost me from a library assistant to a librarian, so I've been hunting for and applying for jobs over the last few months. While there aren't gobs of librarian positions currently available (hi, budget cuts!), there are some to be had. You will more than likely have to move for them though. Luckily, I am in a position to move, so I've been searching far and wide for jobs. I figured for my own reference and for those in a similar position as me, I would list where I search for librarian jobs. I would love to hear if you have other suggestions, so hit up that comments section!

Now, job searches are very personal things. We all have different preferences, requirements, experiences, and aspirations. I'm going to outline what I've been doing, but what you might want to do or are currently doing may be very different since, chances are, we're looking for different types of jobs. I'm currently looking for a job that generally deals with electronic resources, scholarly communications, and or collections development/management. I'm searching specifically for health sciences focused jobs since that's the type of experience I have, but I'm not ruling out more general positions. I'm focusing on academic librarian positions, but again, I'm willing to consider other environments if the position sounds good. I think that my job search strategy is general enough that you can tailor it to fit your own needs.

First, I like to look for jobs on a micro-level. I search for jobs in my own city and the surrounding area. I search the following websites for jobs:

• My city's job board
• Surrounding counties'/cities' job boards
• Any local museums/organizations/institutions that I know have libraries
• Local universities

Next, I search on the state level:

• My state's website (this job board includes all public universities and state agencies in Virginia)
• Websites of any private universities/museums/organizations/institutions I'm interested in
• My state's library association job board (Virginia Library Association's Jobline)

After exhausting local resources, I pull out the big guns and visit nationwide job boards. Again, the types of library associations and job listings you'll want to look at will differ depending on what type of job you're looking for. I'm focusing on technical academic with possible health sciences focus, so these are my picks:

• ALA's JobLIST
• SLA's Career Center
• MLA's Career Development
• LITA's Job Site
• ARL's Job Announcements
• Websites of any local chapters or chapters located in an area I'm interested in moving to of nationwide library associations 
• HigherEdJobs
• HERC Jobs
• LibGig
• I Need a Library Job (if you're looking at specific states, you can just look at those listings in the daily digest. I have found it helpful to do a CTRL+F and search the daily digest for job title keywords for a hacked nationwide search)

Lastly, I'm also signed up for some job listservs, including my alma matter's and IFLA's LIBJOBS. I'm sure there are many more that you can sign up for (as well as set up some RSS feeds for the above job boards), but I'm the type that prefers to go and look myself instead of getting emails or feeds.


I hope that a peek into my job search will help out your own! I know that I am missing out on some resources, so if you've happened upon a valuable source, please share!

A girl and her city

J. Crew shirt (thrifted) | J. Crew skirt (thrifted) | Ruche belt | Rocket Dog flats

A faint light at the end of the tunnel

If I can get through this semester alive and with diploma in hand, I know that I will be able to endure anything. 

Last night, I walked home from work, went straight to my bedroom, fell into bed, and sobbed. Heart wrenching, hyperventilating sobs.

The future of my thesis rests on two deans (whom I do not know and have no connections with) allowing me to distribute my survey (that involves controversial, polarizing topics) to their faculty members. If they say no, my thesis will be over. Months and months of work will be for naught. I do not know if anything can be scrapped together to actually finish it or not. I don't know and I can't think about it anymore. I have an 8 page paper to write, a digital library project to start, 50+ pages to read, and Excedrin to take. 

86 more days, 86 more days, 86 more days...

First week back

This week was my first week back to school. Schoolwork after a break is always a hard pill to swallow and I tend to turn into a very frustrated person whenever my freedom is jerked away from me. The first few weeks are always hard, but I know I'll find my rhythm in time and getting through classes will become easier. I've just got to keep my eye on the ball and remind myself that this whole thing will be behind me come May.

Now that summer is coming to an end (tear), I'm thinking of a few places I would like to go in the fall. Before it gets too cold, I'd like to visit Pony Pasture down by the James River. I managed to get to Texas Beach for the first time this summer and would like expand my experiences at the river further by visiting another site. My sister in law is expecting around Labor Day, so I know I'll be in Pennsylvania for a few days once my nephew decides to say hello.

Once the leaves start to turn, I want to explore at least part of Skyline Drive. I've heard such wonderful things about it and I think the fall foliage would really be gorgeous to see. Additionally, I want to go apple picking again. Lynn and I went to Carter Mountain last year and had a great time picking apples together.

Can apple pies really be so close? Where did this summer go?

(P.S. I hope you all like the redesign I did last week. I think the place looks a bit nicer now.)

Updates

Library of Congress

When I got back from DC, I barely managed to get a big gulp of air and finish up my summer class before hitting the road again and traveling to Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I got to visit a lot of friends I haven't seen in awhile, as well as add a new state, Kentucky, to my "have visited" list and experience the Biltmore for the first time. My trip partially satisfied my wanderlust and partially fueled it to a greater degree. I'll have to visit Tennessee again in April to defend my thesis (gulp), so I know I'll be taking another road trip in the near future. I'm hoping to expand my travels even further during my next trip, so we'll see where life takes me.

Ever since my visit to DC and visiting four art museums in one day (my feet and legs were hurting like you wouldn't believe), I've been thinking about working at a museum or museum library. This type of work typically requires a masters in museum studies. The university where I work has a museum studies program, so I'd be able to get a second masters for free if I continue to work there while I'm taking classes. I would need to take three art history classes and get some volunteer hours at a museum before I could even apply to the program, so it's a lot to consider. If I enjoy the preliminary work though, I know it'll be a good direction for me. If I don't, I can always stop there and know that it probably isn't a right fit.

The Smoky Mountains viewed from the Biltmore

Focusing on art history would be a switch for me, but I've always said that if I did undergrad over again, I would double major in English and art history. The thought of starting a second masters program when I'm finished with my current one is not something I can easily stomach. I'll definitely need to take a break between the two. While working at a museum library does sound appealing, I think being a curator also sounds pretty awesome. Being able to collect not books, but works of art and doing research for exhibits seems like a pretty nice way to spend your days. It's a lot to think about, but I have plenty of time to figure it out, especially when I know that I'll need a break once this first masters is over. At least, that's what I try to remind myself when I start to fret about the future (i.e. everyday).

DC

I will be in DC for a week for my summer class, so it will be rather quiet around here while I'm touring libraries. Have a great week, all!

(P.S. I took this picture a few years ago at the National Mall and I just love the lighting and how the Smithsonian is peeking out on the left.)

Good news and bad news on the job front

Good news: I recently had a conversation with my supervisor about my aspirations once I receive my masters in May. I told her that I'm not opposed to staying here, but I'm not opposed to leaving either. Ideally, I would like to stay where I am since I don't think I'm quite ready to move on from Richmond yet, but I know that it's a scary, dismal economic environment out there right now, so it's quite possible I'll have to move where a job is. It sounds like there might be enough funds to open up a position at my library in the next year though. My supervisor wanted to know where my interests lie to see if what the library needs right now is something I'd be interested in. She said that the next position to open up would probably be a digital content/electronic resources librarian. That generally fits in with my interests in technical services and technology, so I'd be down with that. I also told her that I would ideally like to be able to apply the research I'll be doing for my thesis and see it come to fruition, so it's possible that could be part of the job description as well. I'm not keeping my hopes up too high right now since a lot can happen in a year, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed!

Bad news: my mother is losing her job. Come Wednesday, on her 60th birthday, she will be unemployed. She's worked at the same place for 17 years, but will be forced out of her position without severance because the location is being closed due to lack of funding. Her job is her whole life. She has replaced her own family with the families that she has worked with so closely. This loss will be nothing short of devastating for her. I'm worried for her because I don't know what she's going to do with herself. She will be forced to face the music and realize that her priorities have been misplaced for the large part of those 17 years.

The Nameless Library

I came across a reference to this sculpture, the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, by Rachel Whiteread today while reading about lost and destroyed libraries for class. It is also referred to as the Nameless Library. This sculpture embodies so many of my interests, I can't help but be fascinated by it. I hope one day I can finally make my way to Vienna and see it in person.