A Student’s Perspective on Professional Development: UC San Diego Hosts Annual “Librarians Shadow Day”

Disclaimer: This is a long post and if you don’t think you can make it all the way through, at least read the conclusion because that’s where the moral of the story lies.

Introduction

As library and information science and archives and records administration students, we’re constantly bombarded with terms “professional development,” “networking,” “professional branding,” etc., by our instructors and other more experienced figures. And although most of us know what these terms means, sometimes it can be hard to figure how to successfully put them into practice and make the most of the opportunities afforded to us. I can honestly say one of my biggest regrets in undergrad was that I was one of those students who did not take full advantage of the opportunities I was given. Through this incredible journey at San Jose State, my number one goal has been to not make the same mistake! I got wise to this knowledge a little late, but I have seen that often times many of my peers and colleagues still haven’t learned the lesson. So I want to take this time to share with you about one of the more recent events I attended and how important it was to actually listen to the wise words being spoken to us.

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Radzinowicz Library of Criminology

There’s a Special Library for That?!: Criminology

Murder and Mayhem in the Library!

Well, perhaps not actual murder and mayhem, but in researching different types of library collections, I never expected to run across any devoted to criminology! However, there is an entire organization (the World Criminal Justice Library Network) whose membership includes dozens of these libraries in 26 countries.

I also discovered a paper written by Stuart Stone, the head librarian at the foremost criminology library in the UK, named after Leon Radzinowicz. The Radzinowicz Library is part of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge.

Radzinowicz Library of Criminology

The Radzinowicz Library of Criminology.

Interestingly,  this library actively collaborates with the Koestler Trust,  a charity that works with prisoners and holds an exhibition of their artwork each year. The library always purchases and displays a few pieces. Funding for these acquisitions comes from overdue fines. As Mr. Stone so elegantly put it,  “the delinquency of our own readers helps to contribute to the rehabilitation of others.” (Stone, 2016, p. 4).

After reading Mr. Stone’s paper, I wrote to him and, to my delight, he was kind enough to answer a few questions in a detailed email. Enjoy!
Continue reading for the full interview.

Get Involved!

SLASC is looking for current SJSU students to fill upcoming and current vacancies on its Board! Getting involved is a great way to build your resume and professional connections while gaining valuable experience you can use after graduating. To apply, send an email to sjsu.slasc@gmail.com with the subject line Self Nomination and indicate the Read more…

Events coming up this week!

Two can’t-miss events are coming up this week! On Monday, 2/8, at 6pm PST, join us here for iSchool Assistant Professor Dr. Michelle Chen’s presentation, Information Visualization Meets LIS: Opportunities and Challenges. On Thursday, 2/11, at 6pm PST SLASC will join other iSchool student associations ALASC, ASIS&T, iSchoolConnext, and SAASC Read more…