Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Introducing...Mademoiselle Librarian!

So, after an unfortunate accidental deletion of my original blog (remember, kids, always back up dilligently!), I'm back in the saddle again.

I'll repeat my initial post (now long gone) by saying that I have two intentions for this blog. First, I hope it will serve as a semi-informal record of my studies as a Master's student in the Library Science program at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. Second, I will use it to share interesting library resources, tips, tricks, news, concepts, what have you, with the general public as I come across them. This is assuming that the general public has any interest at all in this sort of thing, which is assuming a lot.

I have only had two class sessions so far, and thus am not very far into my studies at this point. I am taking three 3-credit courses this sememster (the "gateway" course, i.e. "the parade of professionals"; the cataloging course; and the reference course), as well as a 1-credit weekend seminar on information and information environments.

This weekend course will be taken jointly with students in the other Master's degree programs in the School of Information Studies. The other two programs are Information Management and Information Management and Telecommunications - much more technical than my program of study. The interesting thing is that while the enrollment in these programs is overwhelmingly male and overwhelmingly East Indian and Asian in ethnicity, the Library Science program is largely female and Caucasian. Very stereotypical if you think about it, in both cases. I am making no judgements at all about this state of affairs, but I'm curious about the implications for the weekend course, and whether cultural and gender differences will come into play.

So far, I am feeling very optimistic about this program and wholly confident in my choice to come here (this could change when I begin paying back the loans in 2 years). The instructors I have met up to this point are both articulate and personable, as are many of the students. A great deal of the course content is in an online format - this will require a bit of adjustment for me, although I am quite Web-savvy by now. In fact, it's an adjustment for everyone involved, as the interface we are using (WebCT 6.0) is a brand-new version for instructors and students alike this semester. There are still some bugs to be worked out. Overall, though, I am intrigued by the possibilities of online instruction, and pleased that the online format will allow me access to other electives I might not otherwise be able to take.