InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm gettinn nuttin for Xmas"

Cliff Huxtable's Tacky Sweater Collection (jeertastic) wrote in librarians,
@ 2007-09-18 16:42:00

First post!
I am Laura, your community overlord. I am currently studying for a M.S. in Library and Information Science through the LEEP option at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. (On-campus weekend is less than a month away!) I've been trying to find full-time paraprofessional work to no avail. Still trying, though!

At the moment, I am cursing my archives prof for assigning about ten million things at the same time. On the other hand, I love my reference class. Love, love, LOVE!

Welcome one and all!

(Post a new comment)

	ex_bookworm742 2007-09-19 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Heya, thanks for starting this community! It is an ambition of mine to become a librarian, so I'm glad I found this community! (Reply to this)

red_day_dawning
2007-09-19 11:14 am UTC (link)

Hi Laura,
I'm studying to be a librarian (Graduate Diploma in Information Management)at RMIT uni in Melbourne, Australia.
What is "paraprofessional" work? Maybe we call it something different here?

This community is a good idea - although, at the moment I can't contribute much, as I'm so behind in assignment work it's truly scary!
I'm off to do some work on an "Advanced Information Retrieval" assignment now, the "assignment-from-hell". *groan*

(Reply to this)

	greenwitch 2007-09-19 06:34 pm UTC (link)
	Howdy from Rutgers! This is me playing on InsaneJournal instead of doing Dialog exercises for Principles of Searching. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Dialog

red_day_dawning
2007-09-19 11:15 pm UTC (link)

Dialog exercises? Did you say Dialog exercises?
Don't suppose you have any idea on the best way to retrieve archival material about clothing/films/music/current events from 1980? Preferably for Australia, but would settle for U.S. info also.

I've tried the Gale Magazine database (bluepage number 47? or 48?) but I don't have access to that db - & the Gale news one doesn't have digitized archival material from so long ago! This is the point I am stuck on for the assignment-from-Hell (see post above)

Sorry to thrust this at you - it just seemed to good to be true that you were mentioning dreadful Dialog, just as I was ripping my hair out!

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	Re: Dialog greenwitch 2007-09-19 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	Heh, I'm afraid I really can't be much help -- it's only our second class working on it (the first class was more like "these are bluesheets" "follow these tutorials and print them out and highlight the commands you used, but don't actually do anything complicated." Good luck though, sorry to disappoint, heh. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Dialog
(Anonymous)
2007-09-20 01:28 pm UTC (link)

Thanks so much for getting back to me! It was great even if you couldn't help.

I couldn't resist contacting you - it seemed to big a coincidence that you mentioned deadly Dialog (I hate, I hate it, I hate it!) just as I was screaming & tearing at my hair!

Good luck with Dialog - it's not that bad really.
It's just that I picked the worst assignment topic. We picked it right at the start of the semester, before I knew much about the databases - & the worst thing is, it's actually an interesting topic, & if I could do it straight through Google, I would have finished (with the same or better results) days ago.
Cheers!

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	cooper_fanatic 2007-09-19 07:38 pm UTC (link)
	Hi! Saw this and figured why the heck not! I recently got hired on at a library in Central IL for the circulation desk. It has always been one of those things I wanted to do, work in a library or a bookstore, so I finally got to do it. I look forward to hearing about the trials and tribulations of others as well as sharing some of my own stories. ;) (Reply to this)

cytherwolfed
2007-12-17 03:07 am UTC (link)

Oh, hey there!

Been to UIUC. Pretty campus, but I hear the library's pretty small. Could just be embittered students, though--hubby went there for CompSci. I am a former librarian who'd love to get back into work, if I could just replace the Director from Hell before I do. Until then, I'm just an amateur writer, trying to see if I can get my name on one of those shelves. Respects from a bibliophiliac family to you. *bows*

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	prophet_maid 2007-12-22 05:46 pm UTC (link)
	UIUC's library is the 3rd largest in the nation, after Harvard and Yale. Not sure how you heard it was small... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cytherwolfed 2007-12-22 07:45 pm UTC (link)
	Woefully uninformed opinion? Someone with a bone to pick? Maybe it was just small regarding what they were looking for? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jeertastic 2007-12-22 07:49 pm UTC (link)
	Was the person regarding the subject library within the library itself, or the library as a whole. That could make a difference. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cytherwolfed 2007-12-22 09:58 pm UTC (link)
	The subject library. Yeah, it really does make a difference. ^_^;; (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	prophet_maid 2007-12-23 01:33 am UTC (link)
	What subject library was that? CS? I'm pretty sure they don't ahve a subject library as their students are too busy programming to see the outside, let alone read a book. (Reply to this) (Parent)

prophet_maid
2007-12-23 01:31 am UTC (link)

Or they were at the wrong library. UIUC's library is actually spread across about a dozen buildings all over campus. The Main Library has about 20 departmental libraries within it, the Main Stacks are 13 floors spread over 10 stories (we have floor 3.5, 9.5, and something else). There are several smaller libraries in various dorms and other class buildings. Our Engineering library is physically large but has few books as it's mostly study space. I'm guessing that's what they saw, and didn't venture farther south to the piles and piles of libraries there.

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