Technology is not my friend

You know, I used to think I was so good with technology.  That is, until I tried the latest assignment for Intro to Tech.  Scopus was being mean to mean and was not very user-friendly at first.  I'm not sure what I was going wrong, but I finally got everything to go where I needed it to.  Huge thanks to Tim for the how-to document!  Whew!  I have to say, though, that I did not see any way on Google Scholar for adding citations to RefWorks more than one at a time.  For a project such as this, which required 50 or more citations, it took me a little while.  Not very convenient considering I haven't gotten a mouse device for my laptop, so I had to do everything on it's tiny "mousepad".  I survived.  (obviously)

I have to admit, I cried a little bit last night.  After watching the Intro to Tech lecture and starting the RefWorks project and having Scopus time-out on me (losing the list I had created), I was just so done.  My wonderful fiance came through for me and rubbed my back for two hours while I went back to work.  He's the best and I don't know what I'd do without him.  I'm worried that I'm neglecting our dog, though.  Poor Jo-Jo.  There's so much schoolwork between these two classes and I'm afraid I can't catch up...

Rough Week

Okay, so this week is starting off pretty rough.  We confirmed our wedding venues this weekend, which is great, but I spent all of yesterday (sans about 4 hours to shower, eat two meals, and go food shopping) reading the rest of Double Fold for Understanding Information.  I will attempt to write the assigned essay tonight and hope to be in bed with my first real draft by midnight.  Here's hoping!  Work was very hectic today and promises to be for the next three weeks, so things are going to get a bit hairy.  I already snapped at my fiance yesterday because he said my overflowing bookcase was clutter.  I even used the line, "Books are not clutter!"  Sigh...  I hope this gets better...  The good news is that I'm still on-task for Intro to Information Tech, which makes me feel like perhaps I'm behind and I'm missing something.  Ugh!

Starting to come together

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think things are really starting to come together after having a very rough first week.  I was able to actually understand the main points in Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, I enjoyed Meredith Farkas' keynote speech that we were assigned to watch, and I am really getting into our latest book for Understanding Information -- Double Fold.  Plus, on a personal note, our permit for our wedding ceremony venue at Sandy Hook National Park beach in NJ is almost completely confirmed (I received a fax of our permit that I had to sign and send back, and they've confirmed receiving our deposit check), we get to go see our hopefully soon-to-be reception venue on Saturday, and we have a phone consultation scheduled with a possible minister next Thursday.  Exciting times!  I hope everyone is starting to settle in, as well.  Let's all hang in there!

The emergence of technology in a profession that has been somewhat lacking...

I can still remember a time when "fanfiction" was considered nerdy and creepy.  Now, it can be seen as one of the biggest steps towards how to handle books in technology.  Granted, the concepts of fanfiction and ebooks are decidedly different, I can't help but notice how what used to be an outlet for fans of TV shows, movies, and even books, has helped spawn the age of whole books in the digital format.  I haven't done any research (yet) into the connection between fanfiction and the advent of ebooks, but I wouldn't be surprised if my coursework in either Introduction to Information Technologies or Understanding Information leads me there.

What I can say from my readings so far is that there seems to be quite a bit of discussion on the subject of ebooks and what it means for libraries.  Working for Barnes & Noble (even though I work in Community Relations as opposed to the actual sales floor) has given me a significant amount of information on the subject.  It is certainly a topic that is not going away any time soon and will make a serious impact on the ways libraries are run.  Like Professor Tomer discussed: how do we take a culture that is used to "googling" a topic into coming to a library to do their research instead?  Is it a matter of convenience, immediacy/instant gratification, or user-friendliness?  All of the above?  Or something else altogether?

Anyone else feeling just a wee bit overwhelmed?

Okay, I've browsed some other classmates' blogs and I've noticed a bit of a recurring them -- a sense of being overwhelmed.  I have to say, it reassures me like you wouldn't believe!  Please don't judge, I'm not one to take pleasure in other's misery, but like they say, "misery loves company".  I'm not miserable but I am most definitely feeling quite overwhelmed at this point.

I'm at a point in my life where working full-time is not a luxury but a necessity.  I am so excited about the prospect of becoming a school library/media specialist, but I'm losing confidence in my ability to complete these courses and survive this program.  The professors are great (and I'm not just saying that because they're reading this blog as one of my class assignments), and I'm enjoying the lectures I get to watch on Panopto every week.  But when I saw the supplemental reading articles on Bb, I was really quite worried.  The good news is that the issue has been cleared up and it was explained that the readings are just that, supplemental; if you cannot get through everything before the class, it's okay because the articles are meant to give students a better understanding of content and issues related to the course.  Good to know!  I was about to have a heart attack!

Hope everyone is enjoying their first week even more than I am!  ;o)

Love and Rockets,
Sandy

Gotta start somewhere

Welcome to my blog!  I'm new at this, so bear with me as I explore the depths of the world wide ocean.  Yeah, that sounded terrible but I'm corny so I'm leaving it in.  Okay, a little bit about me:  I have a Bachelor's degree in Communications from East Stroudsburg University and have spent the last few years working as a Communmity Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble, acting as a personal shopper for schools and libraries, hosting bookfair fundraisers for schools and various literacy organizations, facilitating special events in our store, and hosting author signings.  I am priviledged enough to have met Chris Bohjalian, Janet Evanovich, Glenn Beck (I'm a democrat, but he was a really nice guy in person), Governor Mike Huckabee, and many local authors, as well.  One of my favorite experiences was the release of Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn -- I coordinated a midnight release party at my store and to have over 400 teenagers so excited about a book was just amazing.

My wonderful fiance, Paul, and I are planning our wedding for May 13th, 2011 -- Friday the 13th, actually.  We're very excited about it and I cannot wait to finalize all the details.  We have the best little dog, Jo-Jo, a black and tan cockalier (cocker spaniel - king charles cavalier mix), who's an absolute delight to have.  He's our "little man"!

So, while working full-time, planning a wedding, raising a dog and building our family, I am pursuing a Master's in Library Science through the University of Pittsburgh's online program.  Working with schools on a daily basis has made me realize how much I would love to work in one and, since I am an avid reader and I love technology, becoming a library media specialist seems like the perfect fit.  So follow me down the rabbit hole for what promises to be quite an adventure!