Starting the Program!

December 8, 2022

Starting the Program   

  This year I graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah with a bachelor's degree in Sociology (see Figure 1). I applied, was accepted, and started working on my Master's of Library Science degree with the University of North Texas. I am able to do all of my classes online and still live in Utah. One of the people who introduced me to library science is my Uncle Ed, who works in the field. I'm starting this blog to journal how the process goes and see examples of what I have learned. At least for the beginning, I'll be doing one class at a time, taking it a little slower than others might (working my way through school), so it may be a little different than the average Master's student in this program.

Figure 1: Graduation from BYU with family

                                                Note: Uncle Ed is the first person on the left

    This semester I took the INFO 5000 class: Information and Knowledge Professions. The class is basically the introduction to the field. I knew I would have my view of the field expanded, and it was interesting to go through that process. I learned a lot of things, and here are some highlights.

    First off, there are multiple branches of the field at UNT. I learned about not only Library Science but that Information Science is a thing as well. I have always known that technology is imporving and expanding, but I did not know how much of an impact it can make in the way this field has evolved.

    I am most interested in more of a classic librarian role. For this class I had the opportunity to interview a subject librarian at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU. The interview was an eye opener. I found out about a lot of things that subject librarians dothat are so different from what I had expected. I had thought he sat in his office and helped students do research. While this is one aspect of subject librarianship, there is so much more, like working with professors, selecting and acquiring books, teaching in classes about the library and its resources, and doing his own research in the library science and assigned subject fields. I had no idea about some of those roles!

    In summary of my learning, I learned so much more about what librarians do! It is exciting to think that pretty soon I will also be working in this field. The people are very friendly and willing to help in the process of learning more about what we do. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in this program and learn more about the library and information world!