"Don't let yourself down..../
You've got to be the best/
You've got to change the world/
And use this chance to be heard./
Your time is now..."
-Muse, "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
You've got to be the best/
You've got to change the world/
And use this chance to be heard./
Your time is now..."
-Muse, "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
This past week, I popped the Muse mix-CD my sister Sarah made for me into my car stereo, in the mood for something a little hard and grungy yet at the same time melodious. Listening to the lyrics closely for the first time, it seemed almost cosmic that I discovered these, words that seem to fit in so perfectly with what I've been feeling and experiencing lately.
So much has happened school-wise over the past two weeks that it is hard to feel anything close to settled. Working full-time made it far too easy for school to sneak up on me and take me somewhat by surprise. Even now, with a full week of classes under my belt, I am uncertain about how I will find my groove and keep my worlds balanced. I am confident enough in myself to believe that I will achieve balance before the end of the semester, but it will require a little more thought and planning than I had initially allowed. Despite that uncertainty, I am even more excited about the direction in which I am going than I had previously been. Sitting in our first IST 511 class, so many visions of the myriad possibilities brushed across my mind, creating the sense that an amazing future awaits me- I have but to choose a direction and reach far in that direction. Once again, the lyrics by Muse seem to resonate with everything I thought/felt in that class.
One thing that Prof. Lankes mentioned was how he never really liked all the "Read" posters hanging in various libraries, using famous people or characters to try to encourage others to read, suggesting that if those cool, awesome, famous people like reading, we all should, too. His point seemd to be that the act of reading itself is not what really changes people or builds up their knowledge base; rather, it is what they read that makes the difference. He himself said that he does not especially like reading, but he likes what he reads. As I pondered that idea, I wondered if perhaps changing the word on the posters might make a difference. What if one were to create a series of posters with more proactive verbs like "Imagine" or "Dream" or "Create" or "Design"- words that help spark the imagination to begin synthesizing ideas. One could then use such posters to help the community see that the resources found in a library can help them grow in the ways they want to grow; the library can help them achieve whatever they want to dream. I especially loved the idea Prof. Lankes shared that as librarians, we are facilitating knowledge creation in our communities. We therefore need to help the community dream and help those dreams become reality as much as we can.
So much has happened school-wise over the past two weeks that it is hard to feel anything close to settled. Working full-time made it far too easy for school to sneak up on me and take me somewhat by surprise. Even now, with a full week of classes under my belt, I am uncertain about how I will find my groove and keep my worlds balanced. I am confident enough in myself to believe that I will achieve balance before the end of the semester, but it will require a little more thought and planning than I had initially allowed. Despite that uncertainty, I am even more excited about the direction in which I am going than I had previously been. Sitting in our first IST 511 class, so many visions of the myriad possibilities brushed across my mind, creating the sense that an amazing future awaits me- I have but to choose a direction and reach far in that direction. Once again, the lyrics by Muse seem to resonate with everything I thought/felt in that class.
One thing that Prof. Lankes mentioned was how he never really liked all the "Read" posters hanging in various libraries, using famous people or characters to try to encourage others to read, suggesting that if those cool, awesome, famous people like reading, we all should, too. His point seemd to be that the act of reading itself is not what really changes people or builds up their knowledge base; rather, it is what they read that makes the difference. He himself said that he does not especially like reading, but he likes what he reads. As I pondered that idea, I wondered if perhaps changing the word on the posters might make a difference. What if one were to create a series of posters with more proactive verbs like "Imagine" or "Dream" or "Create" or "Design"- words that help spark the imagination to begin synthesizing ideas. One could then use such posters to help the community see that the resources found in a library can help them grow in the ways they want to grow; the library can help them achieve whatever they want to dream. I especially loved the idea Prof. Lankes shared that as librarians, we are facilitating knowledge creation in our communities. We therefore need to help the community dream and help those dreams become reality as much as we can.