22-24 of 36

Posted December 3, 2012 by Sarah Barton

Surprise! I bet you weren’t expecting to hear more about my GSLIS course credits this semester, but this is it, I promise. In addition to my three classes this semester, I had an Independent Study doing an internship at a law firm library.
The perks of my internship have been gaining practical experience, building my résumé, bolstering my arsenal of talking points for future interviews, and spending time on the job with a library professional. I spent twelve hours per week at the law firm doing a variety of tasks including research, collection upkeep, invoice organization, and basic cataloging. I did not have any designated internship-long projects, and was, for the most part, subject to whatever tasks cropped up on a given day. It was a great introduction to the life of a solo librarian in a special library environment.
The internship culminated in writing an article about the benefits of having an internship. I had almost too much material to work with! With the help of the GSLIS professor who proctored my Independent Study, the article might even be published. This whole experience has been invaluable to my professional development, and publication of the article would be a nice added bonus.
The only “bad” thing that I can say about an Independent Study is that you pay for it just like any other GSLIS course. I suppose that I am technically spending money to gain library experience, but frankly, I can’t think of a course that I would rather have taken. If you have the chance to obtain library experience without taking an Independent Study, more power to you! I don’t think that an Independent Study is for everyone, but in my case it provided me with an opportunity that I would not have otherwise had.