{"id":76770,"date":"2014-07-15T14:15:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T19:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76770"},"modified":"2014-07-15T14:10:47","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T19:10:47","slug":"5-ways-to-maximize-your-graduate-assistantship-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76770","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Maximize Your Graduate Assistantship Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Anastasia Chiu<\/a>, MSLIS<\/em><\/p>\n

5 Ways to Maximize Your Graduate Assistantship Experience<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Anastasia<\/a>ALA recently announced its new Opportunities Exchange<\/a> search interface for the Financial Assistance for Library and Information Studies Directory<\/em>, allowing library school students and applicants to find ways to fund their studies more easily. Many of the opportunities listed in FALIS <\/em>are assistantships, either for service in university libraries or for research and administration in LIS or other university departments. Hopefully, many of the newly admitted LIS students who will matriculate in the fall have won some of those assistantships. My own degree was funded by a graduate assistantship in my university library, and I considered it a double-windfall, since it granted full tuition remission and gave me the opportunity to gain work experience in both technical and public services in an academic library.<\/p>\n

Looking back, there are a few things that I\u2019m proud of having done as a GA, and a few that I wish I had thought of before completing the assistantship. From the 20\/20-hindsight perspective, here are five ways to maximize a graduate assistantship experience:<\/p>\n


\n1) Don\u2019t hesitate to let your supervisors know what aspects of the library or department\u2019s work you\u2019d like to explore<\/strong>. You may feel awkward asking for anything when you\u2019ve already been given the boon of tuition remission or a stipend, but you\u2019re not just there to work off your debts; you\u2019re also there to get valuable experience as a professional and a scholar, and your supervisors know that. At best, you\u2019ll get a chance to explore an aspect of librarianship that you\u2019re curious about. At worst, there\u2019s nothing for you to do in the department you\u2019ve asked to work in, but you\u2019ve put yourself forward for consideration for future needs.<\/p>\n

2) Seek chances to participate in research and publication<\/strong>, especially if you are pursuing academic librarianship. If something that you are working on is part of someone\u2019s research or effort to innovate, this is your chance to get in on the action. Don\u2019t just watch open-mouthed; offer to help! If you\u2019re lucky enough to end up as a co-author of a published paper on the work you did, that could be key to getting hired in an academic library post-grad, especially if you don\u2019t have a second advanced degree yet.<\/p>\n

3) Take your special projects home with you. <\/strong>You probably work for a set number of hours per week, so you may not see much incentive in investing your free time. After all, you have class work and, y\u2019know, life <\/em>to do. But giving your first special project the extra time and attention it needs is often what gets you more meaty projects, and those are what ultimately make you a better librarian and researcher.<\/p>\n

4) Volunteer to help committees and working groups<\/strong>, even if you\u2019re not sure if you\u2019re allowed to as an assistant. You might be told that the group you\u2019re interested in is closed to non-faculty or to further participants. On the other hand, you might also be welcomed with open arms and get great managerial experience by participating in the committee or working group\u2019s decision-making and strategic planning.<\/p>\n

5) Even if your assistantship covers full tuition, pursue scholarships anyway. <\/strong>It\u2019s tempting to just sit back once you\u2019ve got the news that the cost of your education is taken care of, but scholarships are not just money. They look great on your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 as honors, and some are applicable to textbooks and board, which assistantships don\u2019t usually cover. Not to mention, if the cost of your tuition is actually drawn from the budget of the department you work in, you will only gain points for costing the department less to hire and maintain.<\/p>\n

Good luck to the Fall 2014 LIS cohort!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anastasia Chiu is a recent graduate of St. John\u2019s University\u2019s Division of Library and Information Science, where she focused her studies on information architecture and metadata for digital resources. She was born and raised in California, went to college in Connecticut, and moved to New York City in 2009. As an MSLIS student, she completed a graduate assistantship in St. John\u2019s\u2019 Queens campus library and an internship at the United Nations Dag Hammarskj\u00f6ld Library; she is currently on the hunt for academic and public library jobs. Her main interests are: cataloging, reference & instruction, and open access to scholarly communications. In her free time, she enjoys vegetarian cooking and playing flute and piano. Find her on LinkedIn at http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/anastasiachiu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Anastasia Chiu, MSLIS 5 Ways to Maximize Your Graduate Assistantship Experience ALA recently announced its new Opportunities Exchange search interface for the Financial Assistance for Library and Information Studies Directory, allowing library school students and applicants to find ways to fund their studies more easily. Many of the opportunities listed in FALIS are assistantships, either…<\/p>\n

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