Some introductions are in order
Hello everybody!
My name is Ian Tighe, and although I was born and raised in Half Moon Bay, California, I am currently located in Jackson County in Southern Oregon where I work for our local library system. This is my third semester in the MLIS program, and I hope to graduate in the fall before potentially moving back to the Bay Area, or somewhere new entirely. My academic history beforehand was a little bit scatter-shot as I started out studying electrical engineering before considering an English degree and finally deciding to study cognitive science, which allowed me to take courses in psychology, linguistics, computer science, and biology in addition to the engineering and English courses I took along the way. Before finding out about the SJSU MLIS and working at my current job, I worked for my local newspaper, in a biotech lab as a research associate, and as a bartender. So far I have been enjoying the transition into the library field and I am excited to explore it further.
My hobbies include music, cooking, hiking, traveling, literature, and video games. Recently, I have been playing and greatly enjoying the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remaster – I played the original game only at my friends’ houses as a kid, with Fallout 3 being my first (and favorite) open-world game, so it’s been wonderful getting to experience it anew. In terms of reading, I have been exploring more literature in translation: I recently finished The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, a fascinating multifaceted work of historical fiction that is dense, challenging, and rewarding, and am currently reading Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu, another deeply original and surreal novel. I listen to lots of different genres of music, especially electronic/dance music and subgenres of metal, but recently I have been returning to my roots in 90s indie rock by listening to a bunch of Guided by Voices, which is easy because they recorded so much music!
I was drawn to this course because I believe that web technology has a lot of unrealized potential for connecting people and information, and I think that libraries are the perfect place to experiment with this because they already offer information in many different forms. As someone who largely grew up with access to the internet, I’ve experienced over time how it has changed, for better and for worse, and I appreciate how it has enriched my interests and hobbies and allowed me to discover all kinds of great art and information about the world that I would never have encountered otherwise. I think that with deliberate integration, these services can help to maintain the library’s role as a hub of information and connection.