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Two Weeks Later

As of last night I wrapped up my first class, IRLS 504 Foundations of Library and Information Services, here at the School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS) at the University of Arizona.

It was a busy first week, with classes beginning at 8 AM and completing around 5 PM. The classes were composed of modules focusing on four different categories: orientation, content, technology, and professional development. Orientation covered all the things we needed to know to register for classes, get our student ID cards and the requirements for graduation, among other things. Content involved topics relevant to the readings we were assigned before arriving in Tucson including understanding classification systems, the types of libraries, and the major themes in information science. The technology modules gave us instruction on how to use the online class management system (similar to Blackboard but not as clunky), writing HTML, and introducing us to Web 2.0 concepts. Finally, for the professional development modules we got the opportunity to listen to several librarian guest speakers, including the head of the Pima County Library.

We did a number of different assignments ranging from group presentations to web scavenger hunts. Some seemed a little more unnecessary than others, while others were challenging because of the limited time we had to finish them. For example, we only had about three days to work on a 20-minute Powerpoint presentation. However, all of the groups pulled their presentations off successfully, and I think it was a very productive week for everyone. After the class ended last Wednesday, we still had to complete a few more assignments, including a paper, by last night.

The incoming class this term was larger than I thought it would be. Where I was expecting maybe 20 to 30 students, instead there were 48, the majority of whom were female. I think I was one of only seven guys in the class. The average age of the group appeared to be in the early to mid-30's with many people coming to the school with several years of library experience. It seems as though many were library assistants who wanted the MLIS degree to advance upwards in their careers. There were also about ten younger people who had just finished their undergraduate degrees and were ready to jump into graduate school, which according to the professors leading the class was a growing demographic. There seem to be more young people every year who know they want to be librarians early in their undergrad studies.

The class seemed evenly split between people who would stay in Tucson to attend classes and those who will take the majority of their classes online (those distance-education students were in Tucson for this class to fulfill their residency requirements). A good majority of these online students were from the Phoenix area or elsewhere in Arizona, and a few were from the East Coast and other parts of the states.

So, as an introductory class IRLS 504 taught me a few new things, but also covered some concepts that I'm familiar with. Since I've had very little work experience in libraries, it was nice to learn all the basic things one should be familiar with like the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress Classification systems, the variety of information-related jobs, and the kinds of issues that affect libraries ranging from censorship to internal bureaucracies. The things that I could have skipped over were lessons on HTML, RSS, and Web 2.0 because I am pretty familiar with these topics; however, I think they were still a valuable part of the class.

All in all, it was a good class where I got to meet other students and make a few connections before starting spring term classes later this week. I'm looking forward to the upcoming term and really getting into the thick of things.