Here at the School of Information Studies, the semester is rapidly coming to a close, and I’m sure I’m not alone in starting to look forward to the winter break. Besides visiting with friends and family, and celebrating a number of holidays, here are the five things I can’t wait to do:
- Catch up on reading! Life in the iSchool is a constant series of things to read, and I’m definitely looking forward to taking some time for more casual reading over break. That said, I’m also looking forward to catching up on the various blogs I read—librarians, I’ve noticed, tend to write a great deal. I use Google Reader to aggregate all of the RSS feeds I’m subscribed to. I love the simplicity of the user interface, and it’s great to have everything I want to follow in one place. I use it for web comics, my classmates’ blogs (and my own), library (and library-school) blogs, (such as the iSchool’s own Dave Lankes’) and a few other things, too.
- Figure out internship opportunities! It’s time for me to update my resume, start building a CV, and start applying for summer internships. (Any suggestions? Let me know in the comments!) The iSchool has lots of resources for me to use, including our very own Career Services office, and I look forward to discovering the best fit for me.
- Have fun! The holidays wouldn’t be complete without a celebration or two, and I can’t wait to enjoy them! I’m already getting good at answering the question, “So why do we need librarians around?” and I’ve been surprised a few times by people who are very familiar with information science in a number of venues—it never hurts to network! There’s nothing wrong with talking about the things you’re most passionate about, and I’ve already found that people will come out of the woodwork to give you a hand when you’re excited about something. I have every intention of taking advantage of each opportunity to meet someone new—you never know who might have exactly the advice you need.
- Visit libraries! It’s a funny thing about doing a degree in Library & Information Science—I haven’t had much chance to visit other libraries! Sure, we’ve gone on tours in most of my classes, and I’ve seen great “example” libraries in the academic, public, school, and special-library worlds, but nothing can really compare to just poking around the stacks, hanging out, and getting a feel for the way a particular library actually works (or doesn’t!). Now that I have a little bit of experience under my belt, I’m going to start visiting libraries to see what makes them tick, and start talking with more librarians to find the ones for whom it’s more than just a job.
- Relax! Break is, after all, meant to be a break. I have some plans, and some goals, but I also want to be sure to recharge the ol’ batteries before next semester begins. When I’m in school, I stay plenty busy, and even when I’m OUT of school there’s no shortage of cool stuff to do. So I’m planning in time to not-plan—crazy, right? Even just a day, with no phone, no computer, just me. It’s just the ticket!
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