End of Semester Reflections

Posted May 6, 2019 by Amie Grosshans

I can’t believe my first semester is over!  It sounds cliché but I really did learn a lot.  When I first read my course syllabi, I was very intimidated by everything we were going to cover.  I had no idea what most of the topics even were, so it’s really gratifying to be able to identify and understand them now.  While I might not have mastery over all the concepts, I do feel like I have a strong foundation for my remaining classes.  Even better, my brain has started to think like a librarian!  I’ve been paying a lot more attention to how the library catalog is set up, examining the call numbers, and thinking about descriptions and relationships between authors and their works.  There is a whole complex structure of organization and classification that I never paid attention to before.  It’s exciting to be able to “read” and understand some of that code.

And speaking of coding, I can’t believe I not only survived but thrived in my tech course.  I would not have taken it if it wasn’t required, but I loved it and can’t wait to learn more about how to apply it to library systems.  I’m also really proud that I managed to balance school with working full time.  Some weeks and assignments were more challenging than others (I’m looking at you, XML lab!), but in the end I managed to get everything done without going insane.  It’s definitely been eye opening to go back to school at this point in my life, though.  The first time around, I wasn’t very involved, but now I participate in the forums and ask questions if I need to.  I don’t have that fear anymore of saying something wrong or looking stupid if I don’t understand something.   I realize now that learning is an ongoing process, and it’s ok to not understand everything.  I got a lot of support from my fellow students and my professors, and I never felt alone even though I never actually saw any of my classmates. 

As for the future, I’m looking forward to getting a little more involved in events on campus in the summer and fall semesters.  I couldn’t go to any of the lectures or networking events this semester because I couldn’t take time off work, but now that it’s not busy season, I’m free to go to different events, and I’m excited about that.  There are so many opportunities to learn about different areas of librarianship, and I want to learn as much as I can.  Until then, I’m going to relax a bit and enjoy a few weeks off!