Well, yesterday was the summer solstice and today Mother Nature has made it very clear that summer has arrived. In the low 90s and humid. In a way this is good because today is also the first day of class for the summer quarter. With weather like this I am glad to be indoors in the air conditioning instead of sweating and panting out in the garden or casually biking around the lake.
Class this quarter is “Digital Libraries.” It is a sort of introductory course:
This is a course on the emerging field of Digital Libraries. The course serves as an introduction and overview to the research, development, application and practice of digital libraries. Topics to be covered include foundations and architectures of digital libraries, technologies of digital libraries, management and organization of digital resources, knowledge representations and discovery, metadata and standards, intellectual property rights, etc.
There will be three short papers (one of them due next Monday already!), a final term paper, two exercises, and major class participation on the discussion board. I feel my free time sucked away already. No textbook, for which my wallet is happy. Still, there is lots of reading, articles and websites and chapters from e-books.
We will be covering topics like what constitutes a digital library, metadata, information architecture and systems, collection management, user access, social, economic, and human factors, digital preservation, and a little speculation on what the future might hold. I think it sounds interesting, but then I always feel that way on the first day of class, so hopeful.
I hope you all don’t mind if I share things I learn in class here or things I read that may be of interest. I have a feeling class will be taking up quite a bit of my time.
Oh, for those of you who stuck with me through last quarter’s web design class, I got an A.
Now I am off to introduce myself to the rest of the class. It appears there is another Stefanie with an “f” in class only she forgot the “e” at the end of her name. This should be fun, a Stefanie and a Stefani. That’s something that has never happened before!
Have fun! the class sounds really interested – I’m looking forward to learning about it!
Am looking forward to hearing about the things you learn in class. And, you deserved the A.
It’s only been about five years since I got my MLIS, but I enjoy hearing about the classes you are taking. I can tell things have changed some already. Good luck with your courses!
Courtney, thanks! I hope it turns out to be as interesting as it seems it might.
Grad, Oh thank you! You are such a sweetheart!
Lisa, I love talking to recent library school grads or people in attending other schools. It is so interesting to compare notes! And thanks for the good luck wishes.
I like hearing about your classes! It’s fun being a student, I think, so it’s good to hear about your experiences. This class sounds like it will be good — I hope it meets your expectations.
That sounds super interesting!
It’s getting warmer here too, which is nice — although I could do without the 90 degree days!
It seems only fitting that a class on digital libraries should have lots of etexts! Your class is really timely and I think you’ll get a lot out of it–I’m sure you must see this already in the library where you work. I look forward to hearing more about it! And I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering in this heat (sorry–neither of us should have to suffer really)–though it does make you thankful to be in nice cold building!
You’ll enjoy this one, right? Digital libraries sound right up your alley. And congratulations on the outstanding mark!
Congratulations on your well-deserved A in your last class! This class, from a publishing standpoint, sounds fascinating to me. I’d love to see the syllabus, if you can share that.
Dorothy, it is fun being a student especially when you get to take classes on subjects of interest. I hope it meets my expectations too!
Daphne, so far so good. I could definitely do without 90 degree days! There seem to be more of them than there used to be.
Danielle, lol, very true about the etexts! I hadn’t thought of that
A large part of my library’s collections are digital subscriptions which have many challenges attached. Oh, I hate the heat. I thought I had left it behind when I moved away from southern California but it has found me anyway!
Litlove, yes I do believe I will enjoy this one. And thanks
Emily, Thank you. Oh, I hadn’t thought about it from a publishing standpoint. That puts a twist on things! And es, i can share the syllabus. I’ll email it to you.
Congratulations on your “A”! I can’t believe school has already started again for you. Well, all I know is that I’m ready to hear all about it