John Miedema

There has been some recent conversation about the downs and ups of library school. I am exactly halfway through library school, today. This seems as good a time as any to post my thoughts on the subject.

Out of the fifteen courses required for the MLIS degree at the University of Western Ontario, I have completed seven courses, and at the halfway-point for the eighth course. I have been doing the program on a part-time basis, one or two courses per term. Given my current pace, I will complete the program in August 2009. Here are a few thoughts, mostly on the upbeat side …

1. Let me begin with a real positive: these people are my people. I feel right at home with library folks. There is a wide diversity of library people in the program and on the web, but I have a high comfort level with library people. Two of the big factors are an interest in books and a service orientation. The culture is one of learning and sharing and fun, and charges me up to do the same.

2. Mature students fit right in, almost. The MLIS program tends to have a fairly high ratio of mature students compared to some other programs. Sometimes we unnerve a lecturer younger than ourselves. Sometimes experienced lecturers still see us as twenty-somethings. And sometimes younger students look at us like aliens when we talk about real-world experience. Perhaps it’s true that mature students believe “the class is a personal dialogue between them and the professor“. In any case, all of the above are negligible. I am younger out of the deal; I think faster and have more energy. My advice to the profs: draw more on the experience of your students of all ages!

3. The minor down-sides of being a part-timer. About five percent of the students are part-timers, completing the program while working full-time at a day job. It’s clear that the full-time students “bond” a few weeks into the term because they spend more time together, so part-timers are slightly on the periphery; wah, no biggie. Also, while it is possible to only take night courses if your day job hours are inflexible, that leaves you with slimmer pickings.

4. The advantages of being a part-timer. Since there are only a limited number of courses per term, part-timers get many more chances at selecting the courses they want. Taking only one or two classes at a time, you have the chance to think about those subjects more fully, instead of having to juggle five at a time. Taking fifteen courses over four years, you get to really think about what it is you want out of library school. I have recently realized I am far more interested in reading research than library technology; this is a surprise to me.

5. The technology requirements are changing fast.. In my first term, one of the courses I selected was 505: Information Systems and Technology. The prof encouraged people with any IT experience to take an exemption. I confess I was quite nervous about going back to school at the time (I had been away for fifteen years), so I decided to stay in my comfort zone and keep the course. This course was so introductory it has been dropped from the program now. It is just assumed that people can handle Excel and Powerpoint. (Don’t worry if you don’t; there are now tutorials available). In other classes, profs are constantly surprised how many people are familiar with concepts like RSS and folksonomy.

6. Take advantage of Web 2.0. I quickly discovered in my first term the classroom was not enough to satisfy my learning needs. What makes up the difference is Web 2.0 — reading the library blogs, writing my own blog, and following the library groups on networking sites like Ning and Facebook. Of course, remote communication is always poorer than personal interaction. Distance courses are a pale cousin of live courses. Distance courses should only be part of your education, a convenience for filling requirements. Kept in that perspective, Web 2.0 goes a long way to enriching an education.

7. Reinvigorate yourself with new challenges. The halfway point can be something of a dead zone. The initial excitement has worn off, and there is no downward momentum yet. I now know that I will complete the program, but I wonder if it will make any difference when I get there. It can be a downer, but it needn’t be. I remind myself to go deeper. I have joined the mentoring program for new students. I have attended library conferences. I am thinking about putting together a publishable paper (on voluntary slow reading). These challenges renew me.