So you want to be a librarian, eh?

[auntiemeesh]

OMG! What the heck was I thinking when I decided to go back to school? There's no way I'm going to survive this program and I'm going to be working in daycare till I'm dead and I'll owe zillions more student loans to show for my effort.

*panics just a little*

I just had a look at some old syllabi on the LIS webpage. jdecay had warned me that there were plenty of big papers to do, but I didn't understand what he meant until just now. It looks like I'll have three 20-25 page papers to do in the first semester, along with reading way more books and articles than I can imagine ever having time for. And in one of the classes, the big paper is worth, get this, 75% of the grade. I haven't written a serious paper in over ten years and if I mess up, I fail the class. And yes, I get that they don't want illiterate morons who can't communicate becoming librarians, but *flails* I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. And here I was, feeling all happy because this program doesn't require a thesis. *marvels at naivete*

Plus, there's all these books that I'm supposed to buy to start up my personal library and that's great, except I have no money. Which means I'm not going to be able to buy nearly as many, if any, of the books as I should, and will be forced to rely on library copies of said books, that probably half my classmates are also going to be relying on, which means it will be nightmarishly difficult to get my hands on the reading material at the appropriate times.

Comments

[neo-star0114.livejournal.com]

Oh hunny! *hugs* Hang in there! I know how rough school is (seeing as I'm also back and mildly freaking out about classes o_O) but you can do it! I hope things go well for you.

[eve11]

There's a huge difference between "thesis" and "several 20-page papers"... you'll be fine. *sends calming vibes*

[dreamflower]

Take a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out. Think about hobbits. There now. Isn't that a little better?

It's going to be all right, dear. I know you can do it.

(((((((hugs)))))))))

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Yeah well, I know that. It's that whole 'this one paper is worth 3/4 of your grade' thing that I'm still freaking on, just a little. I'll work through the freak-out though, and it will end eventually.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

*hugs you back*

Thanks, dear! I'm breathing again, now. I'm sure it will be less overwhelming once I've actually got started on it all. By then, I'll be so exhausted that I'll simply run on autopilot until it's all done, and then I'll look back at it and marvel at having done all that work. :D

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Thanks. What are you studying?

[neo-star0114.livejournal.com]

I'm actually studying Electronic art and Animation with a little bit of Digital media thrown in. o_O It's quite frightening when I think about all I'm getting into but it should be worth it. Special effects here I come! :D

[westwindschild.livejournal.com]

Looks like you're feeling better, judging by your last comment! You will marvel at how much you got done, once it's all over, and you will get through it just fine. Glad to see you're keeping your sense of humor about it, though!
*hugs*
>:)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Aw, what a cute icon. :D

[lil-banik-slave.livejournal.com]

*Tight hug*

It seems daunting looking at everything, but I find it helps to right things down in a list in order of priority (IE Deadlines) so that you can work hard on one thing at a time, and give the other things some attention when you get bored/brain dead with the top priority.

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

You're an awesome writer--so I'll bet you'll be cranking those papers out! The books are a problem...but see if you can get 'em through interlibrary loan--sometimes you can check 'em out for longer periods of time.

{{{{hugs}}}}

You'll make it!!!
=D

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

If I made it through library school, you can. Just plan on reading on buses, trains, subways, in line for coffee, at breakfast, till midnight...

Get chummy with the people at the reserve desk in the library now. Bring offerings. (Chocolate is usually acceptable.) Ask questions like "when are most of these materials not in use?" Be the first one in the door in the morning.

The writing actually won't be that hard for you. You write very well as a matter of course. The hard part will be remembering to do all the citing etc., and knowing what to leave out of the paper.

[topaztook.livejournal.com]

According to my cousin, part of grad school is figuring out what is really necessary to read on the impossible-to-accomplish reading lists, and what is not. Of course, his degree is in biochemistry -- I didn't even understand the *title* of his thesis -- so, in library science, you may have a lot of great things you *want* to read. Hang in there! You can do it!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, once I have current syllabi, being organized about what I work on will be crucial to getting everything done. I'm going to have to work out a pretty careful schedule so that I can make the most of the limited hours that I'll be able access the library, printers, etc.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the support. I think the SIS library should have the books I need if I can't buy them, but I'll also look online. Amazon.com might have some of them in the used book section where I can get them a little cheaper. *crosses fingers and hopes really hard*

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I'm already planning to (not quite but almost entirely) ditch Netflix. I'm going to go to a 'one CD at a time' plan because I will need to relax my brain once in a while but I surely don't need the distraction of tons of CDs floating around my apartment.

I've never been terribly great at choosing topics and then finding articles to go with it, so I'm a little nervous about that, and I have to learn a new writing style. I've always used the APA guidelines before but according to one of the syllabi I saw, we'll be using a Chicago style - I'm assuming there will be subtle differences in how to cite, etc.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the support. I'm feeling better already. :D

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Check at the beginning of the semester, in each class, about which citation style the professor wants. They may be deliberately choosing different ones in order to make sure that you're familiar with each once you become a professional.

The trick with topics/research, is to pick a general area, read like crazy, and then narrow down to what you want to say, drawing on the reading. My initial bibliography is usually twice the length of what I actually end up citing. And for heavens sake, make sure that you keep a running bibliography file! Every article that might be pertinent to anything, every book you get assigned or fall across, put it into your cardfile or onto your computer so that you can A, find it again and B, remember what it contained well enough to know whether it's worth finding again. Library school should teach you the skills to find the articles (your refernce class should do that) but it's up to you to make sure that you get organized enough to survive grad school.

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

Amazon.com is a wonderful place, isn't it? They've got a credit card that'll give you $30 off an order...I couldn't resist!

Good luck finding the books you need! Let me know if our little library can be of any help!
=D

[wishkey.livejournal.com]

You will do fine. It will be hard, but, hon, you are so awesomely smart, and tenacious.
*hugs*