Hey, y’all! I’m Terri Beth.

This is my 7th semester in the program (wow!), but because I’m not doing this full-time, I still have three more to go. That’s fine, though, because I’m really enjoying this journey.

I graduated college in 1994, as a film major. The first position I took after leaving school was as an evening circulation manager at a college library, due to the fact that I had work-study experience from my own college days. Aside from a short stint in publishing, I’ve been working in libraries ever since: 13 years in technical processing and video collection management at a large public library, a few months as a temp at some federal libraries in Washington D.C., and about 15 years in acquisitions and access services in two different academic libraries. Over the years, people have encouraged me to get my MLIS degree, but I was never really interested in going through more schooling, and honestly, I was content with the non-professional positions I held. Then the pandemic lockdown came, and I fell into an existential crisis about what I wanted out of the rest of my life. That’s when I applied to this program.

Why this class? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, I have a feeling this class can help me to get over my low-level feelings of burn-out with this field. I know it’s wild to be doing this degree when I feel this way, but library work is something that I know how to do, and that I’m good at. I’d like to be excited about it again, though. Second, this class comes highly recommended! My dear friend who steered me to this program told me to take INFO 200 with Michael, but I couldn’t get into his section. I’ve wanted to take a class with him ever since. Also, the Facebook class recommendations group is always raving about this course, in particular. So, here I am.

I’m currently on the archives pathway, and though my present position is in acquisitions at a college library, I’ve been given the opportunity to help out in the college’s archives. It’s been fun, but I’m still open to learning about other types of librarianship, and I even have the occasional pangs to go back into public library work. We’ll see how this all shakes out.

I’ll wrap up with some of my non-professional interests. I’m very into stationery (I LOVE PENCILS) and anything stationery-adjacent, like letter writing, journaling, and keeping a paper planner. I spend a lot of time watching people play with their planners on YouTube (I swear, it can be gripping!). I love podcasts — my favorites are about politics and disasters, especially ones where animal encounters go awry. I come from 80s pop culture, but Hallyu (Korean pop-culture) is also becoming a beloved space.

Okay, I’ll stop now! Have a photo of my senior roommate, Lillian, and have a great semester.