I finished my one and only class for the summer, Collection Development. It was taught by two librarians from JHU. I enjoyed the class very much and learned some valuable information about topics such as budgets, things selectors should be aware of, the cost of materials such as e-books and journals, the impact of the changing nature of scholarly communication upon collection development and collection development issues in the real world. I wish I could describe it all here, but that would mean re-hashing six weeks of materials I learned in class. If a person is interested in librarianship, a collection development course would be highly beneficial.
On Tuesday, a rare book librarian from JHU visited the class and it re-ignited my desire to work with rare books, preferably as a rare-book librarian (how many times can I fit the word "rare" into a sentence?). I still like academic and research librarianship, but I always thought it would be fun to work with old, dusty books, whether as a bookseller or as a librarian. I still want to go to Rare Book School. I asked the manager of reader services at the Society and, because of the work that I'm doing there, I may have a pretty good chance of landing something in rare book librarianship if I try hard enough.
In Society news, the finding aid project continues. Today, I finished the last of the letters for the State of Georgia and am now working on the letters for the French Society of the Cincinnati. Of course, a good portion of them are written in French, but luckily, I have retained enough of the French I learned in college to get the gist of the letters. Plus, some thoughtful souls included translations of a few of the letters. The letters from 1783 mostly concern the set up of the French branch of the Society. General d'Estaing writes to Washington in hopes that some French naval officers can be admitted into the Society. The Marquis de Lafayette and Washington trade letters back and forth concerning the Society. Although the writers were aware that they were writing for posterity, it is still fascinating to read about their concerns (and humorous to read how expressive they were in their gratitude). I think these letters are valuable, not only as a history of the Society, but as a history of the friendship and collaboration between the United States and France.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Henry Knox's handwriting
I am working on an interesting project for the Society of the Cincinnati (from now on, referred to as SocCin because writing the full name is tiring). I am assisting in the creation of a finding aid for the archives of the General and State societies for the organization. This pretty much involves entering specific criteria such as noting the folder in which the document is located, the title of the document, the date it was written, and a description of its contents. This project is quite fascinating to me because it gives me the opportunity to handle eighteenth and nineteenth century documents and I get some experience doing archival work. When I originally considered attending library school, I hoped to be an archivist. However, U of MD required a 3.5 GPA in order to apply to the archives track, but I missed the cut off by .3. So I ended up applying for the general track with a focus on academic libraries. I still hope to have a job that involves working with eighteenth century materials since it's my favourite era.
The fascinating part of this project is being able to read and decipher the letters that the men wrote to each other, and to read about some of their concerns. Much of the earlier documents from the 1780s are concerned with the pay that the soldiers were supposed to receive from the government. At this time, Congress had very little money to pay the soldiers that fought in the Revolutionary War so part of the reason why the Society of the Cincinnati was formed was so that it could act as a lobbying agent for these soldiers. However, as time went by and the soldiers were paid, the letters become slightly more mundane. Most of the ones I've worked on so far involves details about the delegates who were chosen to represent their state at the General Society meetings, held every three years.
Another interesting aspect of reading these letters is seeing how handwriting and how letter-writing conventions changed. For example, instead of writing the addressee at the top of the page, that information was often included on the bottom left-hand side. Example:
Dear Sir,
Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah
Your most humble and obdt:
Signature (with a flourish)
His Excellency,
General Washington.
It seems that the convention changed to its familiar form sometime in the 19th century. Apparently, lined paper also became common in the mid-19th century. Before then, they used different types of material for writing, such as rag pulp. An amusing letter I encountered was one written by Henry Knox to another Society Member (whose name I've forgotten). His handwriting was simply atrocious, but in a funny way. Knox was definitely a person who could have used a secretary. Jane Austen must have somehow acquired a sample of Knox's writing and based Mr. Bingley's writing on that. Still, looking at past examples of handwriting makes me wish that my cursive writing was a bit neater. I should like to write "with a fair hand". With the decline of cursive (and of handwriting in general), I wonder if people will be able to read these important documents in the future? Time will tell, I suppose.
The fascinating part of this project is being able to read and decipher the letters that the men wrote to each other, and to read about some of their concerns. Much of the earlier documents from the 1780s are concerned with the pay that the soldiers were supposed to receive from the government. At this time, Congress had very little money to pay the soldiers that fought in the Revolutionary War so part of the reason why the Society of the Cincinnati was formed was so that it could act as a lobbying agent for these soldiers. However, as time went by and the soldiers were paid, the letters become slightly more mundane. Most of the ones I've worked on so far involves details about the delegates who were chosen to represent their state at the General Society meetings, held every three years.
Another interesting aspect of reading these letters is seeing how handwriting and how letter-writing conventions changed. For example, instead of writing the addressee at the top of the page, that information was often included on the bottom left-hand side. Example:
Dear Sir,
Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah
Your most humble and obdt:
Signature (with a flourish)
His Excellency,
General Washington.
It seems that the convention changed to its familiar form sometime in the 19th century. Apparently, lined paper also became common in the mid-19th century. Before then, they used different types of material for writing, such as rag pulp. An amusing letter I encountered was one written by Henry Knox to another Society Member (whose name I've forgotten). His handwriting was simply atrocious, but in a funny way. Knox was definitely a person who could have used a secretary. Jane Austen must have somehow acquired a sample of Knox's writing and based Mr. Bingley's writing on that. Still, looking at past examples of handwriting makes me wish that my cursive writing was a bit neater. I should like to write "with a fair hand". With the decline of cursive (and of handwriting in general), I wonder if people will be able to read these important documents in the future? Time will tell, I suppose.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Society of the Cincinnati
My next post was going to be about LBSC 690 but since I posted a library-related post in my other journal, I figured I'd cross-post it here as well.
Last Friday was my first day volunteering for the Society of the Cincinnati. I was supposed to have volunteered there at the beginning of February but then Snowmaggedon happened and it was postponed. For those who don't remember my last post, the Society of the Cincinnati was a group founded by Washington and several of his lieutenants, generals and other army compatriots at the end of the Revolutionary War. It seems to have become somewhat obscure after the deaths of Washington, Hamilton and other founders who were connected with it, but the Society survived and still exists to this day. The building in which it's headquartered is quite impressive. Anderson House is located on Embassy Row and was owned by one of the members who was an ambassador (to Japan if I remember correctly). He later bequeathed it to the Society after his death and they've been there ever since. I highly recommend visiting this place if you're ever in DC, if only for the architecture.
My first assignment was very light. As the library collects materials related to the Revolutionary War period, they receive catalogues of materials that might be of interest. My duty was to go through their online and their card catalogue (yes, they still have a physical card catalogue, especially for older materials) to see which items the library possess and to look through the catalogue to see which items they may want to purchase in the future. I hadn't used a card catalogue since I was a little girl...until Friday. Mostly, I liked to find books by browsing through the shelves (and still do). The library already has an extensive collection so there weren't too many gaps in their holdings. I did come across a letter in the catalogue written by the Marquis de Lafayette to du Pont (of du Pont family fame), written in 1828.
Aside from that, I was able to attend a lecture about George Washington's letters which was given on the same day. I found it very interesting; it made me wonder how (and if) future archivists will be able to preserve any materials from this time period as a lot of texts and such are being digitized. I'm a little ambivalent about digitization (which is probably sacrilegious in the information science and information technology profession). It's useful, but on the other hand, technology fails or it becomes obsolete. You'd have to find ways to prevent the files from becoming corrupt, convert the files to a different format, and you would likely need to have someone with knowledge of how older technology works (I'm thinking 100 years from now). Books and other printed materials fall apart, but if you handle them carefully (and print it on acid-free paper or another type of paper that takes a long time to degrade), you're likely to have them around for hundreds of years. However, this is an issue in which I would have to put my personal feelings aside in order to be an effective librarian. Be that as it may, if I ever get my own house/condo/apartment in which I live for the rest of my life, I'm going to have books EVERYWHERE!
Last Friday was my first day volunteering for the Society of the Cincinnati. I was supposed to have volunteered there at the beginning of February but then Snowmaggedon happened and it was postponed. For those who don't remember my last post, the Society of the Cincinnati was a group founded by Washington and several of his lieutenants, generals and other army compatriots at the end of the Revolutionary War. It seems to have become somewhat obscure after the deaths of Washington, Hamilton and other founders who were connected with it, but the Society survived and still exists to this day. The building in which it's headquartered is quite impressive. Anderson House is located on Embassy Row and was owned by one of the members who was an ambassador (to Japan if I remember correctly). He later bequeathed it to the Society after his death and they've been there ever since. I highly recommend visiting this place if you're ever in DC, if only for the architecture.
My first assignment was very light. As the library collects materials related to the Revolutionary War period, they receive catalogues of materials that might be of interest. My duty was to go through their online and their card catalogue (yes, they still have a physical card catalogue, especially for older materials) to see which items the library possess and to look through the catalogue to see which items they may want to purchase in the future. I hadn't used a card catalogue since I was a little girl...until Friday. Mostly, I liked to find books by browsing through the shelves (and still do). The library already has an extensive collection so there weren't too many gaps in their holdings. I did come across a letter in the catalogue written by the Marquis de Lafayette to du Pont (of du Pont family fame), written in 1828.
Aside from that, I was able to attend a lecture about George Washington's letters which was given on the same day. I found it very interesting; it made me wonder how (and if) future archivists will be able to preserve any materials from this time period as a lot of texts and such are being digitized. I'm a little ambivalent about digitization (which is probably sacrilegious in the information science and information technology profession). It's useful, but on the other hand, technology fails or it becomes obsolete. You'd have to find ways to prevent the files from becoming corrupt, convert the files to a different format, and you would likely need to have someone with knowledge of how older technology works (I'm thinking 100 years from now). Books and other printed materials fall apart, but if you handle them carefully (and print it on acid-free paper or another type of paper that takes a long time to degrade), you're likely to have them around for hundreds of years. However, this is an issue in which I would have to put my personal feelings aside in order to be an effective librarian. Be that as it may, if I ever get my own house/condo/apartment in which I live for the rest of my life, I'm going to have books EVERYWHERE!
Monday, February 15, 2010
LBSC 650
Instead of reading an article for my LBSC 650 class (which isn't due until Thursday), I'm going to write about class instead. As mentioned in the last entry, this course is an introduction to reference which is meant to prepare the student for the 700-level reference courses. I will probably end up taking a few of those as my goal is to be an academic librarian specializing in eighteenth century literature and history. Reference courses will be useful as part of the job will undoubtedly involve helping patrons search for materials, narrowing down paper/research topics, and assisting them with bibliographic citations, among other things. Plus, it appears that reference librarianship is an entry-level position in a lot of libraries and I want to be marketable after I complete my MLIS.
Much of what I'm learning for this course involves a process called the reference interview. It's a way for the librarian (or staff member) to determine the needs of the patron. The patron question is not always what it seems so it's the librarian's duty to discover the question that lies behind the question. For example, a patron approaches the reference desk and asks for a book about kites. The patron may want to know the history of kites, how to make a kite, the popularity of kites, or a book that has the word "kite" in the title (e.g., "The Kite Runner"). The librarian would have to figure out the nature of the request.
Other information that librarians find useful during the reference interview includes purpose of the search (e.g., is the patron using it for a class project, for a paper, or for the patron's knowledge), the format he or she wants it in (book, journal article, etc.), and whether it's time-sensitive. Does the patron need the materials by a certain day and time? Once the librarian understand the request, the librarian searches for the information, ensuring that the patron is involved in the search. The patron can be part of the process by suggesting keywords or by being told of the steps that the librarian is taking to retrieve the information.
According to one of the articles I read, librarians are only about 55% successful in fulfilling a patron's request (I'll post the citation once I find it). Even though they're not always successful in finding information, building a good relationship with the patron seems to me to be just as important as locating the information that the patron needs. Another article also stated that patrons are likely to return to librarians who have been, to put it simply, friendly and attentive (I'll also include a citation for this once I find it). The literature stresses that patrons are often nervous when approaching the librarian. Conducting a positive reference interview can only ease the patron's anxiety and prove beneficial to the library as a whole.
Coming up next: a post about my LBSC 690 course (but sadly, not as quickly as this post appeared).
Much of what I'm learning for this course involves a process called the reference interview. It's a way for the librarian (or staff member) to determine the needs of the patron. The patron question is not always what it seems so it's the librarian's duty to discover the question that lies behind the question. For example, a patron approaches the reference desk and asks for a book about kites. The patron may want to know the history of kites, how to make a kite, the popularity of kites, or a book that has the word "kite" in the title (e.g., "The Kite Runner"). The librarian would have to figure out the nature of the request.
Other information that librarians find useful during the reference interview includes purpose of the search (e.g., is the patron using it for a class project, for a paper, or for the patron's knowledge), the format he or she wants it in (book, journal article, etc.), and whether it's time-sensitive. Does the patron need the materials by a certain day and time? Once the librarian understand the request, the librarian searches for the information, ensuring that the patron is involved in the search. The patron can be part of the process by suggesting keywords or by being told of the steps that the librarian is taking to retrieve the information.
According to one of the articles I read, librarians are only about 55% successful in fulfilling a patron's request (I'll post the citation once I find it). Even though they're not always successful in finding information, building a good relationship with the patron seems to me to be just as important as locating the information that the patron needs. Another article also stated that patrons are likely to return to librarians who have been, to put it simply, friendly and attentive (I'll also include a citation for this once I find it). The literature stresses that patrons are often nervous when approaching the librarian. Conducting a positive reference interview can only ease the patron's anxiety and prove beneficial to the library as a whole.
Coming up next: a post about my LBSC 690 course (but sadly, not as quickly as this post appeared).
Bonjour
I created this blog with the idea that I would post my thoughts about the classes that I'm taking while in library school and that I would chart my progress towards earning my MLIS degree and getting a position as an academic/research librarian. However, life (and library school) intervened and an entire semester passed without a single entry. Currently, I'm in the fourth week of the Spring semester. The third week never happened due to the massive snowstorm that hit the DC area on February 5th. I am taking three courses this semester, which is going to be more difficult (in terms of course load) as I only took two courses during the fall. The courses I'm taking are:
LBSC650--Reference (I forgot the formal title, but it's an introductory reference course)
LBSC690--Information Technology
LBSC734--Seminar in the Academic Library.
I am enjoying my classes--I'd better since I'm going to be so far in debt once I'm finished with library school that it'll take a couple of lifetimes to pay my loans. I'm investing in myself, so it's not too big of a deal.
My next post will go into further details about the topic and structure of my courses
LBSC650--Reference (I forgot the formal title, but it's an introductory reference course)
LBSC690--Information Technology
LBSC734--Seminar in the Academic Library.
I am enjoying my classes--I'd better since I'm going to be so far in debt once I'm finished with library school that it'll take a couple of lifetimes to pay my loans. I'm investing in myself, so it's not too big of a deal.
My next post will go into further details about the topic and structure of my courses
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