In early October I posted to LINT asking the question, “What exactly makes a systems librarian?“. In the post I asked all readers of LINT what they thought should be the course of study that I should take. I got a number of responses both in comments to the post, and via email. I took all of this on board, and together with the comments I got from people at my place of work I have made my decision. Next year I’m going to start a Master of Information Architecture degree. You can read all about my thoughts on my own blog.
I believe that a systems librarian is someone who can not only be a bridge between the “library” and “techie” worlds they are also an enabler of technology. It’s for this reason, with the systems that we manage becoming increasingly complex, that I chose the Master of Information Architecture degree.
Having made the application, and been accepted, I feel like I’ve stepped off a cliff and not sure if I’m going to fall or not because it’s been a long time since I did any major study. However I’m looking forward to it and look forward to chronicaling my journey on my blog and hopefully contributing insights to LINT as well.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all those who contributed to my thinking about my course decision. It is greatly appreciated.
Feed
November 18, 2006 at 20:31
Corey,
That’s awesome. Congratulations, sounds like its right up your alley. Big cliff yes, but I am sure you’ll land safely on your feet (eventually!)
Michelle
November 19, 2006 at 13:01
Congratulations. I’m glad you’ve made your choice.
It’s good for librarianship in Australia too. Few people here have the technical skill set that you already have - and now we’ll have someone who can bring back ideas about Information Architecture …and put it in libraryspeak for us.
I’d be also interested in your experience as a library user during your studies
November 20, 2006 at 10:55
The course certainly does look interesting. I look forward to your updates.
Do you think this course would be useful to someone that has a degree in computer science (and, of course, a grad dip in library studies)?
November 20, 2006 at 11:09
Matthias,
I don’t know if it would be useful in your circumstances. It depends on what you want to achieve with your studies, your own goals, and that of the organisation where you’re working.
I’ve learnt through this consultation process that studying is a personal thing and everyone has their own interpretations about what may, or may not be, of use in the library sector.
I’ll certainly post to my blog about my experiences.
November 23, 2006 at 05:36
You might be interested in subscribing to this feed on information architecture..
http://findability.org/index.rdf
Peter Morville writes there.
December 13, 2006 at 19:22
Very best wishes Corey - I hope it proves to be everything you hope for. And I’m sure I won’t be the only ageing IT professional/librarian who will be interested in your journey, the relevance of it to your work, and the opportunities you find to put the things you learn into practice. So do keep us posted. Who knows, you may create the first mainstream successful Open Source ILS?????