Librarian Specialty: Nursing

On February 8th I also got a chance to meet Mrs. Janene Batten who's been working at the Harvey/Cushing Library for 3 years. She is the librarian that I can personally benefit from the most because she is the nursing librarian who spends part of her time at the Yale School of Nursing. She says that she does alot of teaching to staff and students who have questions aboout software. She loves every aspect of her job but her most favorite thing to do is answering quick questions. She believes that in 5 years from now she will be in the same profession, but her job description will be different, although she would love to still work here. She also believes libraries will exist in the future despite the increasing use of computers because she quotes: "Somebody's got to give it to you," referring to obtaining the correct information and how to use resources. She would encourage me to become a medical libarian by explaining that this could help a specialist because I would have already known the answers to whatever topic or question I was trying to study. Janene was another one of my favorite staff members to interview because she was interested in my educaiton and how I was planning on continuing my education. She attended the college that I have in mind (SCSU) and explained to me that I could come to her with whatever questions I had about the school. Its nice to know that someone else cares about your education and is willing to help you.

Finances

On February 8th, I met with Mr. Bob Hughes who is the man in charge of the library's finances and security. Bob considered himself to be a "math geek" who thought he'd become a teacher while he was in high school. Bob has a teaching certificate and used to teach math classes. Although Bob has only been working here for about 9 months, he seems to have corrected some of the library's previous financial mistakes. He likes his job alot and says that he wouldn't be suprised if he was still working here 5 years from now. Like others, Bob says that this job is "laid-back" and that his co-workers are very nice. He stays interested in his work because everything is always new to him. I believe Bob's job is the most important job because he manages the library's budget. He controls and knows how much money goes to which department. He is the essential key to how the library pays for their rare books and online resources.

CDM Overview

On February 7th, I had a rather "easy-going" day. I met with Mrs. Cynthia Crooker who has been working at this medical library for 20 years. She does data harvesting, and she decides which electronic resources to buy, such as journals and books for the library. She finds her job interesting be cause it changes so much and says that she will still be working at this library 5 years from now but her job description will probably change. I also got the chance to meet with Mr. Daniel Dollar who says he "fell backwards" into working here. He is the manager of the CDM department, but before coming here he worked in the Library of Congress. He has been working at this medical library for 7 years and likes the fact that he gets to spend money on resources for the library. These two individuals help my favorite depatment: preservation, exist becasue without their management, this library would probably not have all the priceless rare books they have now.

Week Two: Visuals

So far this week I've met with the people who create visual learning in this library. Mrs. Lynn Sette, who has been working here for 26 years, is in charge of what I will call "visual information showcases" which include posters, brochures, and holiday set-ups. She also does consultations and consumer health informing. Lynn loves her job and quotes : "Librarians do a lot of good and are needed for more then just the circulation desk." This statement is one that I personally have believed in until interning here and the staff that I've met thus far have changed my perspective. Mrs. Toby Appel has been working here for 13 years and like many others, initially thought she'd be an elementary school teacher. She received a scholarship for Tuff's University and says that the only way she wouldn't work here 5 years from now is if she's retired. Toby is in charge of the displays in the rotunda, buying books to add to the medical library's collection, giving tours of the library, organizing the collection, and informing students on how to use data bases. Toby quotes: " Libraries control unique copies of literature," which I believe is true. Computers can almost never be as accurate as the unique source it came from. With the mention of computers, I was also granted an interview session with Mr. Jason Reinstedler, who is in charge of the hardware and software in the library. Although Jason has only been working here for 1 month, he has a history of desktop support that steered him in the direction of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. Jason quotes: "There will always be a need for desktop support, so there will always be potential for plenty of work." With that statement, we can conclude that Jason, like many others here, enjoy what they do and they don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

A Day Of Preservation

Today was one of the most interesting days I’ve spent at the medical library so far. Sarah, the person in charge of preventing the books from deteriorating actually made me want to do her job. She brought me to the books kept in the basement, and through every isle, explained when the books were made, which material they were made from, and how they were designed. The way Sarah protects these books are very affective and beneficial. Although she thought she was boring me or giving me an unnecessary amount of information, I was definitely attentive. While interviewing her, I realized some of the staff had no clue they'd be working here, seeing she has no medical background. Today I had fun while learning and that’s what makes learning easier. I hope I get the chance to spend another day with her.

My First Week

My first week as a CHILI intern at the Harvey Cushing/John Whitney Medical Library was spent learning. On my first day Dr Charles Greenberg gave me a brief tour of one of the biggest libraries I probably will ever see. He explained to me that because I attend Hill Regional Career Magnet High School, I had access to these pieces of literature whenever I needed them. He has introduced me to several bits of technology and software that are more than essential to learning. Beneficial programs such as GoogleDocs were attainable to me, but until this experience, I was unaware. As part of my interning, I get the chance to interview some of Dr. Greenberg’s colleagues. I was privileged to meet Administrative Assistant Mrs. Judy Spak who’s been working at the library for 11 years but had no idea she’d be working there. I also got to interview Mr. Lei Wang who never even knew medical librarians existed. When asked how he would persuade me to work in a medical library, he questioned back: “Do you possess the quality to help and teach?” Both of these individuals encouraged me to follow my dreams and become whatever I wanted to be. The knowledge of all three of these people is not to be wasted. It is to be applied so I can become as successful and content with my occupation as they are.