About… « Thoughts of a [wannabe] librarian

About…

…..me

I graduated in 1997 in English Literature and History. After several years wasting time in the retail sector, an opportunity came up to work in public libraries as a ‘Customer Services Officer’. Although I understand this title has proven to be controversial (not least amongst librarians), it was purely down to the job title that I applied for the post. Had the title been different, it is very likely I would never have applied as I would not have felt qualified to apply for a library post.

After around a year of working in the library, I decided to apply to study an MSc Econ in Information and Library Studies at Aberystwyth via their distance learning program. I very much hope that once I get my qualification I will increase my chances of finally becoming a librarian (hence the title of the blog) .

…..this blog

This blog was established for three reasons. Firstly, I wanted to explore what potential the internet has to develop the library service (particularly in terms of public libraries – although not exclusively). It seems to me that there are a great many tools out there for the information professional to improve service delivery, the question is how do we use the tools effectively.

Secondly, I have developed a particular interest in the information divide and how librarians can help to bridge the divide. Increasingly, I see our role as ensuring that the gap between the information rich and the information poor is bridged, ensuring information for all.

Finally, I set this blog up as a way to consolidate my studies on Information and Library Studies at Aberystwyth. I hope to use this as a forum for discussing ideas generated by the course, as well as giving me a chance to let off some of the steam that comes with being a distance learner.

Feel free to drop me a line via the email address in the sidebar and, should you have other social networking profiles, feel free to get in touch through the relevant links.

6 Comments »

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Hi

I wondered if I could ask for an insight into studying a Aberystwyth by distance as I am considering doing the BSc Econ in Library and Information studies. My dilemma is that I do not have a degree and the course is a bit of a financial risk for me. Would you be able to send me a sample of your work so that I could gauge the calibre of what is expected of me? How many hours research would you say your course consumes in a week to give me a guide alongside my full time job. Hope you can help, thank you in advance.

Mark.

Comment by Mark — April 4, 2009 #

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Mark – Hi Mark, thanks for visiting. I don’t really know much about the BSc program, but I will see if I can get someone to fill you in on the details.

Comment by Ian — April 5, 2009 #

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Hi Mark,

I am currently finishing the BSc in Information and Library Studies, so I thought I’d answer your question. Feel free to ask me any other questions though!

I found this an ideal way to do a degree because you don’t have to attend lectures. All the workload can be done in your own time and you can space the degree out over 6 years if you need to. I have managed to complete the degree within 3 years, which has meant giving up my social life a bit, but it is possible.

I have self funded the course and because you can pay per module, it spaces the funding out and makes the costs more manageable. The level of writing is also not as advanced as a masters would be and you are given plenty of advice on how to write and how much to write. There is also a good opportunity to write reports and assignments in different structures than just an essay. I have found this invaluable in my job. The other key thing that has happened with this course is that it has led onto a librarian post for me. Which I’m pretty sure I would not have achieved if I hadn’t completed the course.

The other good thing about this course is that you can leave with a diploma if you needed to finish early, so you still end up with a qualification. I would recommend doing the course this way, but it does take up quite a lot of your time.

Anyway I hope that helps,

Sophie )

Comment by Sophie — April 5, 2009 #

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Hi Sophie,

from what you say, I am more reassured…. if it was that I could get through to library work as you have that would be phenomenal too- congrats, you’ve earned it. I started looking into the course in preparation for a September start and was shocked to learn the entry deadline is April with a July start; I think I’m going to sit this out and do more research before I commit hard earned cash. Thanks to Ian and yourself for getting back to me.

Take care,
Mark

PS – if anyone else wants to comment, I’m still interested

Comment by Mark — April 5, 2009 #

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Hi – this is the wrong place for this, but I couldn’t find your contact button in the side bar (I’m hoping it’s not actually there, in a way – that way I won’t be an Information Professional who can’t find a link on a website..). Anyway, you mention in your profile you are particularly interested in the digital divide, so I just wanted to make sure you knew about the BOBCATSSS conference on that very subject – details are here: http://bobcatsss2010.unipr.it/ (and I believe the papers deadline has been extended till September sometime).

Cheers

thewikiman

Comment by thewikiman — July 27, 2009 #

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Hi wikiman. Thanks for passing that on, I will certainly have a look at it. Incidentally, my contact is related to the Yahoo! button. My username is weaklemondrink so you can email me at Yahoo! using that name. It’s not very clear, but it stops spam. Well, so far anyway! Thanks for dropping by!

Comment by Ian — July 29, 2009 #

Reply