What I do!

What do I do? I sure seem to be awfully busy!

As most of you know, I work full-time as a reference librarian at a large community college. Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a very innovative institution that provides me with many opportunities for personal enrichment. For example, I am doing this page in a three day workshop on learning how to use Microsoft FrontPage. I have taken two courses in Microsoft Access and many other courses.

I spend part of most days helping students and community members at the Reference Desk of the library. Considering that I am blessed (or cursed) with an excessive amount of curiosity, I love that part of my job! When you deal with freshman and sophomore level students, research topics are very varied in their scope...from finding information on a relatively obscure fashion designer to magazine articles on the latest biotechnology innovations. I love my job!

I am getting to use my undergraduate teaching degree to some extent. I teach a class, both on campus and online, called Introduction to Library Research. The interaction with students is exceptionally rewarding and educational.

As a faculty member, I also serve on college-wide committees. This is great, because it gives me an opportunity to meet and work with faculty and staff from all over the campus. My college is quite large, (third largest institution of higher education in Kansas, after KU and K-State) and is spread out over 14 large buildings, so it's wonderful to get to know people all over the campus.

Each librarian (there are usually 7 of us full-time) collects materials for specific areas of academic classes. My areas are Science (from chemistry to environment), Math, Nursing and Allied Health, World History, Computing, and Geography. With my undergraduate degree in English, this has been quite a challenge! I'm finding out, though, that I really like science...I listen to a lot of books on tape or CD, because of my long commute, and physics is one of my favorite subjects! And, as I now have an IPod, I listen to all sorts of science podcasts.

I also, as many of you know, work part-time at Borders Bookstore. Yeah, I really love working with books! I work 11 hours a week there, helping people find great things to read! I really enjoy working with the other booksellers, who range in age from high school graduates to people my age....39! I wish!

My two evenings and most weekends are spent on domestic stuff and interaction with friends and family.

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Remember that this is a personal page, and as such, is always a work in progress. Thank you for not being too critical. Judi Vaughn Tuesday, March 20, 2007 12:52 PM