SLAIS Interns

New "Topics in Special Librarianship" Course at SLAIS

Reports from Interns compiled by Carolyn Buck

This fall, the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at UBC is offering a course called "Topics in Special Librarianship", taught by Ken Haycock. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the environment and culture of special libraries and the current issues facing special librarians. Each student is matched with a professional librarian in a special library setting. Students work in their internship placements for an average of one day per week over the course of the thirteen-week term. The class meets for discussions, seminars and presentations on selected issues such as marketing, knowledge management, initiating and responding to change and the work of the solo librarian. The internship sponsors are invited to join the class sessions to share their knowledge and expertise with students and with each other throughout the term. A special thank you to all the internship sponsors who are so generously providing this opportunity for us.

Carolyn Buck

I'm taking this course because I don't feel I know enough about special libraries; I have some experience in academic and public libraries, but none in a special library setting. I chose to work with Patricia Cia at Teck Corporation because it offered just what I needed: exposure and practice in a wide variety of special library tasks to give me an overall sense of what the special librarian's responsibilities are. For example, I am going to help Patricia put together a policy and procedures manual and a library brochure, assist with cataloguing, help organize the book collection, assist in a database design and possibly add to the Intranet as well as attend meetings and seminars.

Joanne Leung

My placement with the BC Office of Health Technology Assessment has been stimulating, eye-opening, and practical thus far. This internship has given me the opportunity to become familiar with the grey literature in the health care field. This area is not a widely known area and will afford me some degree of marketability in my career. Although my background in health care means that I have had some exposure to health care information in many formats, this has not been the great advantage that I thought it would be. The importance of the 'library' skills that I have learned at SLAIS have been highlighted in the complex and varied search techniques of librarians Mary-Doug Wright and Diane Helmer. Hopefully, I am contributing to my host organization through work on ongoing projects and discussions on current topics of special librarianship.

Gordon Coleman

I'll be spending the term working at the Information Centre at AMEC Inc. (formerly AGRA) with Jan, Brad, Suzanna, and Chris. I chose the position in order to get experience in a science/engineering corporate setting. It's looking as if I will have the opportunity to expand my skills in several areas of interest including: current awareness (working on the AGRA Industry News Flash), 'marketing' the library (updating a client needs survey), and techie stuff (implementing an online database on the intranet to log and manage client reference requests). It's going to be a challenging three months and a great learning experience!

Teya Agusta

When I found out that UBC had a "Topics in Special Librarianship" course that had an internship component, I decided to grab the opportunity to explore the issues of being a special librarian by experiencing it first hand. I wanted to work in the non-profit sector and find a place that suited my interests, so the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) seemed to be the best choice because it met all of my criteria. I am working with Diana Broome, the Information Services Coordinator of the BCTF's Information Services department. All the tasks that I am doing are extremely challenging and fun. Because I am working in a nurturing environment, I think the experience will be very rewarding in the long run and the work environment really complements the theoretical discussions we have in class about special librarianship.

Tom Richardson

I am very interested in the dynamic, challenging work demanded of special librarians. Before entering library school, most of my professional and volunteer experience was in the government and not-for-profit sectors, so I am naturally curious about for-profit organizations. For my practicum in April, I worked at a high tech firm in Silicon Valley, and found the experience very interesting. When the opportunity arose through the special libraries course to do an internship at PMC-Sierra, I was excited. I am now working with Shelley Tegart to research, design and implement an information audit. My work so far has me reading widely, from Knowledge Management to survey design. In addition to the audit, I am curious to learn more about marketing and advocacy in a one-person library, and to gain further experience working on a team project. I have found the experience very enriching so far.

Justine Dainard

I am interning at CityXpress.com, a business that builds E-commerce software for media companies. I chose CityXpress because I was curious about the role of a special librarian in a young, growing company that has no library: how do our skills and talents transfer into the new world of dot coms? What has become clear is that our training is a foundation for virtually everything - even the virtual. Though the application to Internet software is new, the tasks are traditional: I am building and expanding classification schemes, creating a keyword thesaurus, and collecting relevant Web resources to compile in an annotated 'bibliography'. My internship has allowed me to observe the conjunction of business and the Internet, and has reinforced the concept that one doesn't need a library to be a librarian.

Barbara Adams

My internship is with a company called Andornot Consulting. In choosing this company, it is allowing me to see a wide variety of special libraries all at once, and to catch a glimpse at the life of a consultant. One of my goals with this internship is to better understand and evaluate different service techniques used in special libraries, as well as to see what non-traditional services are being provided to library clients within companies around Vancouver. Another reason in choosing Andornot Consulting is because most of their work is in designing library databases. So far, I have performed data conversions, database design, Web search interface design, and library Intranet page design. I am interested in how new database features can bring more content to library users, especially those libraries providing web access to their databases. This is the type of experience you just cannot get from a classroom!

Sandra Boutilier

I am pleased to be doing my internship with Cheryl Siegel of the Vancouver Art Gallery Library. Although I do have some experience in special libraries from my work at Pacific Press library, this is my first exposure to a library in a not-for-profit organization. It is also my first introduction to the world of art librarianship. I chose to work at the VAG library because of my interest in art and because I wanted to get to know this important library better. During the internship I have been "shadowing" Cheryl in the day to day running of the library including doing some reference work, acquisitions and cataloguing. The focus on visual art materials in this special library gives these tasks a very different flavour than my previous library experience. So far the internship has been a really valuable experience and I have learned a lot about the realities of special librarianship, and the competencies needed to succeed in this field.

Camille Noel

Debbie Millward is my mentor at the Pacific Press Library. I am taking this course because learning from an information professional is important to me. Having worked in two law libraries, I am familiar with the corporate sector of the library world. The Pacific Press Library appealed to me because of the for-profit and not-for-profit aspect of the library. I am as fascinated with this as I am to be working with a librarian who is the Manager of Editorial Services. I am working on converting the user survey into an online survey and a report on collaboration and networking. I have enjoyed my time at the Pacific Press Library and I am pleased with the learning partnership that we have developed.

Bronwen Sprout

I am taking this course to gain some exposure - through student reports and guest speakers - to different kinds of special libraries, and to gain experience in a special library through my internship. Because I am very interested in the skills, experience, and tools that librarians can bring to the Web, I am excited to have the opportunity to work with "cybrarian" Sandra Singh at Suite101.com, a Vancouver-based internet company. I am currently working on several different projects: helping Sandra to hire an assistant, working with one of the web developers to build a web-based subject application tool, and editing the website's search help pages. I have quickly come to appreciate the dynamic and flexible work environment that a dot.com like Suite101 can offer, as new projects and possibilities constantly appear. And, although I was initially unsure of exactly what a librarian would do at a dot.com, I have come to realize that as much as the librarian's context is different, the necessary skills (and many of their applications) are very much the same.

Suzanne Green

I chose to work at Forintek Corporation Canada because I was intrigued by the project Barbara Holder had chosen. She suggested that I analyze the utility of OCLC's CORC software for the Forintek library. I also have the opportunity to shadow her and learn about her role and responsibilities as a special librarian. I hope that by the end of this course I will be better prepared to enter the work force as a special librarian.