SCARLA meeting tonight!

The last SCARLA meeting of the semester is TONIGHT!  6 pm.  Use the link below to attend the meeting online.

http://rutgersdceo.adobeconnect.com/scarla/

Hope to see you there!
-Shanna

LISSA Meeting tonight!

There is a LISSA meeting tonight, and it's an important one, where they choose officers for next semester!  And online students - you, too, can be involved!  The meeting starts at 5:50pm and should only take about a half hour.  Online students can join with this link:
http://rutgersdceo.adobeconnect.com/lissa/

Hope to see you all there!
-Shanna

How to Become an Essential Librarian

I'm reading a piece right now by Breanne Kirsch, from the University of South Carolina Upstate.  It was recently published in Endnote: The Journal of the ALA New Members Round Table, and it's titled How to Become an Essential Librarian.

It's informally written for a scholarly article, which makes it very easy to read.  And it's chock full of good advice on how to make the most of a new career when you're just starting out after graduation.  She walks through six essential steps toward becoming a valued and indispensable member of whatever institution you end up library-ing for.

Here's a copy of the PDF - I highly recommend reading it when you have some free time.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday break!
-Shanna

SCARLA in the news!

The New Jersey Library Association Fall 2011 newsletter has a write-up about our very own SCARLA (the academic libraries student organization).

Here's a link to the PDF copy of the newsletter - scroll to page 8 for the article about SCARLA.

Congratulations, guys!  Good to see some name recognition out there, and I'm excited to see what SCARLA has in store for us.
-Shanna

RASL meeting tonight!

The next RASL meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15th (that's tonight!) from 5:50-6:20 pm in the 3rd Floor SC&I Faculty Lounge.  For those of you who need to attend online, just click the following link a few minutes before meeting time:

http://rutgersdceo.adobeconnect.com/rasl

This will be a short meeting, but a great opportunity to meet April Bunn, the NJ Association of School Librarians conference chair.  NJASL is still looking for volunteers for their upcoming conference (in December, I believe), so please consider signing up.  This opportunity will look great on your resume and allow you to network with people in the school library field.

Hope to see you there!

-Shanna

"I'm Going to Library World!" AASL 2011

When I was chosen to set up the Rutgers booth exhibit at the American Association of School Librarian Conference in Minneapolis, I felt like a kid anticipating a theme park adventure. AASL did not disappoint. I walked into the exhibit hall visually bombarded by books and displays. The enormous size of the hall matched the wealth of useful knowledge, and next time I will be sure to leave room in my suitcase for the brochures, tote bags, gadgets, and books. Surprises were everywhere, from favorite authors signing books to Captain America ready to pose with you for a souvenir photograph. Yet, the best part of the conference was the learning opportunities from keynote speakers, the Exploratorium poster sessions, and the concurrent sessions. From the sessions I was able to attend, I brought home practical strategies to help students and partner with teachers in a school library program. As a student, I sometimes wonder how this all works in real life, but by attending the conference, I was able to see progress in action. The best part of the trip was the tools and knowledge I gained to impact learning. To all MLIS students, school library track and other specialties, I recommend getting involved in your professional organization and attending a conference. The gains both professionally and personally will be beyond anything you imagined. As you talk with other librarians, you will realize that we all face the same obstacles, but we all have different approaches for success. And, like any big destination adventure, you can start planning ahead. Many of the librarians I met, not all though, paid their own way to the conference. For all the future school librarians out there, the next AASL conference will be in Hartford, Connecticut, November 14-16, 2013. In the meantime, if you are in New Jersey, you can attend the NJASL conference December 2-3 in Long Branch, NJ. Look for me, I will be there!

-Guest Blogger and MLIS student, Jean Stock

"Libraries are not a quiet place anymore."

Of course, we all knew that.  But here is a link to a great interview with Carl Harvey, president of the American Association of School Librarians:

How Will We Read: In Schools? from the Huffington Post

Harvey talks mostly about the SKILLS Act and the impact that 21st century technologies are having on the school library system.  It's great short read.
Enjoy!
-Shanna

How I Register for Classes

Registration time is heeeeeeeeeeere!  The process can be a little complicated - but no worries!  We are here to help.

There is going to be a LIVE CHAT this afternoon, from 1pm to 2pm EST where you can talk with live MLIS advisors and get your registration questions answered.  Simply click on this link at the right time: http://rutgersdceo.na6.acrobat.com/scigradstudentadvising and login as a Guest.  This is definitely an excellent resource.

For those of you who just want to read about it, here is how I register for classes:

• First, I open two tabs or windows.  The first has WebReg open in it.  The second tab is for the official Schedule of Classes.
• Then login to WebReg (use your NetID and password).  Also, search the schedule of classes - we are school 17 - School of Communication and Information, on the New Brunswick campus.  On the second screen of the search, we are subject area 610: LIBRARY SERVICE.
• Find the class you want to take and look for the colored area under the Crs/Index number - this colored block will have a five-digit number in it.  You will need this number.  Also note that if the block is colored green, you're good to go - but if it's red, the class is full.
• Pick the correct semester in WebReg.  Then, copy that five-digit number you found and paste it into the first box on the WebReg screen.  Repeat this with the rest of your classes.  Click "Add Courses" and (IMPORTANT) make sure the courses that it says you registered for are really the ones you want!  If there's an error, double-check your five-digit code.

And that's it!  As always, feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about registration or you need any help.  And if you're still wondering what courses you should take next semester, then get on that!  You can still e-mail your advisor if you need to.

May you take all the classes you wish and they never be too full,

-Shanna

SCARLA meeting tomorrow

In addition to the RASL meeting today (which you can learn more about in this post), there is a SCARLA meeting tomorrow, Wednesday 10/26 at 5:50pm.  For those of you who can make it to campus, the meeting is in the Scarlet Latte at the Alexander Library.  For those who can't make it to campus, the meeting will also be broadcast through Adobe Connect - just use this link to connect.  I haven't heard any news yet on exactly what the meeting will be about, but if you're interested in academic or research libraries, I definitely suggest checking it out.  SCARLA has also been posting links to recordings of past meetings on their News and Info page, which is excellent for those of us who work evenings or are otherwise unavailable.  I hope that other clubs start regularly making recordings of their previous meetings available as well, in addition to webcasting live.

Advising and Registration - should I?

The advising period has officially launched today.  It will continue for the next two weeks, through Friday 11/4 - and registration opens Sunday 11/6 at 10pm.

I highly recommend advising for everyone - regardless of whether or not you're following a track, how far along you are in the program, how positive you are of the classes you're taking next semester, whatever - advising is important for everyone, even if it's just so you can double-check what you already know.  If you absolutely can't find an appointment time that works for you, e-mail the advisor you're interested in speaking with - most advisors are happy to come up with an alternate time that works for you both.

To sign up for an advising appointment, either on-campus or online, go here: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/component/option,com_lisadvising/
Sign in with your NetID and password.  Then pick the advisor you'd like to meet with from the pull-down menu - I can help you figure out who to talk to if you're not sure.  Then click "Make Appointment" under the time slot you'd like.

For the actual advising appointment, you should definitely have a copy of the academic tracking sheet with you - you can get it from the Rutgers MLIS Wiki - go to your appropriate track (including those just following a general track and nothing specific) and download the sheet.  This is invaluable for advising, and for keeping track of what you need to take while you're in the program.

All online advising appointments take place as chat sessions in eCollege, in the Online MLIS Resource Center - under the Chat tab, you will find the Virtual Office for your advisor, and that is where you go during your appointment time.  Easy peasy.

Definitely contact me if you have questions or need help.  In a couple of weeks, I'll write about how to register for classes.
-Shanna

RASL Meeting Tomorrow

There's a RASL meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 10/25) at 5:50pm.  I'm planning to be there!
It's on the 3rd Floor SC&I Faculty Lounge if you can attend in person; otherwise, go here http://rutgersdceo.adobeconnect.com/rasl to attend online.

Media specialist Judith Everitt from Hillsborough High School will be there to talk about the day-to-day responsibilities of a school librarian.  This is an excellent opportunity, for those of us on the school library track, to learn about what we're planning to get ourselves into!

There will also be some discussion about the upcoming NJASL conference.

Spring 2012 Schedule

The schedule of classes for Spring 2012 has just been posted to the LISSA listserv - check your e-mail for your copy.  It should be up and searchable on the Registrar's schedule of classes soon.

Keep a close eye on your e-mail over the next week or so for information on faculty advising and registration.

So what classes are you thinking about taking next semester?  It will be my last semester in the program, so I'm planning to take: Colloquia, Management for School Libraries, and Field Experience for School Librarians.  I've already been working with Dr. McNally to get my field experience set up in a high school in my county here in Virginia - I'm excited!  I met with the head librarian there and she is very innovative, very dedicated, and has lots of good ideas - she should be a great mentor.

Don't forget to talk to your faculty advisor if you need guidance on what courses to take or how to best fulfill the requirements for the program.  And feel free to e-mail me if you have questions about specific classes that I have taken or professors that I have worked with and you're looking for a student's perspective!
-Shanna

RUSLA Internship Panel this week

RUSLA is having an internship panel / meeting this week - Wednesday, October 19 - at 6 pm Eastern time.  If you're viewing online, please log in about 10 minutes early, if possible, to test your connection and make sure everything's working the way it's supposed to.

http://rutgersdceo.adobeconnect.com/rusla

The guests at the panel include:
Virginia Papandrea - Rutgers University, Field Experience Coordinator
Nathan Brewer - IEEE, Administrator and Digital Librarian
Sharon Smith - Chartis Insurance, Senior Manager
Rochelle L. Stern - Novo Nordisk, Information Scientist
Elizabeth Lane - The Frick Collection, Assistant Reference Librarian

You'll get to learn more about field experience at Rutgers and a little about some of the specific institutions that are currently accepting interns.  (NOTE: If you're interested in field experience specifically in a school library, this meeting will not cover that.  School library field experience is handled by a different faculty member - e-mail me if you have questions or are confused.)  Please note that you need to have completed at least 15 credits before you can enroll in the field experience course.

I encourage you to attend!  I do not know if RUSLA is currently recording their meetings - this may not be available for later viewing, but if it is, I will post a link as soon as I have one.  I will also try to do a brief write-up of important meeting highlights - but I will not be able to stay for the entire meeting, so it's best to attend live if at all possible, or check the RUSLA website for meeting minutes after the fact.
-Shanna

Welcome!

We're proud to introduce the new blog for the Rutgers University Online MLIS program.  This blog is maintained and most of the content is provided by the Online MLIS Peer Mentors.  (For more information about your peer mentors, check out our profile under "About Us".)

This space will contain announcements, news, and other information pertinent to students in the Rutgers Online MLIS program.  From time to time, we may also feature posts designed to further enhance and inform your student experience - how to deal with classes in an online environment, tips for time management and job hunting, and introductions to some of the issues facing librarians today.

Guest posts are welcome - if you have a student or library issue that you've been dying to write about, send us an e-mail.  Feedback is encouraged - what do YOU want to see here?

So let's get this party started, eh?