Blog Reflection #2

So far, I think that the material that has been covered is somewhat familiar, for two primary reasons:

1. From personal experience as a student; from using libraries for doing research and finding resources for papers and projects.

2. From taking LIB 202 and LIB 203 last semester at LBCC.

I don't work in a library, so I can't honestly say I relate to some of the reference-related situations completely, but I have worked in a lot of jobs where customer service plays an important role.

Also -- in terms of this week 3's readings -- I think that a lot of the philosophy about how to interact and engage with library patrons is common sense. For example, if I was out shopping for a new suit or some article of clothing, and I went into a shop, and went up to someone standing at the cash register and ask for help, and they were rude or didn't say anything to me, or walked away, then I would definitely not want to go to that shop again. I'm not saying I expect people who deal with customer service to be smiling and in a great mood 100% of the time, but a moderate level of interest is important, and very appreciated. In my mind, it's all about treating people with RESPECT.

Mohammed Rafi is pretty cool

This song is in some t.v. commercial, but it made me remember it from the opening of the Terry Zwigoff movie Ghost World. Regardless, it is pretty rocking... there are some other cool videos of songs by Mohammed Rafi you should check out as well. 

The First Blog Entry

First off, sorry for the delay in getting this blog setup for the LIB204 course. Although there are a handful of blogs that I read occasionally, I have never set my own blog up, nor have I ever written for one.

Some of the blogs I read from time to time include:
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/, http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/, http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/, and http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/.

Overall, blogs and content social sharing sites are useful in bring together people of similar interest for the exchange of ideas and opinions, often transcending great physical distances. Thanks to many of the technological advances of the last ten years, our hyper-connected world helps to create dialogues amongst peoples that probably never would have come into contact with one another.

I am glad that this course incorporates the practice of blogging, and I am interested to see what others in the class have to say about library- and reference-related subjects. I also hope to learn about their other interests as well.

The first week at the start of a new semester is always somewhat chaotic for me, regardless of if I am taking a online/distance learning classes, or regular on-campus classes. This is the first semester in a long time that I am a full-time student, and taking both online and on-campus classes, so it's been a bit of a cluster storm, if you know what I mean. Well, that is it for the first post. Stay tuned as I will be breaking some big stories here, such as what I made for dinner last night, or what I plan to make for dinner tonight. You won't want to miss it!