Residency Interest Group

A few days ago, Tara Hunt over at HPG posted a slideshow she created for the 2009 Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference.  It’s an abbreviated, interactive lesson in entrepreneurship packaged as a Q&A, and modeled after the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It’s smart.  It’s slick.  It’s creative. It makes its point.  It’s totally Tara; and it is one of the reasons why we should pay attention to her.

This got me thinking…instead of a static FAQ page, what if we made an FAQ for residents using this format?  We can call it Who Wants to be a Resident? We could design the questions so they were of use to both potential residents, program coordinators, and even researchers.  It would be interactive, playful, informative, and, dare I say, fun!

Potential questions might include differences between ‘intern’, ‘resident’, and ‘fellow’, or identifying the Association who defined the differences; most common salary range; university hosting most residents since 2000; university graduating most residents…age, gender, and so on.  We could have some serious fun with it, and it would be pretty valuable since the answers would come from data Damon, Shantrie and I pulled together this year.  (That data has never, ever before been collected, aggregated, and made available to the public btw.  Ahem and thank you.)

What do you think?  Worthwhile?  Useful?  Should I seek permission from the Rogue Lady?

Lay it out in the comments.

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In 2006, the Spectrum Scholars’ Leadership Institute hosted a panel discussion on earning a PhD in LIS.  One of the panelists was Alana Kumbier who was then a PhD student at Ohio State University.  (She completed her PhD in the spring of 2009, and now works as a research and instruction librarian at the Wellesley College Library.)  Alana was my favorite speaker.  During her talk, she circulated a document, “Path to the PhD: Things to Consider” (PDF).

Alana Kumbier

In her work, Alana suggests you ask a prospective program, and yourself, questions in different areas such as:

• Support: How will the department support you financially and intellectually, as a student of color, as a parent?  Will the course offerings support your project?  How does advising work in the department?

• Cohort: What students are currently in the department and what are their projects?  Do you want to be a part of that cohort?

• Teaching & Research Assistantships: Are these courses interesting to you?  Are they relevant to your research and professional development?

• Future Prospects:  Will the department foster your professional development?  Will advisors  support your interests?

• Quality of Life: What will important people in your life be doing while you’re in the program?  How will these relationships change?  What will you gain from this program, and what might you have to sacrifice?

These are all brilliant questions and, yes I have been considering a PhD, but…BUT, this document has value and applicability for those who are on the market, searching for that first job, or maybe just a different job; not just for the potential Dr. HorsePigCow.  How?  Just rephrase the questions in terms of the workplace:

• Support: How will the department support you financially and intellectually, as a student of color, as a parent? How will the employer support you financially and intellectually, as a student of color, as a parent? Will the course offerings support your project? Will the roles and responsibilities of the job support your professional interests? How does advising work in the department? Will there be advisors, trainers, and mentors available to guide me through transition?

• Cohort: What students are currently in the department and what are their projects? What are other people in the department working on?  What kind of service and scholarship activities do they participate in? Do you want to be a part of that cohort? Do you want to be a part of that department?

• Teaching & Research Assistantships: Are these courses interesting to you?  Are they relevant to your research and professional development? Are these service and scholarship activities relevant and of interest to you?

• Future Prospects:  Will the department foster your professional development? Will the department offer resources for your own continuing education and professional development? Will advisors  support your interests? Are your coworkers interested in your work and will they collaborate with you on research projects?

• Quality of Life: What will important people in your life be doing while you’re in the program? How far away from family and friends will you be while you are in this new position? Is that acceptable?  Does the surrounding community support your personal and private needs? How will these relationships change?  (a fine question in both situations.) What will you gain from this program, and what might you have to sacrifice? How does this job contribute to your long-term career aspirations?  Is it a part of your vision for yourself?

There is a second page to this document that offers suggestions for developing networks of support and advocacy while in your program.  Some of the tips include joining student organizations, forming reading and writing groups, connecting with faculty, taking advantage of workshops offered by the graduate school, going to dissertation writing workshops, researching local health and counseling services, and developing friendships outside of the program.

I was a graduate student when I first read this.  I found it to be invaluable information.  I also, however, thought it had other applications beyond preparing new doctoral students.  My first thought was that it that should be incorporated into the very foundation of orientation programs at all levels.  Graduate students at all levels can benefit from these tips.  It may need to be scaled down in some areas.  For example, instead of going to dissertation writing workshops, masters students may wish to create and/or attend masters paper writing workshops if the program requires a thesis or capstone paper.  I know I could have used one of those when I was writing my paper.

Now that I’ve been in the post-graduate workforce for a couple of years, I see that these tips can also be scaled up and adapted to the full-time work environment.   Try joining faculty organizations.  Form research groups and communities of learning and practice (CoPs) within your library.  Take advantage of training and continuing ed opportunities offered by the campus community.  Attend lectures and special events with colleagues in order to create a shared learning experience.  Be aware of the support services available to you on campus and through your benefits program; and keep in touch with your friends and family, and colleagues from other institutions.

“Having relationships with people who are not in your program, or (better yet) who are not in school, is worth the investment of your time and energy.”

Thanks, props, gifts and gratitudes can be sent to:

Alana Kumbier, Ph.D.
Research and Instruction Librarian, Wellesley College
Clapp Library, Rm. 244
781.283.3372
akumbier [at] wellesley [dot] edu
meebo: alana.kumbier

(have other tips, comments, suggestions?  we’d love to hear about them in the comments box.)

Uncategorized alana kumbier, librarianship, phd support, spectrum scholars, workplace transition

Kiyomi Deards

Web-Mistress, that is.

If you haven’t yet noticed, we have a new author here: Kiyomi Deards.  As of October 1^st, 2009, Kiyomi officially joined the cast of the ACRL Residency Interest Group.  She will now be serving as Webmistress of this site, and Administrator of the Group’s online discussion list.  I think she’s the perfect fit for this position and have very much enjoyed working with her these past few weeks.

Currently, Kiyomi is earning her MSLIS from Drexel University and brings with her a range of technical experience, professional interests, and service work that more than qualifies her for the position.

After earning her Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry from the University of Redlands in 2000, she began work as a lab instructor for the University of California-Riverside.  Following a nearly 8 year stint as the Gas Chromotography Chemist, and later Quality Control Manager, for Western Analytical Laboratories, Inc., Kiyomi turned her attention to the library industry.  In 2009, she began work as a volunteer for the Internet Public Library and also as an intern for Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s Research Library.

Kiyomi has quickly thrown herself into a variety of professional groups and round tables including NMRT, SSRT, the Science and Technology Section of ACRL, and ACRL’s Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Section.  Kiyomi has also recently been named as a recipient of ARL’s Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce scholarship (IRDW).

(She’s on a roll.)

As a self proclaimed “librarian, scientist, and teacher at heart,” Kiyomi hopes to “promote service and learning in the academic and research library communities.”

Please join me in welcoming Kiyomi to our Group.
Good things.

-Megan

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Shannon Simpson

The Albert S. Cook Library at Towson University has announced its first Resident Librarian: Shannon R. Simpson.

Shannon’s B.A. is in English with a minor in psychology from Cleveland State University.  She is the recipient of a variety of awards including the annual University Poetry Writing Contest; and one of her plays was performed in New York City’s famed Central Park.

An accomplished cellist, she completed an accelerated music program at Carnegie Mellon University.  As a cultural exchange student in Bolivia, Shannon performed with the Bolivian Symphony Orchestra, and taught piano and music theory.

Shannon received her Masters of Library and Information Science from Kent State University in August 2009. While at Kent, she worked as a graduate student assistant in the University Special Collections and Archives, where she worked on various archival projects including transcriptions for the Kent State Shootings, Oral History Project. She has been an active participant in professional organizations, including ALA, ACRL and the Kent State student chapter of SLA that most recently won a national award for outstanding programming.

“With her excellent academic credentials, many talents, wealth of experience, and great personality, we are fortunate to have Shannon as our first Residency Librarian.” –press release

Uncategorized albert cook library, library residency, shannon simpson, townson residency

Damon Campbell

Damon Campbell received his MLIS from the University of Illinois’ LEEP program. He had worked in DePaul University’s Library since 2000 and, as a student, gained experience in Stacks Management and Circulation. In October of 2007, Damon joined the Minority Librarian Residency Program hosted by the University of Tennessee Libraries.

During his tenure at UTK, Damon participated in a number of research projects, poster sessions, and in-person presentations including a diversity residency assessment project, and a working database presentation at the 2008 National Diversity in Libraries Conference.  Damon is currently in the process of co-authoring a study of library resident demographics, trends, and preferences.  The study will be included in an upcoming book on residency programs to be published by Libraries Unlimited in late 2010.

Damon will complete his residency at UTK on August 27, 2009, and join the staff of the Flordia Coastal School of Law as their new Acquisitions Librarian beginning on August 31.  Good thing he left some time for transition.

Good luck, Damon; and congratulations!

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