Had a revelation tonight--too big for Twitter, but it's really not a layered concept like a typical blog entry, either. Sort of jumbo-junior sized. But I wanted to share the musing, as it cleared up, for me, a mindset that seems common amongst this class.
While checking out google reader, I found myself reading Librarian in Black -- a blog I started subscribing to when someone else in LIS 460 mentioned it (Thanks! I love it). Every entry seemed useful and exciting to me. Even though it's written by a public technology librarian.
It reminded me of a thread last week -- on the wiki discussion, I think, about feeling like you are missing something, wondering how one would ever know they were getting the right information, and furthermore, getting all that there is to get.
And I realized it's because of my newcomer status--that I am literally an open book when it comes to this profession. Everything's interesting, every bit of information has the potential to help me on the job. I have no way of knowing what to filter, what to stash for future use, what to ignore. I'm racking up del.icio.us tags at a rapid rate, and so on. At this point, I'm depending on my memory more than any of these tools, to pair up the ideas and the applications/tools. That can't be good!
So, what's the solution? I think I found it in Linda's comments to a previous blog entry. It was about my future library website. I think I will apply her advice/suggestion about creating the website to my library's mission statement. Knowing this can be very generalized, I think I need to make some very specific objectives in the mission statement.
I need to create my own structure, set my own perimeters--this will help me identify information I need on the web. Much better than being such an open book.
2 comments:
Exactly!
And, at the same time you need to say to yourself, it's OK if me as a book has some things missing. There are always opportunities for new editions, addenda, errata, etc. Tell yourself you are going to know what you need to know when you need to know it. It really is possible and it works.
I feel so much better--I have a bizarre perfectionist-type quirk, where I feel like I have ONE SHOT at getting something right, the first time I do it. And sometimes that's true, like when you turn in work for a grade, but that doesn't, and shouldn't, apply to my plans for running the Academy library.
Gotta remind myself, there's always a way to edit, ect., as you said.
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