Assignment 5

I logged into the www.knowitnow.org site, and typed in I would like to know information about becoming a librarian and working in the field of Library Science. My question was repeated. Then I was immediately greeted by a librarian (ai.dan) who asked me to hold for a few moments while he took a look at my question. I was also told that I had connected to a 24X7 online reference service staffed with librarians all across the state.

I thanked him, and within about two minutes from the time at which I connected, I had received a link to what he said was a description of the Occupational Outlook for librarianship as a career. I clicked on the link to find a very thorough entry from the Occupational Outlook Handbook for 2010-2011. They listed information titles such as nature of the work, training, advancement, other qualifications, and earnings. There was also a link to related occupations and sources for additional information. The entry showed a comparison of earnings for different types of librarianship and included future projections from the Department of Labor.

The librarian inquired as to whether this was what I was looking for, and I agreed telling him that it was very informative. I asked if I would receive a transcript so that I could save the link and he told me that I would. He then asked if I would like some articles from the statewide databases, and I said that I would like those as well. About a minute later, I received a link for several articles, which required me to enter my zip code into the OpLIN site. I browsed through a few of them, but saw that the search had resulted in over 14,000 entries. The librarian let me know that the link would not work from the transcript, and was helpful in explaining to me what I needed to do to duplicate it. He advised me that I would need to use Masterfile Premier [oplin databases] searching the terms librarian career. He told me that he had limited the search to fulltext and January 2009 forward. The librarian further explained that I would need my library card to have access to the databases.

I thanked him again noting that he had provided great information. Just as I thought that we were finishing, he told me that I might also want to have a look at the American Library Association. He sent me the link to a specific section with tabs on Education and Careers, Scholarships, Employment, and Leadership Development. The tabs also contained subcategories of relevant information. I responded that this was excellent and the librarian ended by inquiring if this was enough to get me started. I told him that it was more than enough to get me started. I thanked him yet again, and he invited me to come back again if I needed help with another question. He thanked me for using the site, and we exchanged pleasantries before I ended the chat session. The duration of the session was about 26 minutes from start to finish. I received a transcript session via e-mail shortly afterwards. While he informed me that I would need to enter my library card information in accessing the databases, I have been able to still click directly into the link.

Directly following the chat session, I received a customer service survey, which I completed. I had to answer about my educational level prior to taking the survey.



There were four questions (paraphrased):

Would I use this service again? 1) yes 2) no 3) maybe (I answered yes)
How did you find out about our online service? 1) heard about it at school 2) found link on library website 3) heard about it at published library link at my library’s website 4) friend/relative 5) can’t remember 6) other

(I answered that I had heard about it at school)

How quickly did the librarian find information for you? 1) much faster than I expected 2) somewhat faster than I expected 3) took about as much time as I expected 4) slower than I expected

(I answered much faster)

How did you rate the service you received? Excellent, Very Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor
(I answered excellent)

The survey ended by asking for additional information, and I wrote that the librarian had been very informative.


Overall, I have to say that I was very impressed with the knowitnow.org service. Years ago I worked as a Market Research Interviewer, and I remember that we were trained to probe participants for further information (most times even to the point that they were annoyed). I appreciated that the librarian looked for more than just one source and inquired if I wanted more. He also framed the information as being a starting point. The librarian let me know what parameters that he had used for the search within the database. I also appreciated that he had used more timely information from January 2009 and forward. The entire session lasted longer than I expected but I don’t know if this might have been because I chose an odd late night/early morning hour purposefully. I had never used this service, but will now do so and encourage others to as well. I usually don’t care for surveys, but I was eager to participate in rating his assistance. I am curious to find out whether each person is administered the survey.

In contrast to the knowitnow.org service, I also created a contact entry through my Yahoo Messenger for the Kent State “Ask a Librarian” service. The librarian was courteous in his delivery, but the information provided paled in comparison to the knowitnow.org service. Our chat session lasted about five minutes. I posed the same question to the “Ask a Librarian” service, and the response I received was that I should try the American Library Association. “They have lots of information about the field and list schools that offer library science.” He then gave me the link and did not point out any specific section with topics as the knowitnow.org librarian had. I thanked him, but did not probe him for additional information. However, I also did not probe the librarian from knowitnow.org, but I still received more comprehensive information from that site.

The “Ask a Librarian” site was also poor in that the librarian did not even promote Kent State as the only Ohio school offering the MLIS! While the ALA is a great resource, that should have just been the beginning point for the search. If time were a consideration, I would venture to think that the Kent State librarian could have at least given me links to the LIS School and maybe even Wayne State in Michigan. I am so thankful for the insight provided to me with my methods of speaking with practicing librarians, attending association meetings, as well as volunteering with a library board. The knowitnow.org site provided such extensive information, which I think that I will bookmark and refer to even now as I have started the MLIS program. Even if I had not been able to speak with library professionals, the link from the Occupational Outlook Handbook via knowitnow.org site would have led me to continue on with my research such that I could have exhausted my resources in trying to fill in my information gap. I think that the “shadowing” with the library professionals in addition to the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a wonderful combination in answering my inquiry. I believe that the more suggestions that can be given, the better the outcome for someone seeking information from an information professional. Sometimes you need a little prompting in being made aware of additional angles for your subject search or question. I am glad to have found a new resource in knowitnow.org. I will, however, give the Kent State site another chance and explore similar when I’m in my local library branches.

Information Awareness Report/LIS 6001 Summer III

Information Awareness Report

I had a need to know about becoming a librarian and working as a librarian in the field of Information Science.

One of my close friends, and now my roommate, Melissa Jeter, works as a public librarian for the Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL). Melissa recently transferred to a new branch in the area, but she formerly worked as a Library Specialist III for the Art Tatum African American Resource Center within the Kent Branch of the TLCPL. Melissa was the first source that I tapped for information regarding working as a librarian. Melissa obtained her MLIS degree from the University of Illinois in 2008. While Melissa has had a short stint as a librarian, I consider her to be a mentor even though we are only months apart in age. I was considering a career change to librarianship, and Melissa provided me with her real life experiences in terms of studying for her MLIS degree, working and volunteering in a public library, and professional associations, both organizations and persons, which she made in her journey in becoming a librarian. Melissa and I had worked together in earlier years in the same civil rights agency and had some shared interests. After Melissa began working in her position as Librarian Specialist, she invited me to become a board member for the Art Tatum African American Resource Center (ATAARC) so that I could have some insight into the inner workings of the library system. I joined the board as a volunteer and was able to get involved with the planning of events and fundraisers for the community. I also learned about the patrons, the work done in our local library system, and the levels of personnel working in the branches. I have served on the board for over a year, and still volunteer.

Melissa introduced me to other librarians who talked about their experiences working in libraries and the graduate schools which they had attended. Melissa would invite me to events being attended by other librarian friends so that I could speak with them about their experiences. I was invited to their “flash mob” gatherings on Friday evenings where they met informally to commune with one another and share their work week. On one occasion, I took a day long shopping tour to Chicago with a group of librarians and other personnel from our local library branches. Melissa told me about the American Library Association and the wealth of information the organization provided about the professional standpoint of librarianship. I began frequenting their website reading about topics, and obtained a student membership at a very reasonable price upon being enrolled in Kent State University. I consulted the U.S. News and World Report editions of America’s Best Graduate Schools to look for background information on MLIS degrees and schools which provided them. I learned that Kent State University is the only Ohio school offering this degree.

In speaking with degreed librarians and other library personnel, I inquired about what brought them to their current positions working in libraries, and why they stayed. I inquired about whether they had degrees in library science, or some other subject and the length of time in which they had worked for a library. I inquired about where they had attended school for their library science degrees. I found out about a local networking group of librarians in my area called the Toledo Area Library Association and began attending their quarterly meetings. One of the first meetings I attended took place at a senior community center and the participants had a roundtable involving special librarians who spoke about their role as a librarian in their respective positions. I learned that our zoo, museum, some law firms, and the local medical school were staffed with librarians. I kept in contact with a particular Law Librarian, Julie Smith Maekask, who works for the firm of Eastman and Smith, Ltd. Julie kept me in the know about news and happenings in library science as well as with members of the TALA in their professional lives through her e-mail updates. Melissa and another one of her library colleagues told me about the Spectrum scholarship fund available through ALA. The Spectrum scholarship initiative was created to increase the representation of librarianship within underrepresented groups. I read about past Spectrum scholars and the opportunities available to apply for scholarships in attending MLIS programs.

In addition to speaking with library professionals, I started thinking about building my own list of favorite sites to learn about librarianship. Many of the librarians with whom I spoke attended Wayne State University for their degrees, and I discovered that I was able to sign up on their list serv even as a non-student. I received a regular digest of e-mails regarding job openings, professional association meetings, and other items related to librarianship. The site was valuable in giving me insight into what types of jobs were available in the field and the geographic locations where they were located.

Speaking with these practicing librarians was quite fulfilling to me as all the people whom I met seemed to be excited to speak about their profession and the places in which they worked. I learned that this field offered a diversity of opportunities. I would meet and speak to a librarian and he or she in turn would introduce me to another person and/or lead me to another information resource. The library professionals were very engaging and I was so impressed by their love for the profession. I felt that I received very practical knowledge regarding the field of information science that I might not have gained elsewhere. I knew that ALA would become a much utilized resource for me as a person interested in becoming connected with the field of information science as well. I became more and more excited about the field of information science as I encountered various professionals. I did consider the resources which I used to be very valuable, and I continued to talk with other library professionals and volunteer through my position with the ATAARC Board. I was also able to learn about how our community valued our local library system. Ultimately this research helped me to cement my decision in wanting to make a midlevel career change to become a public librarian. As they say, I wish I knew back then what I know now. I might have studied librarianship starting right out of high school. I would have made more of a conscious effort to shadow different people in their daily work to gain perspective on the type of types of careers that were best suited to me. However, I do believe that life is merely a progression of all the things you learn, and that things some time happen on their own time schedule for whatever reason. Through these experiences I learned that I was capable of networking with other people, and even bringing my own set of knowledge to other people. I never thought of myself as a networker, but that view of myself changed and I realized that I have created my own “arsenal” of knowledge holders whom help me to expand my horizons. I have always been open to new people and ideas and thus librarianship as it is ever evolving seems like a good fit with that. In our discussions and readings, we’ve touched upon our need for organizing or our purpose for organizing information. Thinking about this assignment helped me to realize that I am capable of organizing for research as I had always assumed that it wasn’t a skill of which I was capable since I could not demonstrate a rhyme or reason as to how I completed a task. Looking back, I am seeing, as the topic of this assignment suggests, that I had a gap in my knowledge and I went through steps to get to the answers which were needed for me to make a very important and possibly life changing decision for my future career. One day I hope to serve as a resource for others considering the field of information science, particularly underrepresented groups.

Petronella Holmes