Having spent much of my time in the program laying the foundation of librarianship principles and engaging in broader, even more philosophical, examinations of the nature of knowledge and information, this semester focused on more technical details involved in LIS work.
My two classes this semester were Cataloging and Classification, which met in-person, and Metadata for Digital Resources, which was online. They were both with the wonderful Professor Karen Snow. In addition, my third collection of three credits was my practicum at Argonne National Laboratory's Research Library.
In metadata class, we started out learning about metadata, which is information about resources. For example, think of a book: It has a title, an author, a publisher, and other information. But that information is not the book itself, but is about the book--and that's the essence of metadata. The information like the title, author, and publisher helps us identify the book, and so that information is meaningful as such. If you ever search for a book in a library catalog, you use metadata like the book's title to find the book itself.
Our focus in the class was learning about specific schemes used to encode metadata for digital resources so that it can be entered into computers, and make those resources accessible to others. The major schemes we learned about, and practiced in exercises, were Dublin Core (both simple and qualified), MODS, and VRA Core, which is geared for art objects. One major assignment we had was to write about other metadata schemes in a report: I wrote about Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) and Encoded ARchival Description (EAD). Our final project was to work in a group to create metadata for a collection of photos.
Cataloging and Classification built upon what we studied in Organization of Knowledge class, one of the core classes I did in my first semester. In that class, we learned about principles for organizing resources, like Functional Requirement for Bibliographic References, as well as how to do Machine-Readable Code (MARC) formatting for cataloging books. Throughout that semester, Professor Karen constantly referred to material she was teaching in Cataloging and Classification class, which she referred to as "Advanced Cataloging". I was really intrigued by the idea of learning more about cataloging, and to see how the "advanced" class would take it a few steps further.
We hit the ground running in that regard by learning how to catalog other types of materials besides books. Our first major assignment was a portfolio, for which I cataloged a book, a DVD, a digital resource, a musical item, an audiobook, and a kit. Some of her lectures early on focused on how to do the coding for these other types of resources, which can get quite involved. We also learned about creating name authority records, which are authorized forms of a name of a person or other entity that are used in catalog records.
We then learned how to construct call numbers, according to both the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and the Library of Congress classification system. This led to our last major assignment: We were given books from a collection donated by a woman to the school, which all focused on folklore and fairy tales. We had to create catalog records that included determining subjects of each book (known as subject analysis), and then using those subjects to create both Dewey and LC call numbers. We also worked in groups to create a subject guide that would explain to users of the collection how to do subject analysis and create call numbers for our types of materials.
In addition to learning these technical procedures, we also learned about issues related to quality and ethics of cataloging. We were given the opportunity to pick an issue and explore it in-depth through a research essay, and reading several professional journal articles, I learned more about my issue of choice.
My practicum was spent at Argonne National Laboratory's Research Library. I was there for 12 weeks--so most, but not all, of the semester. My time was divided between projects and learning from the staff there about the specific tasks of their work. One major project I had was creating LibGuides. These are basically webpages that list resources of use to the scientific researchers, and they're organized and designed in a way to make it easy for the scientists to know what to look for as they do their work. One LibGuide I created was on funding resources, as the scientists there typically get grants and other funds to do their research. Another LibGuide I created was on physics resources, which is a large part of the research done there.
I also did some copy cataloging work, which entailed entering information about books, reports, and other resources into the library's computer catalog system, and then place the appropriate marks and stickers in the items so they could be ready for shelving and use in the library. I also went through a huge stack of old reports, checking to see if they were in the library's computer system already. They were on topics like environmental impact assessment of proposed new runways at air force bases and building a golf course at an army installation in Okinawa. Before starting all this cataloging work, I spent some time with the cataloging person, who explained the procedures to me.
I also learned about the process by which the library staff clears scientific research for publication approval, which is a huge part of their work, and involves checking references and ensuring all legal agreements are in place. I also spent some time with the librarian staff learning about interlibrary loan processes, the maintenance of the collection, and reference materials they use. There were times I even helped shift materials around on the shelves to create more space. I even shelved materials that had been recently checked in, which gave me the opportunity to learn how to shelve in the Library of Congress system, rather than the Dewey, which I use at the Oak Park Public Library.
I also spent time learning about records management processes, how records are created, maintained, and then discarded. One of my final tasks was to review the draft of a policy on record management for the laboratory.
My main days there were Thursdays for each of those 12 weeks, which was there when they had their all-departmental staff meetings. These meetings were an invaluable opportunity to learn about how they do their work, and the challenges they face, and how it all takes places within the context of the laboratory. There was indeed something grand about working at a US government facility, which added to the great experience I had learning and doing actual library work, practicing principles I had learned about in classes.
Indeed, I had plenty of opportunity this semester to engage in practice of library work, even down to the nitty-gritty technical details of cataloging and metadata. At times I felt like pulling my hair out over some of these details. But overall, I liked the opportunity to see this side of librarianship work, and I'm certain open to doing it in my career. And there were parts of it that were certainly enjoyable, like when Professor Karen talked about name authority files for Socks the presidential cat and metadata for Moby Dick, and exercises in which we created Dewey call numbers for books on growing rice with artificial lighting. I also had some interesting titles in my selection of books for the Ellin Greene project. And whenever Interstate 55 ever backed up when it was time to head out to Argonne or come back home, I had the opportunity to explore some interesting areas of Chicago's Southwest Suburbs, which made for a very nice drive--especially when it involved going through the lovely suburb of Riverside.
Certainly doing this kind of work in my classes and my practicum has poised me well upon finishing my studies in this "S" semester for my next job in the field of library and information science. I've indeed gotten myself ready for doing good work with my master's degree as I head into the next part of my vocational journey, for the Glory of the One Who is Master of My Destiny.
Note: This is my final post in my blog series "Master of My Destiny" specifically focused on my progress through graduate school studies. But there will be another reflection on the whole of the experience and my graduation ceremony coming up on May 8.
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