Positive Internship Promotion and Library Researcher Series!

Tansi Ekwa!!! Hola Todos!!! Hello Everyone!!! 

It has been a busy 1st Month as a fresh faced librarian intern with the University of Saskatchewan's Education and Music Library  :)

I have been busy helping students, teachers, professors and staff with wrapping up semester 1 with final papers. For reference and service, Education and Music Research Guides are my go-to tools as well as stepping back and ensuring I truly understand how a library is organized, either through Dewey and Library of Congress (LC). And really getting to know the education and music research guides to answer students questions quick and precisely as possible.

What have I been up to the past month and a half? 

I finally received the grand tour of the University Library system. You can find a list of the various College libraries here with each college having its own unique collection identity. My goal before the winter break is to visit each branch.

Please check out some promotional coverage of the Internship with an interview with myself and the University of Saskatchewan's On Campus News -  I am showcased in the December 5, 2014 Edition! Of if you would like a direct link to click here
 
I have been busy jumping into the world of Academic Libraries with workshops with the Library Researcher Series and Managing References that support research and interdisciplinary learning on campus :)

Reference Management - These tools help students manage their research references.

RefWorks - an online research management, writing and collaboration tool -- is designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies
EndNote -  EndNote is a desktop bibliographic management program designed to help you store references, create bibliographies, and format papers instantly.
Mendeley 
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network. Make your own fully-searchable library in seconds, cite as you write, and read and annotate your PDFs on any device.
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources.

Using Open Resources for Teaching and Research  with some great links BCampus and Creative Commons

Getting the Most out of Google

Creating your Scholarly Identity Online

Indigenous History Resources and Indian Studies

I also had  the opportunity to attend University Library staff orientation where we explored the University Library System from Dean Vicki Williamson and the hierarchy of USask Library Staff, with special notes made on Centre for Evidence Library and Information Practice to the massive and amazing digitization project for Saskatchewan History Online !!

Lead from where you stand! 

LEADERSHIP! I had the time to activate my leadership profile after I reviewed some background material, which was unique as both my professional and personal numbers/grid were exactly the same! The instructor, Mary Martin, noted that this is an example of the authentic leader. I will be talking a bit more about this in a separate blog entry :)

Side Note: I have been referring many people this document on Library Services for Aboriginal People  as I speak more on the goals, passions and research interests of Aboriginal People and Library Services. I will have a whole other blog posted here shortly that will showcase Aboriginal/Indigenous Library Services! Shortly, I shall begin to work with Deborah Lee on really exploring the topics of Indigenous Librarianship and I hope to share with you soon! 

Introduction

Hello!

My name is Jessica, and I am of Cree and Scottish descent from Saskatchewan, Canada. I have recently been accepted into the University Librarianship with the University of Saskatchewan, where I will begin a 3 year internship into the depths of the Library World.

I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at the First Nations University of Canada, and have worked with Aboriginal Youth on Leadership Development for a few years before I started a second degree in Human Justice. It is where I landed an excellent internship placement with a Domestic Violence Early Intervention Program. Not long before that, I took up a choice between travel and a position at the Regina Public Library's Albert Branch, located in the inner city neighborhood, North Central. I chose to pursue a career in the public library system. RPL is where I delivered reference and readers advisory, pre-school story times and Aboriginal-based programming.

After a brief break to pursue my passion in puppetry with a small collective of arts through the La Luna Iskwew Puppetry Troupe, I returned to the library world to expand my skills, knowledge in an academic library setting with the University of Saskatchewan's Aboriginal Internship program, where I will participate in a variety of library functions through a survey of placements as well as support to complete an MLIS, which will be through the University at Buffalo set to commence in January 2015. 

My passion is leadership in libraries with a particular focus on enhancing library services in First Nations communities and collections. I am very fortunate to have gained an invaluable experience for over 7 years with the Regina Public Library and now the opportunity to experience survey placements within the University of Saskatchewan's University Library system.

I will be providing this blog as a means to document my experiences, capture my thoughts and ideas, as well as to organize my knowledge and skills as I participate in this exciting library experience!

My hope to is to step into a leadership role within First Nations communities and collective knowledge and provide excellent library services.

More Information:

Regina Public Library
Library Services for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Peoples
Domestic Violence Early Intervention Program
La Luna Iskwew Puppetry
University of Saskatchewan: University Library
University at Buffalo - Graduate School of Education (MLIS)
First Nations, Metis and Inuit Library Collections in Canada