Note: I will post my student learning outcomes for this week so that other interns in Library 294 will know what I have to work on this semester, can better follow my blog, and also provide comments. I would have liked to post a photo that fits well with my internship, but there have been too many problems in recent times regarding bloggers unknowingly posting copyrighted photos and getting into legal trouble, particularly authors, which I want to avoid.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. The student will maintain existing materials and create new materials for publicity and trainings to enable staff to help promote the library and its programs, and assist patrons in utilizing library services and materials.
2. The student will help develop and maintain the Marin County Free Library website so that patrons will learn to use the library, become informed about the library's reading programs and events, and get information about the library including locations and service hours.
3. The student will help develop and maintain the staff website, as well as create and maintain training materials to assist the staff in improving staff communication and efficiency.
After reading and filling out employment and legal papers designed to give me a better understanding of the internship and the Marin County Free Library, I was given an assignment that fit with learning outcomes 1 and 3. I had to review social media training materials for library staff and make suggestions for revisions. The training materials included toolkits and cheat sheets for social media sites such as Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Blogger, and You Tube. The purpose of these training materials is to teach library staff and librarians to better utilize these social media websites. The Marin County Free Library staff have to use these social media sites to connect with the community they serve. I made a list of suggestions for revisions of these training materials and emailed them to my site supervisor, although since it is Labor Day weekend, I do not expect a response until Tuesday, September 4.
My site supervisor has me use Google Calender to keep track of my weekly hours, and she has to see my calender on the first of every month. I am required to work 9 hours a week, although I have done 10 this first week.
This internship is of course a new experience, but I know its purpose is to teach me how librarians use social media and library websites to connect with their local communities, and also with people who either do not visit the library or are located in distant areas.
