Musings of a Grad Student: Final Semester in Library and Information Science!

It is my last semester as a graduate student! I’ve been to each class once and they all look interesting. 

Here are descriptions of my classes:

• Search and Discovery: A required course, it covers online information sources like subscription databases. We’ll also cover info-seeking behavior, the reference interview and types of searching structures found online. 
• Interesting Assignment: Client Based Final Project in which I will identify a real-life client with an information need. I will produce an annotated bibliography of resources for this client.

• Topics in Book Studies: Creating Library Content: Digital or physical, library materials are diverse. How did they get to the library? How did they get written/coded/filmed, why, and who publishes these materials and why? How do different medias work together and influence the creation of other materials? 
• Interesting Assignment: Topic-Specific Contributions. Each week I will discuss how my chosen topic (an aspect of children’s lit that I haven’t nailed down yet) interacts with the publishing model under investigation that day.

• Children’s Literature II: Reading Gender in Children's and Young Adult Literature: Oh, my, I am excited for this class! Most of the books are geared towards children with a few that overlap into middle grade YA. I’ll be posting about my reads for this class so watch for those reviews! 
• Interesting Assignment: Bookstore/Library Visitation and Field Notes. I’ll be spying on a children’s library department while my colleagues check out a book store children’s department for an hour observing workers, shoppers, displays and the general layout.

It is fast approaching, the wave. The crest grows higher as the base swells. Soon I will lose sight of the sky. Will it swamp me this wave? Will I drown? Will I ride up and over the crest, breaking through the foam and soar into empty air? Am I ready to fall, splash and start rowing? Yes. Yes, I am. Four months to May!