Before starting the MLIS program, I had worked for a number of years as a user interface designer in addition to website development. I was primarily self taught but I felt fairly well technically prepared when I started my classes. I felt confident in my abilities with most of the primary aspects of the program, including online discussions, watching lectures, and working with online materials. One technically exciting aspect of the program was learning new applications that I had never used before. Seeing the opportunities for improving my overall knowledge of information management was also fascinating. I took advantage of a number of opportunities during the program to learn and experiment and I hope that I will be able to continue to explore new technologies as my career progresses.
Molly's website
During my first quarter at the iSchool I enrolled in LIS 541, Internet Technologies and Applications. I assumed that this course might be a lot of review for me, but I decided to stick with it because I felt I might learn some new tools I could use in my classes. I made the right decision because I quickly realized there was a lot I didn't know. I started working on web pages in 1998 and I had missed a lot of technological change. I had little exposure to networks, to the World Wide Web, Newsgroups, etc., and the history lessons in 541 were a huge eye-opener. Since the time I finished my undergraduate degree in 1994 technology had grown exponentially. I had some catching up to do.
For our final assignment in the class we were to each build a website on a topic of our own choosing. The website had to include several multimedia tools including images, JavaScript, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). I knew CSS inside and out and I could write HTML in my sleep, but multi-media left me clueless. JavaScript, despite a few classes had always eluded me, I could follow someone else's code, but I couldn't get it to work for me. Using the various class lessons and some great JavaScript resources I was able to piece together a voting form that actually gave a response, JavaScript that actually worked, and an embedded movie clip. The final result was a website dedicated to our dog Molly.
While I had what I thought was a hearty set of technical skills, the knowledge of many of my classmates as well as the history lesson on technology lost past was humbling for me and a good lesson in not making assumptions. I knew I had some gaps in my skills, but I had no idea how wide. It was important for me early in the program to learn that there was a lot I didn't know, and it really furthered my enthusiasm for what else was to come.
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Engineering Library Wiki
I started my position at the University of Washington Engineering Library in October of 2004. As a reference assistant I had access to a host of tools to help me with patron's challenging engineering questions. With a host of databases, websites and other resources at our disposal I felt that we had a good set of tools, with one glaring exception. Sitting on the reference desk was an ancient Rolodex full of alphabetized cards. On these cards were over 10 years worth of useful reference details collected by the various staff members. The cards were very useful, but sometimes it was hard to figure out where the card I was seeking was in the alphabetical circle of the Rolodex, was the patent office contact information under P for Patent or U for US Patent and Trademark Office, or both? Was the information current? Accurate? I would have to check the internet before I could pass on any of the information to ensure I wasn't sending someone to a resource that had moved or no longer existed. During a class I took on Virtual Reference someone mentioned that they had created a Wiki for tracking their reference questions, I thought this was brilliant and told the Engineering Reference Librarian that I wanted to try building a Wiki for the reference Rolodex. She encouraged me to try it out so I spent some time researching Wikis and figuring out what tool would work best for what I wanted to do.
I came across PBWiki after reading an article about free Wiki resources. I decided to create an account and play with the technology before I committed to an involved project. I found it incredibly easy to use, and the Wiki included an online discussion board where I could ask for technical help and learn about tips for laying out pages, etc. I created some sample pages and showed them to the Reference Librarian who gave me free reign to continue the project. With help from the other reference assistants at the library, it took just over 3 months of short shifts to transition all the data from the rolodex and a few other resources. The final result was a searchable index to reference resources that can be easily updated and expanded by everyone in the library. The wiki now serves as a valuable way for the librarians at the Engineering library to share knowledge. Many of the entries are based not just on sources, but commonly asked questions with hard to find answers. Being able to search the information in the wiki changes the information from a single access point, to many levels, allowing for more easy discovery of known information. Learning to work with Wikis really expanded my knowledge of information resources, giving me some ideas on how technology can help move the outdated Rolodex into the 21st Century.
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