Until very recently I have been a backseat student. Meaning I went to school, did what was asked of me academically, and breathed. I signed up to volunteer at my local community hub, the Denver Public Library; I subscribed to the American Library Association and a few professional blogs; and just sat and read. Then!
I read this, Open Thread Thursday: Library School at Agnostic, Maybe which led me to this website Hack Library School. Whoa! Was my first impression, a very similar feeling to when walking into a dark room alone and out comes 20 shouts of SURPRISE!!!!!!!! I’m not alone?
Are you seriously asking me what I would hack out of my program? Are you seriously challenging me? Are you asking to hear my voice? Well then let me begin on what I would do different if it were up to me to rewrite the curriculum at San Jose State University...
1. I would definitely hack out the course requirements to enter the internship program. According to my LIS program, students are not allowed to apply for internships using the SJSU internship website until they have finished the 4 required core courses plus three electives. Due to this stupid guideline I lost an internship opportunity. Even though I met the requirements for the internship position, the hiring librarian had to politely decline me because my internship advisor would not give me a waiver. How does a professorate who teaches librarianship allow this to happen? If students meet the internship requirements, let them fly!
2. A healthy balance between theory and practical skills. While I thank all my professors for giving me the skills in librarianship, I feel I lack the theoretical aspect of librarianship. I am finding more and more LIS blogs attacking the theoretical topics and I feel I have lost my voice while working on my skills.
3. Collaboration between librarians and library students off campus. There is a lack of mentoring at the beginning stages. LIS schools should encourage librarians to mentor LIS students. I think this is imperative and librarians should be discussing issues, experiences, and skill sets with students to learn from one another.
These proposals come from my experience as a library student and like many of my online student colleagues have discussed over at Hack Library School, we need to collaborate, open up discussion to new ideas, and take initiative.
No longer will I be a backseat library student or future librarian. I am opening up my personal blog to discuss my experiences as a student and future librarian, and anything library related. I am not really sure what direction I am headed for, all I know is, I will be driving.
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