Hey there, hyperlinked folks!
Hi folks and welcome to my blog! My name is Rachel Syme and I am in my fifth (second-to-last) semester here at the iSchool. I currently work in a Cataloging, Acquisitions, and Metadata Librarian position, which will become official when I graduate in December. I have been in this role for a couple of years now and I learn more about the back-end of library work every day.
Over the course of my career, I have worked in six different libraries in four states. So far, I’ve worked in two special libraries—a medical library and a news library (both in Maryland)—and four public libraries (two in Kentucky, one in California, and one in Colorado). My professional interests currently include cooperative cataloging, intellectual freedom, participatory culture, and professional ethics. Our day-to-day work can be tough, but libraries are still magical, warm, and lively places that fill me with joy. Here are a few of my recent reads:
I chose this course because I have become increasingly interested in the ways in which libraries can co-create with their communities. The connections between and amongst libraries, users, and the world are intriguing and complex. I hope that this class will help me discover playful new ways to create a sense of belonging and conviviality within library spaces. I am especially looking forward to learning from all of you this semester; I have found my peers to be the most valuable part of my SJSU experience.
If you have met me in other classes, you know that I love to spend as much of my free time outside as possible. I live in the sunny high-desert of Western Colorado and adore exploring the canyons around my home. I mountain bike, trail run, packraft, bikepack, backpack, and pretty much anything else that gets me moving through nature. I also spend my free time volunteering with a local animal rescue, Happy Little Rescue. We adopted our current rescue from them a few years ago and they do amazing work. I am excited to have more time to dedicate to them after graduation!
I am looking forward to chatting and learning with you all this semester. Cheers to a wonderful summer ahead!
6 Comments
Jennifer Crain
Welcome, Rachel! I bet outdoors in Colorado is beautiful.
Caroline
Hi Rachel!
I love that you’re a bikepacker! We ran into a few bikepackers while hiking the Colorado Trail many years ago, and Colorado seemed like a fantastic place for it. Have you heard the Radiolab episode on competitive bikepacking? (https://radiolab.org/podcast/alone-enough)
I’d be curious to hear how your different library experiences (and working in different states) have been for you, and what you’ve found to be unique to the libraries or common to most libraries. Are you planning to stay in Colorado, or does life keep you on the move?
Looking forward to learning with you this summer 🙂
– Caroline
Rachel Syme
Thanks! Yes, Colorado is a wonderful place for tons of fun outdoor adventures! We’ve been here for six years now and don’t have any plans of moving. The idea of living in one place for too long is strange to me (especially after living in five states in five years), but we are really enjoying it so far. The community and outdoor recreation here are unlike anything we’ve experienced elsewhere. Thanks for sharing that Radiolab episode; I can’t wait to give it a listen.
As far as working in libraries in different states, I would say that one of the most visible differences is in the payscales for the exact same position. I had the same job title when I was working in Kentucky as in California, but the salary in KY was less than half of what I was making before! It can make moving between states/libraries challenging when you cannot guarentee that you’ll be paid similarly for your skill level/job duties. I think that our library funding mechanisms (predominately property taxes) make these types of differences more pronounced. In terms of the day-to-day of life in the public library, many of the libraries have felt similar. While local priorities and cultures are different, all of the libraries are operating within similar missions and with similar guiding principles.
Michael Stephens
@rcsyme “… I have become increasingly interested in the ways in which libraries can co-create with their communities.”
This is right on target and totally fits within the purview of the hyperlinked library. Also Gunner is incredibly handsome.
Wel;come to #hyperlib!
Rachel Syme
@michael Thanks Dr. Stephens! I am looking forward to the class and yes, Gunner is a stunner!
Michael Stephens
@rcsyme indeed! 🐶🐶🐶❤️❤️❤️