So it seems I am a little optimistic about how realistic this giant project is. Here are a few anonymous quotes from Facebook about this project:

• I'd also like to know how this *practically* plays out in real-life libraries. I've spent probably 40-50 hours alone on this project so far, and that doesn't include all the surveying, etc. that a real library would be doing. Do librarians seriously have the time, in this day and age, to put that much effort into each and every service?

• In answer to your question: NO ONE has time to do this much planning for one program or service, in my experience. My library is big on process maps right now, so we might map out the process and figure out who is responsible for what, and write a proposal for funds. But it's definitely no where near as intensive as this project.

I think this goes back a bit to what I was saying in the last blog post about not all the aspects of this project being applicable in every situation. We all have put a LOT of work into this project (see note above about 40-50 hours) but have a hard time knowing what pieces of these projects we will actually get to do.

Someone actually asked this quesiton to Scott and I think his response was very good:

"What we are teaching you in this class is the 'gold standard'.   It is what you should strive for.  The reality of what you can achieve will vary by the library and funding and administrator support.

If you strive for the gold, and get some of it, you'll still be better off than if you strive for mediocrity.. as you probably won't hit that, either.  

It's like a lot of what we teach - we teach on the conceptual level, and when you apply it to a specific library setting, it will change.  The problem is the changes in different library settings will be different - public, school, academic, and special libraries all have to focus on different aspects of the PMA package."

Still I personally still see the advantage of doing this project. I also think my classmates I've quoted above make a good point and our professors response was a good explanation of why we are learning this way.

Listening to this weeks lecture inspired me to write another class reflection. Scott mentioned that the ischool uses our blog posts not to assess us as students per se but to assess the ischool and how well they are doing their job. I appreciate that they use these blogs to actually listen to students and their experiences, and improve our learning experiences.

So how is our Planning, Marketing and Assessment class going? I remember the buzz on Facebook between my classmates at the beginning of this class and how exciting the big class project was. Several people mentioned looking forward to diving in. Now that we are a little more than half way through this big project, I can say the enthusiasm has waned a bit, but I think many see the benefit of doing this sort of project.

The project has definitely been a lot more work and time than most of us expected. But I would say we are learning a lot. One of the disadvantages I've experienced in working on this project is the extensive requirements not always matching with the environment I'm working in. Working in a small school, some of the pieces that are required seem like a bit of overkill, however, I can see how those working in large academic libraries, or public libraries can use these tools and resources.

That is the thing I think I've appreciated most about this program in general. Not all the courses have been like this, but many of the things we have done, such as this Planning, Marketing and Assessment project, and all of the things we did in our Reference course are truly applicable to what we are or will be doing in our jobs. Unlike my undergraduate courses, which were still about memorizing and regurgitating facts, these are skills and process I will need to know when I begin working in a library.

So although we may whine and complain as many students do, it is great to be learning.

This blog post is long overdue. Considering I'm at another conference, I thought I would go back and post my thoughts from the last conference I was at.

Sometimes being a student can be stressful. Especially when working a full time job and going to school. But the truth is, I love to learn. When you are learning something that is meaningful and applicable to your life and your interests, it's just plain fun.

This past weekend, I participated in a conference that our school runs, called ASB Un-Plugged. The conference is a showcase and learning experience for school who are interested in becoming a one-to-one laptop school. The school was filled with international educators who all wanted to learn about how to leverage social technologies in their school. Some of the speakers I was able to see include Doug Johnson, Scott Klososky, Andrew Churches and Kim Cofino.  As a library student working on my School Media specialization there were so many valuable ideas and tools I've learned about. If you want to learn some of the great things we learned about this weekend, check out this great video made by Kevin Roberts.

 What this weekend makes me realize though, is that I truly love learning and I am excited that I will continue to have opportunites to learn. Whether I'm in school, going to conferences or connecting with my personal learning network.