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Summation Entry

  Summation Entry As I reflect on my practicum experience at the Texas Tech Library, I feel incredibly grateful for the wide range of learning opportunities I had. I came into the internship expecting to learn more about subject analysis and Library of Congress Subject Headings, and I certainly did. Working through two full batches of subject headings gave me valuable, hands-on experience in critically evaluating metadata, correcting errors, and understanding the nuances of cataloging. Shelley’s guidance through this process was immensely helpful, and I now feel far more confident in my ability to work with subject access points in a real library setting. It was a challenge at times to keep track of all the changes I made, but this eventually turned into an opportunity as I compiled a workflow and even developed a presentation to help future librarians learn how to navigate similar challenges. One thing that surprised me was just how diverse the roles and experiences of academic li...
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Digitalizing Posters

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  Log 16 Digitalizing Posters Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   April 16, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I take a photo as I walk to see Nathan, who is in charge of digitalization at Texas Tech. I find the digitalization process fascinating, and it was an enjoyable experience for me. During my final week, I had the chance to meet again with Nathan, who is in charge of digitization at the library. Shelley wanted to make sure I experienced the digitization process firsthand and even gave it a try myself. She took me over to Nathan’s area, where I watched him digitize a few posters that had been made by students many years ago. After walking me through the process a couple of times, it was my turn to try. I began by placing the poster on the digitization table and switching on the built-in vacuum that holds the paper in place using small holes across the tabletop. Then I used magnets on each corner of the poster to secure the edges that weren’t getting held d...
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Presenting my Subject Heading Project

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  Log 15 Presenting my Subject Heading Project Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   April 11, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I'm printing out two copies of my PowerPoint for Shelley and MacGregor. I chose to do this so that they could keep a physical example of the presentation I created. On Friday, I gave my presentation in the same dean’s meeting room where Shelley previously held her OpenRefine workshops. Before the presentation started, I handed out printed copies of the PowerPoint so Shelley and Macgregor could follow along more easily. I was pretty nervous at the start, and my mouth got dry quickly, which made it a bit difficult to speak. Still, I managed to push through the nerves and made it all the way through the presentation without skipping any of the content. Both Shelley and Macgregor told me they were really impressed with the structure and clarity of my presentation. They especially complimented the PowerPoint layout and how clearly I had outlin...
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Creating a Presentation

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  Log 14 Creating a Presentation Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   April 7, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I'm taking a walk around the room and looking at the posters on the walls. I'm getting prepared to create a presentation that I will give to Shelley. I started putting together a record of all the changes I’ve made while fixing subject headings. The goal of doing this is to use this information to create a presentation. The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate how to correct subject headings in a way that aligns with Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Shelley told me it could eventually be used as a training tool for new librarians at Texas Tech. I’ve been noting down different kinds of issues I’ve encountered, like headings that are not authorized, incorrect formatting, or vague terminology, and how I resolved each one. This way, the presentation can serve as a guide for navigating the trickier parts of subject heading cleanup. I s...
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  Log 13 title Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   April 2, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. In between sessions of working on my subject headings, I took a photo with a lamp that is in the corner of my workspace. It is a very pretty lamp that gives me something to look at when I'm taking breaks.  I had the opportunity to meet with the librarians at Texas Tech’s Special Collections Library. Shelley set up this meeting before she left town for a library conference in Minnesota, where she’ll be attending sessions and networking with other academic librarians. She promised me that she would try to attend any meetings about junior colleges, which is what South Plains College is, so that she could share information with me. I remembered from a previous conversation that she mentioned that she had originally trained to become a special collections librarian. From the fact that I have now had two days at the Special Collections library this semester, I know she ...
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Meeting with More Librarians

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  Log 12 Meeting with More Librarians Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 28, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I'm taking a photo in front of the whiteboard on the wall in my workroom. This was probably a classroom before it became a computer room. I finally got to meet with the reference librarian, a meeting that had been delayed due to the campus closure and fire incident earlier in the semester. Shelley took me over to the Writing Center, where he spends part of his week assisting students who need help with research, citations, and finding appropriate academic resources. It was interesting to see how librarians rotate through student spaces like the Writing Center to provide more direct support. This is part of a push by the Texas Tech library to meet students where they are, rather than waiting for them to come into the library. He walked me through the typical responsibilities of a reference librarian, including how they answer questions and teach ...
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Learning More at the Library

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  Log 11 Learning More at the Library Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 24, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I'm once again sitting in my workspace, completing subject headings. Now that I'm back working at Tech, Shelley can arrange for me to meet with other librarians to learn from them. Today was another productive day working through my subject headings at the library. I’ve gotten into a good rhythm again now that we’re back on campus, and I’m steadily making progress with reviewing and correcting the entries based on the Library of Congress Subject Headings. While I was working, Shelley and I had a really interesting conversation about her past experiences conducting job interviews at Texas Tech. She shared a few stories about applicants who might have shared a little too much personal information during their interviews. One woman, for example, mentioned that she collected haunted dolls, which ended up leaving a strange impression. Another applica...
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