I am so baffled by the black and white nature of people's view of libraries. Is it really so difficult to have the best of both worlds- online and offline? If some people prefer one way and some people prefer another, what is so difficult?
I have never worked in a library so I don't know the exact cost of holding on to hard copies of books/newspapers/journals while also making them digital, but doesn't it seem worth it either way? Maybe I'm just not seeing the bigger picture here.
The World Cat assignment has me baffled. I'll keep at it.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Double Fold
Okay. My "day off" on Memorial Day didn't really feel like a day off, but at least I got to see Coldplay. (Yay!)
I started reading Double Fold and I am FASCINATED. I was worried when Kuhn's book did not immediately draw me in.. I thought, "Shouldn't this subject material be irresistible to me as a future librarian?" and was worried when I was mostly confused and bored. But this new book is SUCH a better read. The author's hostility for what people have done to newspapers is so apparent, and it is such a valid concern- it's hard NOT to be drawn in.
Frankly, so far it reminds me of working at the bookstore. I worked at Waldenbooks for.... 6 years? Throughout high school and part of college... and I loved working there. I remember when I first started, I saw my coworkers tearing books in half, ripping off their covers, shredding magazines... I was horrified. In my ideal world, every book mattered and was precious. It was like an abortion for books. It turns out that if a book doesn't sell well enough, we had to tear apart the copies of those books and throw them out. Not donate them, not send them back. Rip them apart. It seemed like such a waste.
Now, obviously, it's not the same historical tragedy as throwing out the volumes and volumes of newspapers - and these books were obviously not bestsellers. And I understand, somewhat, from a publishing standpoint, why it MIGHT be necessary. But part of me still balked at the waste.
Though I must admit, it's hard for me to get through a book every week so far. Even though this is a good read, I am going to be hard-pressed to finish it in time to write a coherent paper. Even once every two weeks would be perfect. Now it just feels rushed. Oh well. Perhaps that's just the online classes.
I started reading Double Fold and I am FASCINATED. I was worried when Kuhn's book did not immediately draw me in.. I thought, "Shouldn't this subject material be irresistible to me as a future librarian?" and was worried when I was mostly confused and bored. But this new book is SUCH a better read. The author's hostility for what people have done to newspapers is so apparent, and it is such a valid concern- it's hard NOT to be drawn in.
Frankly, so far it reminds me of working at the bookstore. I worked at Waldenbooks for.... 6 years? Throughout high school and part of college... and I loved working there. I remember when I first started, I saw my coworkers tearing books in half, ripping off their covers, shredding magazines... I was horrified. In my ideal world, every book mattered and was precious. It was like an abortion for books. It turns out that if a book doesn't sell well enough, we had to tear apart the copies of those books and throw them out. Not donate them, not send them back. Rip them apart. It seemed like such a waste.
Now, obviously, it's not the same historical tragedy as throwing out the volumes and volumes of newspapers - and these books were obviously not bestsellers. And I understand, somewhat, from a publishing standpoint, why it MIGHT be necessary. But part of me still balked at the waste.
Though I must admit, it's hard for me to get through a book every week so far. Even though this is a good read, I am going to be hard-pressed to finish it in time to write a coherent paper. Even once every two weeks would be perfect. Now it just feels rushed. Oh well. Perhaps that's just the online classes.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Taking a Break HELPS
Well, I've discovered that taking a break from all this mess actually helps instead of staring at the computer screen and wishing you could smash it.
I am visiting my parents for the weekend (since I'm going to a Coldplay concert with my sisters, who are also both coming in from out of town) and so I brought my guinea pigs home. I decided to take them outside to play in the grass and they were hilarious. Chomping their way through everything in sight, popcorning everywhere... The only bad news is, my allergies are now making me miserable. Oh well. At least the piggies were happy.
So I came back inside and sat down to do the RSS feeds which surprisingly made a lot more sense for no apparent reason. I think the light bulb must have clicked while I was outside. It seemed painfully over-obvious after I figured it out. Now let's hope I did it correctly! Haha
Time to sit down and really get cracking on the Kuhn assignment. I keep confusing Paradigm and Paradox in my head, which isn't helping.
Did I really just spend a whole day working on these assignments? 0_o
I am visiting my parents for the weekend (since I'm going to a Coldplay concert with my sisters, who are also both coming in from out of town) and so I brought my guinea pigs home. I decided to take them outside to play in the grass and they were hilarious. Chomping their way through everything in sight, popcorning everywhere... The only bad news is, my allergies are now making me miserable. Oh well. At least the piggies were happy.
So I came back inside and sat down to do the RSS feeds which surprisingly made a lot more sense for no apparent reason. I think the light bulb must have clicked while I was outside. It seemed painfully over-obvious after I figured it out. Now let's hope I did it correctly! Haha
Time to sit down and really get cracking on the Kuhn assignment. I keep confusing Paradigm and Paradox in my head, which isn't helping.
Did I really just spend a whole day working on these assignments? 0_o
When will I not be frustrated?
Well,
I think I have finally figured out somewhat about RefWorks- after discussing the problem with a Pitt Librarian for about 2 hours. But I still have such a hard time grasping the usefulness of these programs- they seem so complicated to me! I am 22 years old, raised on computers. It REALLY should not be this difficult, right? But for the life of me, Google Scholar is my WORST enemy. So slow, so difficult to maneuver! And RefWorks? Don't get me started. I hate to say this because it appears I will be using these programs a lot but, if I never have to use these again I will rejoice.
Not to mention the fact that I still have part two of the assignment to do, and I am at a complete loss of how to create RSS feeds and share them. What?! This all just seems impossible to me, and other than the kindly librarian on the Pitt Libraries, I have received very little guidance. How can they expect us to just find a miserable way through this with no guidance and do well on it?
I've read other blogs about how other people have spent more than 3 hours trying to plod through this, how smoke is coming out of their ears, etc. And I feel the same way! I'm not asking for magic, I'm just asking for a coherent explanation of what the heck we are supposed to be doing! Most of us are doing this assignment not understanding the importance, not understanding the programs except how to bumble through enough to get the work done, and then end up more frustrated than ever! These classes have been endless frustrations!!! I need to focus on my job and my life for about 50% of the time but I find myself ALWAYS frustrated by this nonsense!
I can honestly say, when I enrolled in online courses, I expected cohesive online learning. This just seems messy, and it's really disappointing. I'm already looking into attending the on-campus sessions (though it will cost me an ungodly amount of money to move there, and I was SO hoping to avoid), hoping that perhaps there would be some more guidance there. If not? Then I have no idea how this program functions.
I think I have finally figured out somewhat about RefWorks- after discussing the problem with a Pitt Librarian for about 2 hours. But I still have such a hard time grasping the usefulness of these programs- they seem so complicated to me! I am 22 years old, raised on computers. It REALLY should not be this difficult, right? But for the life of me, Google Scholar is my WORST enemy. So slow, so difficult to maneuver! And RefWorks? Don't get me started. I hate to say this because it appears I will be using these programs a lot but, if I never have to use these again I will rejoice.
Not to mention the fact that I still have part two of the assignment to do, and I am at a complete loss of how to create RSS feeds and share them. What?! This all just seems impossible to me, and other than the kindly librarian on the Pitt Libraries, I have received very little guidance. How can they expect us to just find a miserable way through this with no guidance and do well on it?
I've read other blogs about how other people have spent more than 3 hours trying to plod through this, how smoke is coming out of their ears, etc. And I feel the same way! I'm not asking for magic, I'm just asking for a coherent explanation of what the heck we are supposed to be doing! Most of us are doing this assignment not understanding the importance, not understanding the programs except how to bumble through enough to get the work done, and then end up more frustrated than ever! These classes have been endless frustrations!!! I need to focus on my job and my life for about 50% of the time but I find myself ALWAYS frustrated by this nonsense!
I can honestly say, when I enrolled in online courses, I expected cohesive online learning. This just seems messy, and it's really disappointing. I'm already looking into attending the on-campus sessions (though it will cost me an ungodly amount of money to move there, and I was SO hoping to avoid), hoping that perhaps there would be some more guidance there. If not? Then I have no idea how this program functions.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Frustrated
I am still unsuccessful at figuring out RefWorks. I can't figure out if it's a downloaded program or an online database. I believe it's a downloaded program that helps organize output from online databases but I can't watch the video that Chris has online and so I'm still at a loss. I'm so confused as to how everyone already knows how to do this stuff- I had never even heard of this stuff before now. And I'm feeling really dejected because I'm not getting much in the way of help for my troubles, so the longer it takes me to get help, the further behind I fall. I understand it should not be a complicated assignment, but when you have no idea what sort of program you are working with or why, it's a little more difficult. I'm not even sure why we want to know about how many times something was cited or why we need databases for it. I wish this class had started with the basics. I thought I was tech-savvy, but here I am coming in last place in this class. And I really want to understand! I just can't get the tools to help me do so to WORK.
I'm so frustrated. So, so, so frustrated. I'm going to go read the LIS 2000 Kuhn book and see if anyone responds to my plea for help. I really hope someone takes pity on me and decides to help, because I'm not sure I can figure it out on my own.
I'm so frustrated. So, so, so frustrated. I'm going to go read the LIS 2000 Kuhn book and see if anyone responds to my plea for help. I really hope someone takes pity on me and decides to help, because I'm not sure I can figure it out on my own.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Introduction to LIS 2600
Wow. I must say, I got a late start on the blog because I was traveling this weekend. Having decided to sit down and really get a good firm start on my studies, I have found myself completely overwhelmed. Not only do we have to have over 300 pages of a textbook read by Friday, but I'm still at a loss. I was watching the introduction to LIS 2000 video and so far none of my questions have really been answered for that class- so I suppose if I bunker down and start with the basics, things will make more sense. I wonder if I am the only one who feels that this information is organized in an inconsistent and scattered manner. Assignments and videos and links and readings are all over the place- in order for me to find information about this assignment I need to consult the syllabus, the discussion boards, the course documents, etc. I wish it were all just in one neat and tidy place.
But for now, I will get back to the basics. Here goes nothing!
But for now, I will get back to the basics. Here goes nothing!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)