I posted a fitting John Lennon Christmas song over at LibrarianActivist for this week's Friday Fun Link but I think for the first time ever, I'm not going to post the exact same link on this blog.
This is the video for a song that I think isn't very well known in North America (correct me if I'm wrong) but is a huge annual Christmas favourite in the UK. When I was in the UK in 1995, I heard this song so much but never got tired of it. Plus how can you argue with the outfits on these 1970's glam rockers?
Here's a big surprise – I love lists! And the end of the year, is the absolute best time for them. A web site called Fimoculous has compiled links to various online lists of best movies, music, books and various other categories for the past few years.
“I know that education issues are sort
of behind you now, but I came across an interesting article on “What`s wrong
with the standard undergraduate computer science curriculum”. On
the one hand, it appears that FIMS is doing quite a few things right (lots
of presentations and group-work, compressed time frame) there are probably
a few things to be learned as well.
There`s an interesting notion in the article that because
grade inflation has made transcripts meaningless, perhaps teachers shouldn`t
be grading student assignments. “[Whomever
does grade the projects] in no case should it be a teacher whose salary
is being paid by the student's tuition. The potential for conflict of interest
and therefore grade inflation is too high and furthermore we want the faculty
to be regarded as coaches rather than evaluators.”
I`ve never really thought of it that
way before, as a student or teacher.“
I've spent a bit of time thinking about marks throughout the year myself. My opinion was (and is) that marks were (and are) pretty much meaningless except in only the broadest sense. Obviously, as I mention in the MLIS FAQ, they do have a role if you're applying for scholarships or PhD programs or if you're looking for work in an academic setting (I think.)
But although there are grading guidelines, I'm positive not very many professors (if any) could tell the difference between say, an 82% and an 83%. I'd go so far to say that, depending on the day, the same professor might give a range of 3-5% on the exact same paper (I believe studies have been done on this but am too lazy to look them up right now.) That's why I liked the two profs who gave me letter grades in the courses they taught, only converting to a number for the final mark (although I also know that administration didn't like this and wanted all marks in numeric form for preciseness as well as consistency…which would be laudable if marks were consistent between classes which they weren't at all.)
If I was a professor, I think it would be interesting to forego marks all together and do the classes I taught as pass/fail. (I did a creative writing class this way and it really made students focus on doing their own best work rather than trying to meet the professors expectations and/or “beating” their classmates. Of course, when I teach my future child's hockey team, I'm probably going to be the guy who says “Every game is a tie, kids!” Just kidding – a hockey game has defined rules and you can tell the winner – although sometimes the scores are controversial as well. “Did he kick that goal in?” “Was the goalie nudged?”)
Anyhow, tangent over and back to the subject at hand… If you weren't allowed to do away with grades altogether, I think another interesting experiment for a professor would be to ask everyone at the start of class (after a week or two or even before the very first lecture), what their expected grade for a class was. Then ask again at the end. Then average the two and give them that mark.
The irony? Most people would probably low-ball themselves! But it would be an equally valid way of marking as far as I'm concerned because, at least at the Grad level, they put a lot of responsibility for independent learning on the students anyhow. So why not let them determine their own mark independently as well? (Maybe only ask them at the end of the course to be fair. Even better, let their fellow students assess the nebulous “participation” grades. There's no end to the variations you could try for alternate marking schemes.)
Would my marks have been different if professors followed this policy instead of traditional marking methods? My management mark would be about 10% lower (er, unless a future employer is reading in which case it would've been a perfect 100%. I know my Total Quality Management upside and down, sir/madam!) My reference mark would be 5% higher. Most of my other marks would roughly be in the same neighbourhood (hmm, which maybe trashes my whole argument that marks are invalid?)
You know what – I've been debating whether or not to do this but I think I'm going to list my marks here for all the world to see. I've joked with people that there are three things people don't talk about in our society – our finances, our sex lives and our marks. Well, my finances are that I'm broke, my wife's pregnant and here's the third taboo broken…
(I do feel the need to put a disclaimer that because my focus wasn't on getting the best marks but in also trying to do lots of extracurricular activities and initiatives of my own, these might not be as high as they could've been if I was more concerned with getting the highest marks possible. Oh, and marks aren't in for the final term so the italicized ones are projected marks.)
Semester One 501 – Info Theory – 80 502 – Cataloguing – 78 503 – Reference – 77 504 – Research/Stats – 78 505 – Technology – 86
Semester Two 506 – Management – 96 525 – Managing Internet Info – 86 (this mark's from memory as this was one of the prof's who gave letter grades so I don't have a record of what my final grade was and the Registrar's site is down.) 566 – Children's Lit – 83 697 – Independent Study – 84 746 – Collection Development – 86
Semester Three 532 – History of Information – 88 613 – Public Libraries – 84
645 – Management of Special Libraries – 92
763 – Genealogy – 82 765 – Advocacy – 82
Hmm, that wasn't so bad. Look at them – just a bunch of numbers. Some high, some low. Most in the middle (although it depends whose middle we're defining I guess on what that means.)
Anything interesting? I did well in technology (no surprise) and management (slight surprise?). I definitely feel like I took a semester to “warm up” after being out of school for so long with my only 70's coming in that first term (and as I said, I honestly believe my 503 – Reference Mark should've been higher.) Strangely, I'm particularly proud of that 78% in 504 which is one of my lowest marks. I'd psyched myself out about stats a bit and started really badly (like 65% on the first assignment badly) so was proud how I made steady progress throughout the class to a mark of 83% on my final assignment. 501 was the same thing but on a smaller scale.
I never thought to figure this out before but what's my average for the whole year? <looks for calculator in boxes> 84%. Not great but not bad (er, I mean “meaningless! Bah! Marks!”)
What else about marks? As much as some people focus on trying to do exactly what the professor wants (big surprise – I was never much for that), another factor I honestly believe had an effect, at least in some cases, was the relationship you had with the professor. If a professor liked you, no matter how impartial they tried to be, subconsciously that could be a minor bump (or drop if they didn't) of 1-3% in your final grade.
Another thing – I heard from a few different people that lots of instructors peg you after your first assignment and that's the mark you get through the entire course. But I only had that happen in one or two classes. I had courses where I started well but went down on each subsequent assignment. I had a course where I made leaps every time I handed something in. And I had classes where my marks were like a scatter plot diagram (see, I did learn something in stats. Just don't ask me to do a Chi Square test on it!)
Finally, this was a personal thing that probably doesn't apply to everyone and is one of my own acknowledged weaknesses that I'll likely mention if I'm ever asked the dread “What are some of your faults?” question at an interview – namely, that I do really well in things I'm interested in but if I'm not excited by the topic or material, I don't always put the same effort in. (Well, either that or I'll say: “Ah suppose man, ah'm too much ay a perfectionist, ken? It's likesay, if
things go a bit dodgy, ah jist cannae be bothered, y'know?“)
Someone wrote to advise that Daily Dilbert is a great way to pass the time when you're unemployed. Sometimes I find the humour a bit subtle (as in today's strip – see below) but it's always quality stuff unlike some of the other crap that's out there in the many funny pages on the Intraweb. (Plus, you can use the Dilbert “Mission Statement Generator” in your 506 class and still get a 96% – trust me on that one!)
We Made It! Well, we made it. Our last couple days in London were pretty hectic with packing and last minute stuff but, like anything, it got done.
Dumpster Diving Redux At the start of the year, I couldn't believe how many people threw out perfectly good stuff but by the time we left, I understood why. We ended up selling much of our stuff at a deep discount and what we couldn't sell got left in the apartment where the manager may yet decide to trash it. (If anybody wants a free patio furniture set, go to 1231 Richmond and tell the assistant manager, Shelley, that Jason Hammond said you could claim it from #804. There's also a plastic chest of drawers, a bedside table and a small bookshelf (which was originally a dumpster dive reclamation project.))
Greyhound's Pick-up Policy Apparently “door to door” doesn't mean your apartment door, it means your apartment building's door. So you get to trudge a bunch of your boxes downstairs and then the delivery guy walks then two steps to his van. Rinse, repeat.
WestJet's Damage Policy If you're lucky, they forget to ask you to sign the back of the baggage tag waiving responsibility for damage to fragile items. We were lucky…
About That Blog Name “Yet Another Library Student's Blog” doesn't cut it anymore since I'm no longer a library student (although I think I could fudge it a bit and say I'll always be a student of libraries in some form. Lifelong learning and all that jazz.)
“Yet Another Unemployed Librarian's Blog” is a bit self-defeating (and hopefully won't last too long.)
“Yet Another Library Grad Who Also Writes About Poopy Diapers on Occasion” is a mouthful (er, figuratively, not literally…I hope.)
“Yet Another Blog Rendered Aimless By The Lack of Anything Exciting To Write About”
(On that note, my thinking right now is that I still want to have a fairly strong library focus to this blog although perhaps broadening my perspective a bit since I suspect I won't be up on FIMS minutia for my subject matter anymore.)
So suggestions?
A Nice Compliment From Somebody Still at FIMS “I am also really pleased that I got to know you a bit, even if it was
for such a short time. It is people like yourself that have really
changed how I feel about this whole library school thing – a librarian
in the making… me?” Which is Better? +10 and rainy/grey or -20 but crisp and sunny? That's an honest question that I don't know the answer to.
Five Things I'll (Probably) Miss About London 1. Schwarmas (unless something's changed in the last year, you can't get middle eastern food in Regina at all.) Mexican and Korean and East Indian are available here but not in any great variety as well (like one or maybe two restaurants of each type). 2. Proximity to Toronto and lots of other interesting places to explore 3. Big-name concerts and events compared to Regina. 4. Having a convenience store right in our apartment building. (Maybe I'll put a 7-11 in the basement?) 5. Along the same lines as that last point, 24-hour grocery stores (although I rarely took advantage, it was nice to have the option)
(Oh, and all my friends and classmates of course. That's assumed.)
Five Things I'm Glad to Have Now That I'm Back in Regina 1. Our house (especially our soaker tub, our own laundry and a dishwasher) 2. Our car 3. All of my books, all of my CD's. 4. Our satellite TV (yeah, I know TV is evil. But man, it's a good 500 channel evil after a year with only basic cable! ) 5. The ability to play music or TV or guitar loudly in the middle of the night without worrying about infringing on the rights of others in the building (not that it stopped any of our neighbours!)
Saskatchewan Welcoming Committee There's a reason it's called Land of Living Skies…
“Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” – Jean Anouilh, Ardele
“We can and do spend too much time worrying whether librarianship is a craft or an art, a job or a profession, irrespective of whether it is one or the other, all or none, librarianship has three major values: service, intellectual freedom, and preservation of the cultural record. We seek to serve each user of the library by supplying the collections that she or he needs and the assistance necessary to gain the most out of those collections. We stand with every legal expression of thought and the unalienable right to make those expressions. We care deeply about the preservation and onward transmission of the cultural record and do what we can to ensure that the baton is not dropped on our lap.
These are noble ideals and they do not arise from a void. Many librarians hew to these values because they are altruistic; others because they think of them as a natural part of the profession they chose. My believe is that the force behind these ideas and the reason so many struggle to overcome adversities and realize these values is: dare I say it? – love. A committed librarian is a person who loves humanity and seeks to help individuals and society; a person who loves learning and the achievements of humankind; and, above all, a person who loves truth. There is a librarianship of love and, often unknowingly, we practice it daily.”
I will hold in my heart the values that define librarianship.
The list is a
bit tech-heavy and a bit US-centric but otherwise, provides a good
overview of the year in libraryland. (That's kind of a goofy phrase
but since a prof used it recently, I've started using it too!)
I didn't do this when I cross-posted the link over at LibrarianActivist but since I love them so much (especially this week!), here's the full list…
(You can still click the link above to get blurbs with some more explanation of why these stories were chosen.)
10. New UCLA Slogan: “Get Tasered @ your library” 9. Ding Dong, Gorman Tenure Ends 8. Library Weblog Explosion, Redux 7. EPA Library Closure 6. Library 2.0 Meme 5. More Elephants in the Room (Libraries Face Competition From Online Giants) 4. Censorship 3. Net Neutrality 2. P is for Privacy 1. James Frey Fallout
A final circle closes – my last chat for Advocacy class tonight was with former Saskatchewan Provincial Librarian (and current Director of the Coquitlam Public Library), Maureen Woods. Great teleconference which finished with a very revealing “round table” as everybody talked about what they'd taken from the class. And that's it. No more assignments. No more deadlines. I was talking to someone recently who finished in the summer and he said “It's hard to believe how quickly it all drops away.” Yep, it feels like it already has! So anyhow, look out libraries!
Yet another circle – roughly a year ago to the day, I met up with Michelle D. who was also from Regina and would be starting the program with me. We drove out to Regina's east end to have a visit with Jason B. who graduated from the program a few years ago and was going to give us the scoop (and who would probably claim he convinced both of us to apply although, at least in my case, that's not quite true since I'd been thinking of applying for about oh, ten years or so! ) We were driving out and “Fairytale of New York” was on the radio and I was like “This is the best Christmas song of all-time!”. Michelle concurred and I don't know why but that felt like a good omen – I probably thought “Okay, I know there'll be at least one cool person at library school I can talk to!” So on that note…a Christmas moment with Shane MacGowan.
(By the way, Shane, what do you think of me being a librarian? <mumble>Brush yer teeth, boy!</mumble>)
I'm on a roll with the mega-long FIMS-related posts this week so here's another one…
I spent a lot of time compiling this document over the semester with the intention of putting it on the Student Council web site. But I got pretty busy right at the end of term and never got around to making a couple corrections that were suggested by some people in Administration right before it was ready to upload. So I've now done that and thought I'd upload the FAQ here as a “sneak peek” before it goes live on the Council web site next semester. I don't know what will happen to it here but hopefully there, it becomes a living document that gets modified and updated over time as new questions get asked and the answers to existing ones change.
Here' s a PDF version in case you prefer that. I've looked at this so much, it's like I don't see it anymore. So suggestions and corrections are welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions By MLIS Students Compiled by: MLIS Student Council (Fall 2006)
1. COMMON QUESTIONS a. Is there a secret to success in this program? One of the best pieces of advice is “this program is all about time management.” If you plan your semester well, keep on top of assignments and use a day planner and/or wall calendar, you will do well. Also, read the Grad Student handbook. It gives you the official word on grading, important dates, academic appeals and pretty much anything else you might need to know.
b. Is the MLIS program difficult? It depends. It's probably best to describe the program as being as hard as you make it. One former student described it as being “pelted with popcorn” – you have a lot of assignments, none of which are very hard but some of which may be time consuming. Obviously, people graduate every semester so if it is hard, it's not impossible.
c. Do you have to do all the readings? This is a graduate program and therefore you should try to do all the readings. But it's also a very busy program, especially if you do five classes in a semester so, as your semester goes on and you get busier, this might not be possible. Since this program has chosen “students must attend all classes” rather than “each class must have a final exam” as the criteria for their American Library Association accreditation, it is fairly unlikely that you will be “caught” not having done the readings in most classes if you are unable to keep up. You'll quickly learn which classes it's important to do the readings for and which ones you can let slide a bit if you have to.
d. Who are the easy professors? Who are the hard ones? This is a pretty subjective question and is sort of irrelevant too. You might get your worst mark from your best professor because they expect a lot out of you and push you. Conversely, you might get your highest mark from your worst professor. With that said, the vast majority of the professors in this department are highly qualified, experienced professionals. Many have worked in libraries prior to entering academia which tends to make for more well-rounded profs who can share “real life” examples. Talking to other students, especially those ahead of you in the program, is a great way to get tips about professors. The Graduate Resource Centre (GRC), the library for FIMS students, houses a binder with the results of end-of-term evaluations for each professor/class over the past few years though this only shows their numerical rating on a scale of 1-7 in a variety of categories. RateMyProfessor.com has ratings and also comments about some of the MLIS professors by former students though these are obviously very informal and should be taken with a grain of salt.
2. COURSES a. When is the add/drop date for classes? Check the FIMS Handbook on the intranet for all dates relevant to your semester.
You can add/switch a class anytime until the end of the first Friday of each semester. (This used to be the second Friday but was changed to the fact that it was felt that students missed too much of a class if they switched into something new after two weeks had already passed. Be aware that this means that, due to stat holidays, compressed courses or classes jointly offered with other schools who may start their semesters later, you may not even have a class during the first week to help you decide if you want to switch. Even courses on Thursday afternoon/evening or anytime Friday may leave you with a tight timeline if you try to do a switch.)
The last date to drop a class without having it show up as “withdrawn” on your transcript is usually about four weeks into term and about halfway through term is the la
st day to drop a course without academic penalty. If you drop after this date, you will get an F on your transcript. Again, please check the calendar on the FIMS intranet for exact dates.
b. Can a student take five classes and still have time for work/family/extracurricular activities? This program is extremely busy but it is possible. The current Student Council chair is taking five classes (and has through the entire program), works 15 hours per week at a local library and is also involved in a few student organizations, all while maintaining an “A” average.
c. How do you do an independent study or a guided research project? The most important thing is to find a professor willing to work with you. Professors have no obligation to do this (and also can't take on more than two independent studies per semester.) You do not have to have a full proposal ready when you meet with them but should have a pretty good idea of exactly what you want to do. Finally, you are not allowed to do an independent study on the topic of an existing course (although you may do one on a specific aspect of the same topic.) Archived copies of previous studies are kept on file in the GRC for anyone to read if they're contemplating an independent study or a research project. This will give you a good idea of what each entails.
[Edit – 2007-03-24: someone looking into doing an independent study added this information: “I contacted Cindy Morrison to find out
exact meaning of 'regular fims faculty' because I wasn't sure — does it encompass
everyone on the fims faculty page? or, just the profs? or, everyone
minus the part-time lecturers and sessionals. It turns out that
everyone listed on the faculty page is eligible to supervise such a
study EXCEPT those part-timers.”]
d. I'm planning to stay in SW Ontario after I convocate. Can you take classes after you've finished your degree? Unfortunately, no. This used to be allowed but due to insurance policies which only cover current students, auditing classes after completing your degree requirements isn't allowed. This policy also applies to students who have graduated but want to take a distance course. With that said, you can take more than 15 courses while you are enrolled in the program but before you convocate.
e. Why does everybody talk about the 503 Lit Search as a scary assignment? It is one of the most time-intensive, detail-oriented assignments that you will do out of your first five required classes. It also tends to come mid-term just when people are beginning to feel stressed about the semester’s workload in general. But it also gives you many of the skills that you will use over and over, both in this program, and when you become a librarian. The main thing for this (and many other assignments) is to not let yourself get freaked out by it. After all, it’s just another assignment, like any other in the course.
f. How important are marks in this program? How will they compare to my undergrad marks? This is another subjective question but for the most part, marks tend to not matter much unless you are planning to go on co-op (75% minimum average with no single mark less than 70%), apply for a PhD program, apply for scholarships or enter certain types of libraries (such as academic) where your marks might be requested as part of the interview process. Some public libraries (including Toronto Public Library who confirmed at a recruitment session in Winter 2006) aren't allowed to ask for transcripts (either due to union rules or labour laws.) They did say that they would look at them if you included them in your application or brought them to an interview. Most people tend to find that their marks fall somewhere between 70-85% on average.
g. When is course registration each semester? How does it work? Course registration happens near the end of each term. A course information meeting is held where the majority of instructors will present an overview of the course(s) they will be teaching in the upcoming term and following that, an online system will be activated which gives you a week to choose your courses. It is *not* first-come, first-served but uses a ranking algorithm. Most people taking five courses will get their first 2-3 picks but you may not get your last couple (you're asked to pick 7 so you have alternates.) Due to student requests, the tentative course list is released two semesters in advance (it used to be only one) but the actual timetable for the upcoming semester is still released rather late – often the same day as the course selection meeting. Some professors will have their full syllabus at the course presentation meeting, some will only have a general overview.
h. Is it better to follow the “streams” outlined on the FIMS web site for each type of librarianship or should I take a wide variety of courses? It's up to you but be aware that due to different instructor schedules, co-op terms and various other factors, you might not be able to take all the recommended courses for any stream during your time at FIMS, even if you would like to. Some students also feel that it is helpful to have at least one course from other areas of librarianship to broaden your skill base as you might not necessarily end up working in your preferred area, especially right out of library school.
i. Are all electives available every semester? No. The program usually offers a selection of 20-25 electives per term but not everything listed in the calendar gets offered every term. Some get offered twice per year, some get offered only once per year and some get offered even less frequently than that. What is offered depends on availability of qualified faculty, sessional instructors and PhD students who are able to teach courses, sabbaticals, administrative duties and so on. Although it is no guarantee of future offerings, it is worth visiting the intranet web page once you’re at FIMS and have your user name and password as this page lists course offerings over the past couple years so you can see recurring patterns (some classes are only offered in summer term for example.)
j. Is it possible to get a temporary user name and password so I can access the FIMS intranet before I arrive? Unfortunately, no. But you will be given these things during your orientation and since all of your first semester classes are required plus you get a grad handbook at orientation (not to mention this lovely FAQ!) access to the intranet shouldn’t be a major concern for you until later.
k. What is a “Special Topic” in the course calendar? These are classes that aren’t offered on a regular basis (the department’s goal with official electives is to have them offered at least once in every two year period) but special topics allow for a wider range of courses to be offered when specialized faculty are available or demand is expressed.
3. CO-OP a. Is it worth doing a co-op placement? Yes. Most people who've done co-ops learn a great deal and have very good experiences. What do you have to gain from co-op? * Practical experience in the “real” world * Contacts in the profession (possibly a future job as some co-op students end up working at their co-op locations after their degree) * A chance to test out working in a type of library you don't have experience in * Experience applying for jobs (writing cover letters and resumes, doing interviews) * $$$ (all co-op positions are paid and often have salaries similar to an entry-level librarian position, usually somewhere around $15-25/hr.) * A break from school
This being said, co-ops may not be suitable for everyone. In particular, if you need to finish the degree in a short time span, don't want to move (most co-ops are outside London) or have a lot of previous experience, you may choose to not do a co-op.
b. Where are most positions geographically and by library type? There are many positions located in Ottawa, with most others spread throughout southern Ontario (Toronto, Hamilton, Guelph, Waterloo, etc.), and a few out of province (Victoria, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba). Some students, especially those who don't want to move have raised concerns about the lack of positions in London (although there are usually a few.) Most positions are in government/special libraries. Most academic library openings advertise during the summer co-op applications looking for people to start in Sept. There are typically very few (1-2) positions in public libraries.
c. Can you find/create your own placement? Yes. Talk to Rosanne Greene as soon as possible if you want to do this. This tends to be a popular option with people who have connections at a specific library, especially public libraries who don't tend to offer co-op positions but will do a “one-off” with somebody they know (or possibly even with someone who shows the initiative in approaching them about creating a co-op.)
d. Does everybody who applies get a position? No. There are no guarantees. If you apply for 8-10 positions odds are you will get one. In some terms, there are more jobs than applicants, but this is not always the case. If you really want a co-op, apply for a lot of jobs.
e. Can I take a course while on co-op? Yes, you can take up to one course, either by distance or at FIMS if you are in London (or nearby) and it fits your work schedule.
f. Can I take my final course while on co-op? No. The co-op jobs are like internships so you have to be a returning student with at least one course to “come back to” after you finish your co-op. With that said, some people take that final course as a distance course or even transfer to a different school to complete their requirements.
g. I am unable to move to a co-op placement outside London. What other work opportunities are there? Many of the libraries at UWO and its affiliated colleges hire part-time workers as does the London Public Library. There are also often postings for research assistants and teaching assistants that can provide valuable work experience.
h. Is it better to wait to do a co-op after two full terms of classes? This depends on how comfortable you feel after your first semester of required courses (which is often hard to judge since you apply for co-op positions well before the end of your first term.) If you have prior work experience, if you’re very confident, if you want to gain as much library experience as possible – all are good reasons to apply for a co-op after your first term. There are usually half a dozen or so people from each first term cohort who apply and go on to have successful co-ops out of the forty or so positions that are available if that helps put it in perspective.
i. What are some things you can do to improve your employability if you don't do co-op? An LIS student has written a blog post on “Tips For People Not Going on Co-op” with some ideas of what you can do.
j. Are there recruitment fairs when you're near the end of your program? Unfortunately, no. Some libraries and library representatives (notably Toronto Public Library, the Special Library Association) will visit FIMS on occasion to speak about their libraries. The Student Council is planning to have a speaker on this topic each semester starting in January 2007.
4. STUDENT COUNCIL (AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS) a. What student organizations operate at the MLIS program? Canadian Library Association – Student Chapter Librarians Without Borders Special Libraries Association (currently inactive) Student Council
b. What is the peer mentorship program? This is a very useful program that automatically pairs you with an upper-level student who has taken at least three courses. This person can answer your questions, show you around and help you with any problems you may encounter.
c. What is the professional mentorship program? This program pairs you with a working professional librarian in a similar area to that which you're interested in. Priority is given to upper level students and those who've never had a professional mentor before but there are usually enough mentors for all applicants and it is worth applying for the expertise and networking your mentor can provide.
d. Should I join CLA? It is definitely worth it to join CLA but some students choose not to join right away since you can get their newsletter and most other info they produce for free, either at the GRC or on the CLA web site. Many students join if they plan to attend the annual CLA conference in late Spring/early Summer as this gives you a discounted student rate to attend. Other students wait until right before they finish the program to join CLA as the student rate of $50 would get them a year's membership during their first year as working librarians (when the rate jumps by something like 400%). The CLA Student Chapter has regular meetings and is worth getting involved with – you don't have to be a member to be involved in the student chapter unless you get involved on their executive.
5. OTHER INFORMATION a. Where how to I get my bus pass/student card/OSAP/etc.? Bus passes are provided by the Society of Graduate Students, or SOGS and can be picked up at their office, on the 2nd floor of the University Community Centre, (the UCC, right beside Weldon Library), Room 260. Their hours are 9-4pm.
Make sure you have your fee bill, with the validation card, your student card and proof that you have paid part of your tuition, or you will be denied your bus pass!
(This is worth repeating – make sure you have all of these documents when you go. Print outs that you've paid via online banking won't help. Your validation card by itself won't help. You need these three specific documents!)
Student Cards can be acquired at the Registrar's Office, which is in the Stevenson-Lawson Building, across from the UCC and Social Science Buildings.
OSAP can be picked up in the Great Hall/Sommerville House, which is also across from Weldon Library and beside Ivey. You will need your student card, photo identification and your SIN card, no exceptions.
Following those dates, OSAP inquiries should be directed to Financial Services, in the Stevenson-Lawson Building, down the hall from the registrar's office.
Further Information on all these questions can be found at the Registrar's website.
b. What are some good restaurants in London? The Mongolian Grill is great, it's all you can eat, interactive food fun! It's downtown, @ 645 Richmond Street (at John Street).
Barakat is excellent if you're looking for fast middle eastern food. The falafel pitas are highly recommended. It's down the street from the Mongolian Grill @ 551 Richmond Street.
c. Which are some good bars/pubs in London? The Grad Club on campus is popular with FIMS students but a bit of a secret for some is The Spoke in UCC which has cheaper beer ($1 less per pint which really adds up over a year!)
Alex P. Keaton's has live music, free WIFI and lots of microbrews on tap.
Call The Office is a popular live music venue.
London Source is a good resource for restaurants, bars and more information about London.
d. What are some fun attractions in and around London? You won’t have time for being a tourist! Just kidding – check out Tourism London for some ideas.
e. Do students have the opportunity to evaluate their classes/professors? The Student Council runs mid-term feedback sessions which most professors participate in. The feedback is only provided to the professor (not the Administration) but many professors do address concerns that are raised. At the end of term, each class does an official evaluation of the course that is sanctioned by the University and allows students to give both numeric and written feedback on all aspects of the course. (The numeric results of past end-of-term evaluations are in a binder in the GRC and available for student viewing.)
f. What should I do if I have an issue with a mark or a specific professor? The first step is to approach the professor directly with your concern, either in person or by e-mail if you would like a record of the interaction. Depending on the severity of the concern, you might also want to copy the message to the Student Council’s Academic Rep so they are aware of the concern and can be prepared if they need to become involved in seeking a resolution of the issue.
g. Why do we have to do so much photocopying? The majority of instructors place their course readings and texts on reserve in the Graduate Resource Centre. However, reserved materials do not circulate — hence the large volume of photocopying. Students wanting to recycle articles and course readings can file them in the two large filing cabinets found in the photocopying room in the GRC. Before photocopying anything it might pay to check there first. You should be given a photocopy card with $5 on it at Orientation. You can add money to your card directly at the photocopiers and it will work at photocopiers around campus.
h. Can the profs make articles available online? What about the course syllabus as a PDF? Why don't they use course packs? Because of copyright laws, most articles can’t be made available online although, increasingly, because of open access journals, professors publishing their own papers online and resources like Google Scholar, many readings are available online. Some professors do provide both an electronic and paper syllabus but none provide only an electronic option that we’re aware of (yes, the syllabi are often long and have a lot of paper in them. Welcome to library school!) Finally, most don’t use course packs because you are expected to do a lot of your own research to find appropriate articles. Also, often the professors will put required readings (articles and textbooks) on reserve in the GRC where you can photocopy them yourself which is a vast cost saving over course packs (although not as convenient, admittedly.) 6. GLOSSARY OF LIBRARY TERMS AND JARGON YOU NEED TO KNOW ALA – American Library Association CLA – Canadian Library Association GRC – Graduate Resource Centre (a library specifically for LIS students) OLA – Ontario Library Association
)
) We were driving out and “Fairytale of New York” was on the radio and I was like “This is the best Christmas song of all-time!”. Michelle concurred and I don't know why but that felt like a good omen – I probably thought “Okay, I know there'll be at least one cool person at library school I can talk to!” 
So on that note…a Christmas moment with Shane MacGowan.
