Concluding session 1
I've enjoyed my experience greatly so far, for my chance to gain some practical experience cataloging and also to see how a rare-books library operates more generally. I've already gotten a pretty good sense of the culture of the workplace, and have seen how the librarians and staff all operate together.
To reflect on my GSLIS educational outcomes, I'll go through my learning contract one-by-one:
Goal 1: Foundations
- 1.2: JCB is an internationally respected organization, so I feel confident that what I'm learning is timely and relevant.
- 1.3: I'm getting a look at all the steps that come after acquisition, through to disposition. I've helped with deaccession of a few items already.
- 1.4: This is the exact work I'm doing!
- 1.5: I'm using industry-standard software and standards in my cataloging, for example MARC and OCLC.
Goal 2: Information literacies and lifelong learning
- 2.1: I'm not working reference or providing direct service to researchers but description and accessibility are the goals of cataloging so I am certainly working to meet information needs.
- 2.2: The staff at JCB have curated a highfly focused collection and prioritize accurate and relevant materials.
- 2.3: Again, this is exactly what I am doing.
- 2.5: The work is giving me clarity re: what I do and do not like, and where I may wish to focus my professional development in the future.
Goal 3: Media and technology
- 3.1: This goal I actually feel I have not met—because I am not working directly with patrons or researchers.
- 3.4: I'm right at the forefront of my own experience. OCLC is still the industry standard.
Goal 4: Management and leadership
I didn't predict achieving anything from this goal in my learning contract and, so far, I think this is the case. I haven't taken the lead on any projects or work so far; I'm just "testing the waters" and getting some good experience in. And I've only completed five weeks of my fourteen total—once I have made some more substantial progress I plan on asking to broaden the scope of my work and spend some time with the digitization team.