Internship Week 15: Wrapping It Up

So in this last week of the CPL internship, when I'm writing my final report for LIBR 294, I got some of the feedback I've been wanting to hear!

Internship Week 14: Housekeeping

We're rounding the corner into the end of the semester, and I'm nearly done with the CPL internship. This is the standard weekly report (just shorter this time).

Internship Week 12 (by the school calendar)

I realized where the disconnect was in my scheduling! I forgot to skip the week of spring break in my counting. So this is only Week 12. I am on what may be my last project for the CPL internship, and it's a doozy.

Internship Week Whatever This Was

Oof. I really enjoyed researching digital storytelling and watching/listening to examples of both professionals and novices at the craft. It was fascinating. But by the time I'd spent 3 weeks on the topic, I was NOT pleased to be writing a paper on it. Especially since I ended up staying awake until 3AM a couple nights in a row to do so.

On the plus side, I shared a link with my site supervisor, because I thought it could help inspire content in the summer learning program, only to be told that it fit very nicely into my next assignment, which is about tying youth services into the new makerspace opening this summer at the Harold Washington Library Center. Serendipity! Now I'm going to have to interview some of my geeky crafty friends, because I am as far from a maker as it is possible to be. :/ 3D stuff -- cloth, clay, most types of visual art -- spatial understanding, kinesthetics:  all of that seems to slip through my fingers. I can work out cause and effect, and I think I would probably be good at the type of organization and logic required for coding... but physical engineering just isn't me. I've never understood the attraction.

But I like explaining things, so I'm going to start by looking over the Instructables contest and from there come up with family-friendly activities CPL can use this summer.

Internship Week 10

Another slow week for the internship (but I'm blogging about it as a required class assignment).

Internship Week 9

This week was relatively mellow on the CPL front. (I've been catching up on my e-portfolio, mostly.) The new topic I'm researching is digital storytelling, and I logged 4 hours last week and 8 hours so far this week doing the research and outlining the report.

Internship Week 7 review

Last week was a busy one with the CPL internship. I submitted one new project and completed an ongoing one, logging 19 hours in Week 7.

Internship Week 7: Using Tumblr

Last week I made a Powerpoint presentation about the use of Tumblr in public and school libraries, and I dealt with underestimating the time it would take me to write the accompanying report.

Internship catch-up: variable deadlines

Last week I was assigned a report about Tumblr, which turned out to be time-intensive once I had all the details. This week I took on a shorter project to find science experiments and activities for kids online, turned that in before deadline, and then moved back to Tumblr.

Internship, Week 5

On Saturday I turned in my second report, which was a series of booklists based on the activities in this Family Science and Math handout.

• Exploring Science with Kids
• Explore Shadows with Your Child
• Explore Water with Your Child
• Explore Plants with Your Child
• Explore Color with Your Child
• Explore Sound with Your Child
• Explore Ramps with Your Child
• Explore Patterns with Your Child
• Explore Measuring with Your Child

I finished up early (11 hours) and did a little background research into the next topic; however, because of the long weekend I didn't get the details of that assignment until this morning. So I'm still behind on total hours.

ALL the Internship Questions

Something about this virtual internship that I've found challenging so far is the isolation from a traditional work environment. While I find it easier to get work done on my own, without the distraction of office noises and other people, there are certainly some benefits of being familiar with the actual work environment librarians encounter. That hands-on experience would be a large part of the attraction of a traditional onsite internship placement. Lacking this day-to-day engagement with Chicago Public Library, this is the email I sent my site supervisor.

Internship Update: Week 3-4

On Monday I turned in my first research assignment, which was to create a fact sheet and toolkit for CPL children's librarians to use with new LEGO DUPLO kits. I also discussed with my site supervisor how best to use my time and complete the required number of hours.

Internship Learning Outcomes

When students participate in an internship for LIBR 294, SJSU requires them to state some specific learning objectives at the beginning of the term. I made the following three with input from the SLIS supervisor, focusing on my goals this term at Chicago Public Library.

LIBR 271A Top Ten

These are my selections for the Top Ten Picturebooks for Older Readers (5th-12th grades) from my readings this term.

In no particular order:

The 9/11 Report, by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon

The 9/11 Report: a graphic adaptation
by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
128 pages
©2006
New York: Hill and Wang
ISBN 9780809057382

Sita’s Ramayana, by Samhita Arni

Sita’s Ramayana
by Samhita Arni
illustrated by Moyna Chitrakar
152 pages
©2011
Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books
ISBN 9781554981458

Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, by Jack Prelutsky

Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems
by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Carin Berger
40 pages 
©2006
New York: Greenwillow Books
ISBN 9780060543174

The Wall, by Peter Sis

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
by Peter Sis
56 pages
©2007
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 9780374347017

Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll and Christopher Myers

Jabberwocky
reimagined and illustrated by Christopher Myers
32 pages
©2007
New York: Jump At The Sun
ISBN 9781423103721

How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum, by Jessie Hartland

How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum

by Jessie Hartland

40 pages

©2011

Maplewood, NJ: Blue Apple Books

ISBN 9781609050900