Friday, April 06, 2007

Oh Now They Do That

The head of the Central New York Library Council advertised a networking opportunity on our Syracuse Library Science Student Listserv, inviting students to participate in an informal gathering to meet practicing librarians in the Central New York area to build relationships, etc... pretty much a good idea for any student in the Library Science program. Something I wish they would have done while I was still a student and still in New York, in fact. As some of you might remember, I had a hell of a time trying to find an off-campus library internship in Syracuse or even getting any librarians to get back to me when I contacted them, so an arranged event like this would have been very useful.

It's on May 23, though. Wouldn't it be better to have it during the actual school year? I know a lot of students who left Syracuse as soon as spring classes ended. Even for some of them who eventually did spend the summer in Syracuse, many went back home for a couple weeks first. Then again, the local students are perhaps more likely to want to actually build relationships with the current working librarians in the area and they'll likely be in town towards the end of May.

Another thing to consider is professional turnout. When I did attend a similar event, for the local chapter of the Special Libraries Association, only one person not affiliated with the university showed up so I have to wonder what the turnout will be for this. This is at lunchtime too so it pretty much precludes anyone from outside the downtown Syracuse area from participating.

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