The Continuing Education Conundrum

A few times during the year, I give continuing education workshops through the Massachusetts Library System or the Connecticut State Library. They are generally on cataloging topics such as RDA (the new cataloging standard), MARC (the encoding scheme used in libraries), the Dewey Decimal System (do I really need to explain it?), or similar topics about which practicing library staff need to know.

But I have mixed feelings about them.

The cons:
They are a lot of work. If the topic is new or has changed a lot since I last presented, it takes a lot of time and research to put together or revise a 3 hour program.

Presenting requires a lot of energy. If I'm giving 2 workshops on the same day or one that lasts all day, and especially if I have to drive any distance, I'm wiped out for the next couple of days.

The pros:
They pay well.

There is a lot of ego gratification.

During the workshop I'm energized and feel great. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.

For the last few years, I've been thinking that this will be my last year of Continuing Education; I'll take in my shingle and spend more time relaxing (or cleaning house). And then I get a call or an email asking if I can give a workshop on Copy Cataloging or another topic.

But something has changed.

Next week I'm scheduled to present a program on Public Speaking for Librarians and I'm REALLY PSYCHED! I'm actually enjoying reading (or re-reading) books on public speaking. And watching TED talks. And reviewing my notes. And making revisions. And thinking about examples. Maybe it's the topic.

All I know is that I'm really happy to be doing this. No mixed feelings whatsoever. And the euphoria is spilling into other aspects of my life. While I always like leading the senior exercise class, this morning I could hardly wait to get to the Town Hall and begin. I felt great! I'm still feeling great.

Watch out world. HERE I COME!

Four Days of RDA

In June, I gave two all-day workshops on RDA. This month, I also gave two all-day workshops on RDA. That's the same workshop four times in two months. I'm ready for a break from teaching RDA.



There are pros and cons, of course, of doing something like that.

There's a lot of preparation involved for any workshop even though I've given this one before. All handouts have to be reviewed and many updated. Changes are made based on the success (or lack of) of examples and exercises I used previously. But I only had to do the prep once because the workshops were held so close together. That saved me a lot of time.

In giving these one after another, I was able to build up a sort of momentum. I was better prepared for certain kinds of questions because they had been asked just a couple of weeks before. As I began each teaching day, I felt more confident than I did for the previous one.

A lot of energy goes into giving a presentation and I use twice as much for an all-day program than for a half-day (which is usually the schedule for Continuing Education in Library Land). Therefore, I'm pretty tired by the end of each of the days. More so for two of them which involved an overnight because of their distance.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty satisfied. They all went well and the evaluations were very positive. But as I said in the beginning of this post, I'm ready for a break from teaching RDA.

Cataloging and RDA

In preparation for RDA workshops I'll be giving, I've been reading the latest (11th) edition of Introduction to Cataloging and Classification.

I first began using this book as a reference tool - perhaps the 7th or maybe the 8th edition - when Bohdan Wynar's name was at the top of the title page. Then it was Arlene Taylor's name. Now Daniel Joudrey is the lead author.

A lot has happened in cataloging since those days. The size of this new book is at least 50% larger than the 10th edition which focused on the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

I've just begun chapter 4. This is not a book that one can read for long periods of time. Dense is an appropriate adjective. (Not for me, but for the book.) I find that an hour (maybe less) is all I can absorb at a time. Then I have to let that material settle into my brain.

For all you catalogers out there looking to learn RDA, I highly recommend this book. I already know a lot about FRBR and RDA, but the detail included here is really helping me put the myriad concepts together logically. And chapter 4 begins the specifics of RDA itself, as opposed to background information which is what I've been wading through the last week or so.

I have about 5 weeks to the workshop. I'll feel a lot more confident giving this one than I have in the past. Danny Joudrey was extremely helpful to me when I began teaching Information Organization for Simmons College School of Library and Information Science. I plan to send him an email letting him know how helpful he's been yet again.

Thanks, Danny.

I'm Done!

Saturday was the last day of classes for the western campus of Simmons GSLIS. I handed back the last homework assignment, the students finished giving their oral presentations, and they also completed posting to the discussion board.

Today, I reviewed my notes on the oral presentations and calculated the final grades, which I submitted. Several students asked for feedback on their oral presentations, so I wrote a brief review for each one and sent it to them via email along with their final grade.

Now what am I going to do on Saturdays (and Thursdays, my prep day) for the next 4 months? I'm sure I can think of something.

The new school year

I have a great class this semester. It is the largest one I've ever had, but that's not what's great about it.

The students are bright, vocal, observant, and ask thoughtful questions. I would call them "engaged" except that is becoming an overused and trite word and I try to avoid such words.

Another factor making this a great semester is that I'm feeling much more confident and comfortable with the material. Even though I've used the information I'm teaching for many years, I just went about my work; I didn't think about it in this way until I began teaching LIS415.

Now as I listen to the radio, read a book, and - yes - even catalog, I'm constantly encountering different examples that are "just perfect" to include in an upcoming class.

Teaching a graduate level course was a whole new experience for me. The road was occasionally bumpy, but it's smooth for now and (to use another trite phrase) I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Juggling

Mostly I really like my life right now: I'm busy doing interesting things, I'm meeting new people, I'm doing useful things, my body is getting exercise, and my brain is getting a LOT of exercise trying to keep my schedule straight.

I have 4 part-time jobs that pay money and 2 volunteer positions. Here's what my week looks like so far:

Monday was a state holiday so Springfield City Library was closed. However, DGI was not, so I drove to Windsor, CT and worked there for the day. Monday at DGI is "soup day" when two people bring in soup and two bring bread and we have lunch together. Usually I'm not in that office at lunch time and don't get to share the soup and bread. Since this was one of the few times I'd be there all day, I volunteered to make one of the soups. The meal was tasty and fun.

Tuesday I went to MassCat and hunted for bib records that the members could not find. Then I merged duplicates. I only work there for 5 hours so I had some time at the end of the day to visit my insurance agent who is reviewing the various policies to see what needs changing.

Today is Wednesday and I need to stop by the library to sign warrants and deliver them to Town Hall so that bills can be paid. This is one of my responsibilities as Chair of the Library Trustees. Then it's on to lead the Senior Exercise Class - my other volunteer position and then on to MassCat.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I'll spend the morning at Springfield City Library cataloging music CDs and then the afternoon at DGI cataloging e-books.

A symptom of my juggling life is that I wrote the above post a week and a half ago and I'm now just getting to finish it.

So now it's Saturday. Yesterday I led the exercise class, went grocery shopping and then home to prep for today's class on Information Organization. That's my typical Friday (it may or may not include grocery shopping). However, yesterday afternoon, my husband (it still seems awkward to call him that) went to visit our financial advisor to begin planning for April 15 - tax day - and beyond.

In a few hours I'll be heading out to Simmons-west to teach budding librarians about organizing information resources. Today's topic is metadata.

Sunday is the day my husband and I spend quality time together. I have a nice breakfast planned - Mediterranean Baked Eggs. I hope to get some housecleaning done, too.

And next week? What's that phrase? Rinse, repeat.

Settling into Semi-Retirement

I was laid off from a full-time job more than two years ago. I collected unemployment for a while and have worked in a variety of part-time jobs. Finally my life seems to be settling into somewhat of a pattern that I enjoy.

This is what my schedule looks like for the next few months: Two mornings each week (Wednesday and Friday) I attend the senior exercise class in town. I share leading the class with another woman. Sometimes I lead the entire class; sometimes we each lead a part of it. Now that there are two classes each week, she'll be leading more. If I find myself short of time, I may not go to both.

After exercise class, I head out to the Massachusetts Library System-west office where the MassCat office is located. There I spend the rest of the day on database maintenance and original cataloging for member libraries.

Thursday evenings I teach LIS415 for Simmons GSLIS-west. I spend most of Thursday (and some of the other days not otherwise accounted for) preparing for that class.

For the next few months, I'm contracted to teach one Continuing Education class/month for the Connecticut State Library or the Mass Library System. The workshops will be Cataloging Equipment, RDA, and an overview of cataloging for "accidental catalogers".

That leave me plenty of time to read (current book: Dearie), work on crossword puzzles and cook. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I'm baking muffins and quickbreads. I also made a pan of lasagna and included a layer of roasted summer squash. Yum.

This is the life - hope it continues this way for a long time.

First Day of School

It doesn't matter if it's second grade, high school, or college; if you're a student or the teacher, the First Day of School still feels like the First Day of School.

Tonight, I teach the first class of the fall semester of Information Organization. There are 13 students enrolled - a nice size. It's large enough for variety and discussion, but small enough that I should be able to learn everyone's name in a couple of weeks and not be overwhelmed when I grade papers.

This will be my 4th time teaching the course. I had really become comfortable using eLearning (aka Blackboard) and recently figured out a bunch of neat features when Simmons decided to switch to Moodle. I spent a few weeks last month copying and pasting materials from one to the other. Moodle isn't as pretty as eLearning, but maybe I just haven't found how to add interesting colors and designs.

This morning I finished revising the slides and lecture notes for tonight's class and just uploaded the slides to Moodle under Unit 1. I have the hard copies I need, several files on a flash drive to print at the GSLIS-west office before class, the props I'll be using for an organization exercise, my water bottle and a snack. I'm ready to go!

On Hiatus

It's that time of year again: the end of the fiscal year, when money runs out, but dollars for the next year's grant haven't yet come through.

So I get a break. I'm not certain for how long because DGI's client doesn't know exactly when the check is coming, though they know it will be coming sometime.

However, I'm starting a part-time job beginning in early July for MassCat. This is the same job I had last summer; then it was only temporary, now it's permanent. For 10 hours/week I'll be doing database cleanup, copy cataloging on OCLC when there is no record in the MassCat database, and original cataloging when there is no record anywhere. The job is a short commute and coffee is available for employees.

I'll have money coming in, but plenty of time to catch up on house and yard work. And I need to begin preparing to teach Information Organization in the fall. Simmons GSLIS has changed all of its software, and I need to transfer my materials from BlackBoard to Moodle. It's also a good time to work on some revisions to the course.

What was that about a break?

Applying for Jobs

In the last few days I've seen two posts for jobs I would love. I applied for them both.

I have to admit, they're not perfect. For one thing, both are full-time and my preference is to work only part-time since I'm planning to continue teaching at Simmons GSLIS-west for at least another year. But these two jobs were just too good to pass up.

One is a Cataloger position at an academic library. It's a place that I worked temporarily many years ago and it's a lovely campus. The commute, however, is long and something I'm not looking forward to.

The other is a local company that publishes textbooks and they need an Assistant Editor. Catalogers make good Editors since they (we) are used to detailed work. When I read, it is not unusual that I find a typo or an inconsistant name or some other mistake that should have been caught before the book went to press. I make the correction in the book. I couldn't go to sleep and leave it there.

And while I'm confessing to writing in library books, I will also admit to having a private logo which I add to the book so that I know I've read it. Most readers of genre fiction have their own private logo; we read so many books it's hard to keep track. I want to reassure those of you who are gasping that I would deface public property that my mark is small and discreet and is not anywhere near the barcode or anyplace that would interfere with reading any part of the book. Some libraries have a small slip of paper attached to the inside front or back cover just for this purpose. It's fun to see other people's initials or squiggles. It's like being part of a secret community.

Obsession - or is it Compulsion?

I've already begun waking up in the middle of the night thinking about how I'm going to make changes to LIS415 next semester. I understand that catalogers don't have OCD. They have CDO - that's OCD but in alphabetical order. :-)

The other news I have is that I am probably going to be the new fitness instructor at the Hatfield Senior Center. This is one of the volunteer jobs I called about yesterday. I was a volunteer fitness instructor at the Greenfield YMCA for 8 years and really loved it. I was even certified by ACE (American Council on Exercise) and the YMCA.

Being the instructor is the perfect way to insure you work out. Even if you pay for aerobics classes, it's still easy enough to skip a class. But when you're teaching the class, there's no way you can skip.

For a while I considered a career change. However, it's hard to be a full-time fitness instructor. Even energetic 20-year-olds can't teach enough classes to pay the rent without causing serious bodily injury. Fitness instructors are often also Personal Trainers to give their muscles a rest and I wasn't sure I wanted to go the Personal Trainer route. I'm not certain why, though I know it involves a lot more training than I had at the time. Somehow being a Personal Trainer seemed to mean I would have a lot more responsibility and I didn't feel confident enough then.

Anyway, after some training (after all, it's been about 12 years since I've taught fitness classes) you'll be able to find me on Wednesday mornings boogeying at the Hatfield Senior Center.

A Reasonably Productive Day

It's best for me to exercise first thing in the morning - before I have a chance to think about what I'm doing. This morning, I walked to the end of the road (1 mile, inclined downward) and back (1 mile inclined upward). It takes me about 40 minutes to make the trip and I'm always very warm by the time I return home.

The assignments are ALL GRADED!!! There were twice as many as usual because the students worked on these individually instead of in pairs.

And, I vacuumed the inside of my car. It looks lovely. When I bought this car a year ago, it was in pristine condition. I regret to say it does not look quite as nice as it did then, but I want to maintain it physically as well as mechanically. It's the nicest car I've ever owned and I want to take care of it.

I have a big day tomorrow, which I'll elaborate upon later.

One More Class

Next Saturday is the last class of the semester. Today, most of my students gave an oral presentation on topics of Library Science history. Next week, the rest will give their presentations on topics on the future of Library Science. It's so much fun to see how excited they get as they research their topics. The only downside is some of them are not able to distill their information into the allotted time. I mark them down (not a lot, but some) if they go over their time limit.

They turned in their last homework assignment today. I'll spend Monday and/or Tuesday grading the papers so that I can return them next week. Then I still have to compile and submit final grades. Then I get a 5 week vacation - although some of that time will be spent preparing for the Spring Semester.

I've gotten back into the swing of morning exercise. That October snowstorm threw me off of my schedule and then I began experiencing pain in one knee. The pain is good incentive to spend time on Pilates or Yoga every morning because I can really feel the difference. Activity, specifically stretching, minimizes any discomfort. Both of my parents have arthritis and have had various joints replaced. I'm hoping that by paying close attention to my exercise routine (there's that discipline again) I can avoid a similar fate.

'Tis The Season

Sometimes I just have to go shopping.

Since I learned I might lose my job more than a year ago, I've been very careful about spending money. And since I decided I just have too much stuff, I've been very careful about accumulating more stuff. But sometimes I just have to go shopping. Like today.

I had an appointment this morning and I planned to restock the larder (some types of shopping still have to be done), but I did a little extra shopping, too. Being the frugal person that I am, I spent some time at Steals & Deals (or maybe it's Deals & Steals - I can never remember, but I know where it is) in Northampton. Since 2 pairs of sweatpants that were considered "play clothes" are now officially in the rag pile, I'm on the lookout for replacements. That I didn't find, but I did purchase some much needed socks (most of mine have holes in the heels and will soon follow the sweat pants to the rag pile) and some rubber boots. My new rubber boots are blue with a floral print. I can hardly wait for slushy snow in which to wear them.

I finished Eat, Pray, Love today. I almost feel like starting at the beginning and reading it all over again, but I think I'll take a break; I returned it to the library. Liz Gilbert's experiences while meditating are so intriguing that I'm seriously considering meditating myself. But in the meantime, I'm concentrating on Yoga. I had let it slip for a while, but I'm practicing most mornings now and trying very hard to pay attention and be mindful.

After a week off for Thanksgiving break, I'll be teaching again on Saturday. Well, not exactly. Some of my students will be giving their final presentations, so I get to sit back and listen to them. They are a very bright and energetic group and I'm really looking forward to hear what they have to say. Libraries and Archives will be in good hands once these people graduate and enter the workforce.

Evaluations

Recently, I received copies of the students' evaluations for LIS 415. Overall, they were pretty good and I'm glad. There were several good suggestions from students and I agree with them.

I'll probably be teaching the course in the fall and I plan to incorporate more in-class projects, to divide up the at-home assignments (make them shorter but more frequent), and spend more class time going over the assignments. Shorter lectures and more in-class discussion is also on the agenda.

Another goal is to spend more time in the first few classes explaining what is expected, when and why. Students want to know how to plan their time during the semester; that's a totally reasonable request.

A disappointment is that one person was not satisfied with the class. Obviously, I was not able to communicate as well as I would have liked with everyone. I wish he/she had let me know earlier in the semester and perhaps we could have resolved the issue(s). I know that when I was a student, every once in a while I would have a teacher with whom I had absolutely no rapport. I don't want that to happen with my students.

I hope that with less lecturing on my part and more in-class work and discussion, I can keep all channels of communication open and ensure a postitive learning experience for all students and a positive teaching experience for me.

Angst, Exhillaration, Relief

The semester has ended. Saturday was the last class for LIS415. I spent several hours on Sunday and most of Monday grading papers and calculating final grades. Those grades are now in the hands (or email boxes) of Simmons officials.

I remember back to January and how I felt just before the first class. I was terrified.

During the semester I had periodic attacks of panic interspersed with excitement and delight when something went well. I am so impressed with the students in my class. They are all so bright and know more than I do in some areas. Classes included a lot of exchange of information when one or more of them could fill in a gap based on their experiences. Half the class was in the Archives program - an area I know about only from a distance. Many of them had coding experience - mine is minimal. But I know cataloging rules, MARC format, name authority files, subject headings, how to deal with foreign languages and non-book material and what it was like in the card catalog days. And I had a lot of support from faculty on the GSLIS Boston campus and the administration on the GSLIS Mt. Holyoke campus. Thanks, everyone for helping me through my first semester.

I'm already thinking of things I want to include in the fall. I expect I'll be teaching again although that's not yet official.

Today I'm off to work at DGI gathering more anecdotes to relate to future classes.

Three More Weeks - But Who's Counting?

It's been a wonderful experience teaching LIS415, and I sincerely hope I do it again in the fall. But right now I'm looking forward to getting my life back, to having my weekends free, and to listening to the opera on Saturday afternoons. There are so many things I plan to do with all the extra time I'll have, I'm tired just thinking about them!

8 Days a Week

My work life lately feels like the title to a Beatles' song. I suppose I should be grateful - and I am. It's nice to know that my skills are valued and that people want me working on their various projects. And that I'm earning enough money to pay the bills.

Yesterday I traveled to Middleborough (nearly to Cape Cod) to teach a Continuing Ed. workshop on MARC records for the Mass. Library System (MLS). Fifteen women attended and there was a real range of experience. Some were brand new, but most had been doing their jobs for a while and wanted to make sure they were doing the right things. Many had learned "on the job" and wanted the "official" take on what they do. Others had Masters' degrees in Library Science and wanted a review. There was lots of good discussion and the attendees seemed very pleased. I know I was.

Later that evening I spent a few hours grading papers for LIS415. I'm so glad this is spring break and I don't have to teach on Saturday. I need the breather.

Today, I'm off to Springfield City Library to catalog more games, puzzles and toys for the Early Childhood Resource Collection (ECRC). I'll be working on the item records and attaching the descriptions I created to digital images.

Then I'll spend the rest of the week at the DGI offices in Windsor, CT converting cataloging information for the Boston Public Library from cards to electronic records.

As far as I know, I'll be busy like this till June 30 when the grant money expires for the ECRC and BPL projects. We'll see what happens after that.

Too Much Money

I don't have too much money and probably never will, but last week I earned too much money to file an unemployment claim. I guess that's good, although it wasn't quite as much as I would have earned in a week at CMRLS. However, it's nice to know that my services are in such demand and this situation will likely continue through June 30 which is when the money runs out for my 2 latest projects.

In the meantime, I'm actually struggling to keep up with the work. I have some Continuing Education workshops to teach in March in addition to all of the other stuff. Also during March, I'll be filling in for the cataloger at Springfield City Library who will be taking some vacation time. Fortunately, spring break is in March so I'll have a little breather from teaching (and the most time consuming activity, preparing to teach) LIS415 at Simmons-west.

The victim of all this activity is my once-clean house which is showing signs of neglect. Dust anyone? I'm able to squeeze in the most essential tasks, the most visible ones, the ones that drive me so nuts I can't concentrate on anything else until I take care of them.

Overall, I'm very happy. I love the activity, going to different places every day, having to adapt to a different working environment and different colleagues every day, stimulating my brain and learning so much more about what I've been doing for years. It's vital that I stay organized, keep my appointment book up-to-date, and refer to it (and the weeks ahead) regularly.

It's even more important that I take a little time every day (generally first thing in the morning) to do some Yoga or other exercise. I noticed this morning that my mind was especially active and kept thinking about all of the things I needed to attend to today and tomorrow. I find posting to this blog helps some of that frantic energy dissipate and I'm better able to concentrate on what I'm doing and think less about all of the other things that need to be done, too.

When I began this blog back in July 2010, I seriously thought I might be headed for a career change. If that happens, it won't be anytime soon. My cataloging skills are needed and for right now, that's fine with me.

Consumed

LIS415 is consuming every waking minute. All I do is think about Organization of Information. I read the textbook, read the handouts for the students, read additional articles, read the students' essays on the discussion board, read the information graciously given to me by a seasoned teacher of the course and keep remembering that it will all be easier next time.

Sometimes I feel so frantic I don't want to take time to practice Yoga. But I also know that's when I need Yoga the most to help me center myself and realize all I'm capable of.

I'm learning so much. As a practitioner, I've always tried to keep up with the issues, but didn't really have to think much about the "big picture." I've always admired the visionary thinkers and wondered how they imagined the new and innovative uses of library metadata, etc. Right now I'm too overwhelmed keeping up with course work to think up anything new and innovative, but I can see how the research environment is conducive to ideas far beyond what I'm used to.

It almost seems like a vacation when I get to spend some time on cataloging projects - which I'm also doing a day or so every week. I also have some CE workshops coming up. What a joy: to present material I know so well and not to have to worry about the session next week because Continuing Education is only one-session and there are no assignments to grade.

My initial unemployment claim should be coming to an end soon. Since I've been working so much, I generally don't withdraw the full weekly amount. That makes it last longer. I believe I'm eligible for an extension. We'll see.

Otherwise, I'm really looking forward to the end of the semester and taking lots of nice long breaths.