Austen Esch's Practicum

  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 ...

  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...

  Log 10 Things Get Back to Normal Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 17, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. I am sitting in a chair in a different part of my house. Just like at Texas Tech, I enjoy sitting in new places to keep things exciting.               It’s now Monday during Spring Break, but unlike most departments at Texas Tech, the library staff is only off on Friday, so work continues as usual. However, because of the ongoing issues caused by the fire, the campus remains closed, and Shelley and I are still working remotely from our homes. Over the weekend, the library building actually lost power, which added to the complications of the week. Mechanics and maintenance crews are currently working to get the campus fully operational again, but there hasn’t been an official word yet on when we’ll be able to return in person. It’s a strange feeling to be in the middle of Spring Break ...

  Supervisor interview Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 17, 2025 While I have not specialized in any particular field for my master’s degree, during my practicum internship, I have engaged in cataloging for my supervisor, Shelley Barba. As a result, I have had the opportunity to explore metadata cleaning and management. The metadata I have worked with comes from theses and dissertations from Texas Tech University, which Mrs. Barba curates. Cataloging theses and dissertations requires strict standards, with components like subject headings, my primary focus in my internship is deriving their standards from the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Through this interview with Mrs. Barba, I wanted to learn more about her position as the curator of Texas Tech University’s theses and dissertations, specifically focusing on the best cataloging and management practices.               Ov...

  Log 9 Changes to the Routine Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 12, 2025, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. This is a photo of me in my house working on my subject headings. Since the campus is experiencing a fire, I will be working from here.               Today something unexpected happened on the Texas Tech campus that completely changed the pace of the day. While I was getting ready to meet with Shelley in the library as usual, word began to spread that the entire campus was being evacuated. Apparently, a flame had actually shot out of one of the manholes on campus, causing safety concerns that required immediate evacuation. Shelley messaged me shortly afterward to let me know she was heading home for the day and advised me to do the same. She assured me that it was perfectly okay to work remotely until things were safe again. This was the first time during my practicum that a literal fire ca...

  Log 8 Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 7, 2025 I have Shelley take a photo of me before I enter the office of her supervisor, Joy. I will be having a discussion with Joy about the experience of being in an administrative position at a library.               Today is the day to meet with Shelley’s supervisor, Joy. Shelley walks me to her new office since she has had to abandon her old one due to its neighboring office with a sewage leak currently being worked on. After we make it to the office, Shelley leaves, and I sit down with Joy. We talk about the responsibilities of being in a managerial position with Joy having many years of experience to share. She also shares with me her time before being in managerial possession and the impressive climb up the ranks that she has made. Joy tells me about how she was an innovator while working in the lowest positions at Texas Tech librar...

  Log 7 Student: Austen Esch Supervisor: Shelley Barba   March 3, 2025 Another photo of myself at my workstation. I am getting a lot of work done. There really isn't anything else to say.               I am back on Monday after the workshop with plans to make further progress with the personal finance theses and dissertations. Over the weekend, I thought about how great it was that I had had the opportunity to attend it. While I planned to share my resume with Shelley, I would need to add the Open Reform workshop to it before sending it to her in an email. Shelly has told me that she can give me pointers on how to further improve my resume before I start sending it in for job applications. Shelley shares the possibilities of additional opportunities for workshops that might arise later on in the semester, hosted by other librarians. If this does happen, I think it would be a great opportunity for me to ...