After going to meet the new cohort at orientation on Friday, I've been thinking a lot about good resources for new students. I thought up a couple that I e-mailed to a friend who is in LISSO (Library and Information Science Student Organization, our department's student group), then it occurred to me that other students might find them useful too!
The Infornado
This is a blog by someone who's new to the field, and has a lot of great information. Last night in an e-mail chat I learned that he's coordinated a project where he invites LIS students to share what they've learned so far in their programs (about the field and more generally). I read some this morning and really enjoyed it--so many times I found myself saying 'yes! I've had that experience!' I also gained some really valuable perspective about what other students are getting out of library school, along with some new ideas for avenues to pursue in my own experience (Micah's other posts are worth a read too!)
Lauren in Libraryland
Lauren is currently a student in Alabama, and her blog is a fun and accessible way to learn more about her experiences in school and her thoughts on the field. I've always found her posts to be both thought-provoking and enjoyable to read, and its a great way to get another perspective on LIS education.
SAU Curriculum Library
This blog is written by Courtney Walters, an alumnus from our program who graduated in 2009. I love it because she provides a lot of useful information for educators about current trends and techniques, especially for those seeking to incorporate paperless teaching into their curricula. For LIS students, this blog is a great way to see how someone new in the field is using blogging professionally, and to get inspired for your own professional blog.
The Wikiman: LISNPN
This blog is a great resource, and this post in particular is one that would be great for new students. It discusses the LIS New Professional Network, which was created for those who've joined the field in the last 10ish years. This is a great place for students to network and to hear first-hand about the transition from work to school from others who've recently been there.
Stephen's Lighthouse
This is a blog that has a pretty wide readership, and Stephen updates it very frequently. This is one of my go-to sources for learning about emerging trends in the field. It's written in a way that's accessible to those with or without experience with the different technologies/areas of library service/etc that he might talk about in a given day, but he's great at staying on top of what's new and letting his readers know!
Julia, thank you so much for these fantastic resources, and my blogs' inclusion on this list! Not sure my blog is in the same league as these other resources, though. :) I have read Micah's blog and think it is great! The Wikiman's blog and LISNPN are also fantastic resources I would recommend wholeheartedly. Stephen's Lighthouse is one of my all-time favorite blogs, so I guess that just leaves me with one more blog to check out. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to disagree with you--I think your blog is very valuable to LIS students! You show that students can write both high-quality and informative blogs with wide appeal, and I think that can be motivating for other students who are looking to start blogging but are nervous that student blogs aren't as valuable/important as professional ones. Yay blogs!
ReplyDeleteJulia, great post and thanks for the mention. I am starting to think we need a directory of current MLS students who blog. Would you and Lauren be interested in working with me on it? We can collaborate in a Google doc or something.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great idea--I would be very interested in helping out! That would be another great resource for new students, and a chance for more student bloggers to learn about each other.
ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me that I made a very significant omission from the post: I didn't include John Burgess' blog (with the awesome title of 'Robosaur')!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is great because it provides the insight of a LIS PhD student, and he covers a lot of ground when picking topics to discuss. He's also got a great writing style that's intelligent but still approachable. Love it! (and huge apologies to John, if he happens to read this, for leaving him out!)
http://robosaur.us/