First Impressions

Since Diana and I were both traveling during the summer, we agreed that it would be best to start my internship in September. However, Diana and I remained in contact via email during the summer. In an email sent in August, Diana informed me that she would be working at an orientation for new international students at SJSU, and invited me to join her. I was eager to meet international students and inform them about the resources available to them at the MLK Library as enrolled SJSU students, so I agreed to meet her on August 18 in the Loma Prieta Room in the Student Union.

I met with Diana and Susanna Liu, another academic librarian, at 10 am to work at the MLK Library table at the orientation. We took a little time to set up our display board, then soon enough, the orientation began at 10:30 am. It was interesting to meet the new, international students. Quite a few of the students did not know how to obtain their library cards. In addition, many of them were not aware of the services they have access to through the library. For example, many of them were surprised to learn that they could check out laptops and use the wireless internet access at the library. It was rewarding to help the students gain access to the information and tools that can help them be successful during their academic careers. The orientation ended a little before noon. After cleaning up our table, Diana and I took some time to review my learning outcomes for upcoming internship.

At our first meeting on July 6, Diana encouraged me to work on my learning outcomes over the summer in preparation for the internship (these are required for the internship experience class). I had never drafted learning outcomes before, so I wasn't sure if my outcomes were what she was looking for. After taking a look at my outcomes, she helped me organize my outcomes into distinct groups, such as, professional development or instruction. After talking with her, I felt much more confident in revising my learning outcomes.

My first encounters with Diana and the MLK Library were positive experiences. Diana seems very willing to help me develop my professional goals. She is also very knowledgeable, and will be a great resource when it comes to learning everything there is to learn about the library (if that is possible). I am positive that I will gain invaluable experience during this internship that I would not be exposed to in a strictly online learning environment.