{"id":71406,"date":"2015-07-28T10:06:15","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71406"},"modified":"2015-07-28T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:03:50","slug":"four-things-i-wish-i-had-done-in-library-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71406","title":{"rendered":"Four Things I Wish I Had Done in Library School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heidi Taylor-Caudill,\u00a0former Head Editor, INALJ Kentucky<\/a>
\npreviously published 5\/13\/14<\/em><\/p>\n

Four Things I Wish I Had Done in Library School<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Heidi<\/a>Next week, I\u2019m graduating with an MSLS from the University of Kentucky\u2019s School of Library and\u00a0Information Science<\/a>. As with any milestone, one has a chance to reflect on successes and failures, things\u00a0done right, and things that should have been done differently. Over the last few days I\u2019ve been thinking\u00a0about advice I\u2019d give to myself two years ago. Here\u2019s the top four suggestions:<\/p>\n

#1 Join library societies\/associations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Membership in library societies and associations is one of the best ways to become professionally\u00a0involved during school. Don\u2019t just pay your dues, but take the chance to network and build your skills\u00a0by participating in round tables, sections, and committees. To learn more about how memberships can\u00a0benefit your career, check out these articles by INALJ head editors Roselle Pendergast<\/a>, Sean O\u2019Brien<\/a>,\u00a0and Elinor Crosby<\/a>. There are a lot of choices, including state societies\/associations, national associations\u00a0like the American Library Association (ALA)<\/a>, and field-specific societies\/associations like the Society of\u00a0American Archivists (SAA)<\/a>. Most offer student memberships at reduced rates, so this is your chance to\u00a0experiment.<\/p>\n

#2 Go to conferences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conferences provide excellent opportunities to network, build relationships, and learn about key issues,\u00a0new technologies, and research. The people who speak at conferences are experts in their fields, so\u00a0you may learn things that aren\u2019t covered in your classes. Some of the connections that you make with\u00a0other attendees could benefit you in the future. Take a look at these articles by INALJ head editors Sara\u00a0Dixon<\/a> and Rebekah Kati<\/a> for more reasons to attend library conferences. Concerned about the costs?\u00a0LISJobs.com<\/a> provides links to scholarships, awards, and grants to attend local and national conferences.\u00a0Also remember that your society\/association memberships sometimes offer discounts on conferences.<\/p>\n

#3 Seek out different experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can you know what you really like, unless you try new things? Take a mixture of courses, even if\u00a0you\u2019re not sure you\u2019ll like the topic. Look for opportunities to research, publish, and present. Hunt for\u00a0internships and jobs that will give you practical experience, especially in different areas of librarianship.\u00a0Browse through some of the many articles<\/a> on INALJ.com about other people\u2019s experiences in the\u00a0profession. Be open to the idea that your direction could change.<\/p>\n

#4 Get to know other library students<\/strong><\/p>\n

I completed my master\u2019s degree online. It wasn\u2019t until last October, when I started working in a campus\u00a0library, that I finally met another student from my program in person. While the online format was\u00a0convenient for my schedule, it hindered the development of real relationships with my professors and\u00a0classmates. Use every opportunity to meet other students, whether you\u2019re taking classes online or not.<\/p>\n

As Lady Macbeth said, \u201cWhat\u2019s done, is done.\u201d It\u2019s a waste of time and energy to have regrets from\u00a0library school. If I could go back in time and talk to my former self, though, I wouldn\u2019t hesitate to\u00a0recommend the three things on this list. Think about the things you wish you had done and consider\u00a0how you can accomplish them now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heidi Taylor-Caudill,\u00a0former Head Editor, INALJ Kentucky previously published 5\/13\/14 Four Things I Wish I Had Done in Library School Next week, I\u2019m graduating with an MSLS from the University of Kentucky\u2019s School of Library and\u00a0Information Science. As with any milestone, one has a chance to reflect on successes and failures, things\u00a0done right, and things that…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":71605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[146,69,3592,6219,3596,3911,111,5951],"class_list":["post-71406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-advice","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-heidi-taylor-caudill","tag-inalj-kentucky","tag-library-school","tag-tips","tag-tips-for-library-school-students"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/heiditc.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-izI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}