joy at moll projects dot com
(4th in a series about succeeding in library school)
Yesterday, I wrote up some tips for introverted librarian types to make connections with professional colleagues. Today, I will follow up with ideas for where to make good use of those tips.
Classes
Face to face classes provide an excellent opportunity for networking with future colleagues. Arrive early, stay late, and don't read a book during the break! Ask your fellow students how long they have been in the program, when they intend to graduate, where they hope to work, and what other classes they are taking this semester.
Study groups
It's harder to make meaningful connections in an on-line class. But I have made some of what I suspect will be my longest lasting connections by starting study groups of 5 to 10 local students to have real-world contact during virtual classes. The best format seems to be to meet for an hour once a week in a restaurant, library, or someone's office. No one shows up every week, but it works anyway. We complain a lot--venting is a good thing and it saves my husband from hearing it all the time. But we also discuss issues from the class, the lectures, and upcoming assignments.
Library student group
If your library school has a student group, be active. If it doesn't, start one. Happy hours, journal article discussions, book discussions, parties, workshops. Do anything that might have mutual interest and provide an opportunity for students to get to know each other better and to get to know the faculty in a more informal setting.
Professional organizations
When I wanted to find a professional library group to meet with once a month or so, I ended up at the local chapter of the Special Libraries Association. My theory is that public and academic librarians are around librarians all day and aren't necessarily inclined to spend more time with them. Special librarians, on the other hand, are more likely to be solo librarians and, like students, are hungry for professional contacts. SLA welcomes all types of librarians and students. I have made quality contacts with academic librarians at SLA meetings.
Say "yes" when asked to be on committees. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to my first programming committee meeting as the student member. We're meeting at the Art Museum library. How cool is that?
Conferences
As an introvert, I find conferences the hardest place to make new connections with people. Conferences are great, however, for sharing quality time with people you already know and for meeting in real life people who you have an on-line connection with--fellow bloggers, classmates from on-line classes, email or IM buddies. Make appointments and exchange cell phone numbers in advance so that you can make the most of your conference experience to meet with your professional colleagues. This applies to local and state conferences as well as national ones.
I think I'm going to end my series about how to succeed in library school with this post. Although, I'm quite willing to write on the topic again. If you have any other issues you would like me to address, send email to joy at moll projects dot com.
Here's a listing, with links, of the four-part series:
June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007
