The second library I chose to visit was the Miami Dade College Kendall Campus Library located at 11011 SW 104 Street in Miami, Florida. The library hours are Monday thru Thursday 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM, Friday 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, and Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The last time I walked through the doors of this library was in 1995. I will be honest to say that, as a Miami Dade College student, I might have visited the library 6 times in the years I attended classes there. I used the library as a place to study. I did not use any of their resources nor was I aware of their services.
Prior to my visit, I searched their website and found their list of librarians. Three of the librarians have sites with information about themselves. I chose Jenny because she seems to be up to date with the latest trends. From her page you can access her twitter account, a Second Life blog, link to different websites, library podcasts, workshops, library blog, information for faculty members, and a link to their iPod project. As I looked through her credentials I decided she was the librarian I wanted to meet. I sent Jenny an email to introduce myself and ask her if she would be willing to sit with me for a few minutes. She replied right away and said she would love to meet with me and help me with my project.
When I asked Jenny why she chose to be a librarian, she really couldn’t remember. She graduated from Quinnipac College with a B.A. in Mathematics. Once she graduated she realized she did not want to work in the business world. Jenny decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and enter the field of education. She knew she did not want to become a teacher and so decided to pursue her degree in Library Science. She attended Florida State University and graduated in 1989 with a M.S. in Library Science. Jenny has worked as a cataloger, reference librarian, and a resource development librarian. She was a cataloger for the Museum of Contemporary Art and is now pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. Most of her experience is in colleges and university. She worked in the Palm Beach County Library for a year and did not enjoy her time there. She’s never considered working as a media specialist or in any other library because she loves working with college students.
Jenny is part of the Dade County Library Association and served as president for 2 years. Jenny is an active member of the college community. She is involved in several of the college’s committees such as Library Discipline Committee, Libraries Web Development Subcommittee, Technology in the Classroom, Academic and Student Support Council, College Center for Library Automation Access Standing Committee and was on the editorial board for Journal of Access Services.
There are currently five librarians at the Kendall campus along with eight library technicians, two adjunct librarians, two associate instructors, and a secretary. All librarians are required to enroll in one graduate course every four years in order to maintain their rank. They must have a certain amount of graduate credits in order to be considered for a promotion. Jenny attends workshops and presents at many workshops as well.
The Kendall Campus library serves over 20,000 patrons. The library is open to the public but borrowing privileges are limited to Miami Dade College students, employees, members of the MDC Alumni Association, and to students registered in institutions recognized by the Florida State University System and the Florida College System.
Students may schedule hands-on library instruction sessions or enroll in a Library instruction course. Faculty members may schedule library instruction sessions for their classes. Jenny mentioned they teach more classes during the Fall than the Summer term. Their collection consists of over 120,000 volumes on a variety of topics. The library provides computer workstations which are available on a first come first serve basis. Patrons may bring their own laptops and use the library’s wireless networkVideos, DVDs, and audiobooks on CDs are available for check-out. Jenny mentioned their new iPod Project in which patrons may borrow iPods with music, audiobooks, and podcasts. They offer the BachPods which contain music, music videos, podcasts, and audiobooks on, of course, an iPod. The EZ-Pod contains the audiobook version of a young adult novel accompanied by a paperback copy of the same novel. The EZ-Pod was developed for students registered in ESL courses. The JazzPod contains jazz music. The LitPod contains the audiobook version of a classic literary work and a copy of the print version. And the PinkPod which is dedicated to the struggles and accomplishments of women throughout history. There are many audiobooks on iPod Shuffles and Nanos that are available for check-out as well.
The Kendall Library has a website, a Facebook page, and a Library blog. Jenny maintains her twitter account, a Second Life blog, the Socrates Library Cat blog and the Socrates Library Cat twitter account.
Miami Dade College Library website: http://www.mdc.edu/kendall/library/about.asp
Miami Dade College Library Blog: http://kendallcampuslibrarynews.blogspot.com/
I really enjoyed my visit at the MDC Library. The staff is friendly, helpful, and professional. The patrons were working on computers, reading, studying, and believe it or not, some were sleeping! I would definitely consider working in an academic library in several years. The media center is still my number one choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment