Falls End...

I’m baaaack!!! I haven’t blogged in quite awhile, so it feels better than ever to be back! This school semester was everything that I’d imagined it would be. There were times where I had so much work to complete. Times I sacrificed sleep. Times I stayed on campus for hours completing homework. Times I wanted to give up…Needless to say, I am very grateful for having successfully completed my fall courses.

Honestly, a lot has happened from September until now and a few things caught me by total surprise. I think the most shocking news came from learning that two of the African American librarians at the UGL were retiring. News of their retirement deeply saddened me because they were integral in my success as a Graduate Student Assistant. Plus, there aren’t too many Black Librarians roaming this campus, so having two leave at the same time was unfortunate to hear. Being able to identify with other librarians who shared my skin tone and perhaps could relate to my experiences in the library program was comforting. Still, I do wish Dee Callaway and Debbie Tucker the very best that life has to offer…they will surely be missed.

Since my fall courses required my attention in so many areas, I’ve decided to list this semester’s five most memorable moments.

Memorable Moment 1:
Back in September, I had to give a book talk on “A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier,” by Ishmael Beah. The purpose of book talking is to present a book in such a way that people will walk away wanting to read it. I think mostly Teachers and/or School Library Media Specialists use book talks to especially appeal to young readers. What I decided to do for my book talk was rap to Naughty by Nature’s OPP; this was one of Beah’s favorite songs growing up. I can’t describe the exuberance felt while rapping to my Young Adult Literature class! That experience alone has to be one of the best moments in my graduate education.

Memorable Moment 2:
September was also the month that my Urban Libraries Seminar course met at the Arts League of Michigan’s Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center. The Carr Center is located in Paradise Valley, which is in the Detroit, MI area. I didn’t expect to be left speechless by the building’s beautiful interior design or its overall ambience. As we toured the building, I was crying by the time we made it up to the theater. Despite the construction it desperately needed, I was mesmerized by the theater’s grandeur. The nostalgia throughout the building radiates this indescribable energy that played an essential part in my crying. Before it was the Carr Center, the building was known as the Harmonie Club. The Harmonie Club was constructed in 1895 and was a musical society for German immigrants. During that time, it was also known to offer fine dining, a tavern, card rooms, a bowling alley, lounges, and of course, musical events. (http://www.artsleague.com/carr_center.htm)

Memorable Moment 3:
In my seminar’s course, I was partnered with two other students at the Carr Center to complete a research assignment. The focus of my research centered on Detroit’s theater contributions by African Americans. Back when I was in Undergrad, I remember going to see a play at the Detroit Repertory Theater with a friend. The actors were amazing, but one definitely stood out to me, and his name was Council Cargle. It turns out that Mr. Cargle has been involved in the Detroit theater scene for years and is a highly respected veteran actor within the community. This assignment allowed me the opportunity to work with Mr. Cargle and he was an extremely humble and kind man. He even did some narration work for a video that I created, as part of my research assignment. I was beyond honored to finally make his acquaintance because I had heard such great things about him and really respected his work. I treasured the experience of meeting Mr. Cargle and deeply believe that from this experience a friendship blossomed.

Memorable Moment 4:
Presentation Day, Wednesday December 2, 2010! Presenting my research to my seminar’s class, and Mr. Ragsdale, the president of the Carr Center, was wonderful. There was a sense of pride and exhilaration in having the opportunity to share insightful information about the ten people I researched. As I spoke about each of them, I tried to convey the importance of their lives and the meaningful contributions they made to theaters primarily in Detroit or perhaps around the world. On that night, I stood as a proud person of color recalling the stories and contributions of accomplished African Americans. They did…so I can…meaning there’s no excuse why I cannot be as equally determined and unstoppable in achieving my dreams.

Memorable Moment 5:
After the realization that my courses were complete, an excitement rose within me because I am going into my final semester at WSU. In May of 2011, I will be a proud graduate of the School of Library & Information Science. I am five months away from completing my coursework and walking across the stage! Where did the time go?

Final Thoughts:
I’d like to add that this will be my last blog for this year. It is hoped that once the New Year rolls around, I can once again dedicate time to writing a blog every week. It will be a year in January that I started working at the UGL, and a year that I began blogging. I look forward to what 2011 will bring, but currently I’m simply looking forward to my holiday break! Until next year…

-JSM

Stacks Adventure

Long time no write! It has been a busy few weeks for me, so much so that I have abandoned writing my weekly blog. My last blog briefly discussed my adventures in the stacks at U of D-Mercy’s library. I needed a book from their library to use for my philanthropy discussion. Initially, when I called to make certain they had the book I was informed that they don’t pull books for patrons. There, patrons are responsible for pulling books themselves which differs from WSU’s library policies and/or rules. Never did I imagine having to work so hard to obtain this book!

First, I arrive at U of D and realize that I’m a tad bit confused about gaining access onto their campus. Luckily, someone who worked at the University was kind enough to “let me in.” Once inside, I was impressed by the overall feel and presence of the college campus. Despite being located in Detroit, U of D successfully manages to separate itself from the urban community to ensure a safe and academic-spirited environment.

Next, it was easier to find their library than it was to get inside the University’s campus! The reference librarian told me I could find the book I needed in the basement. To my surprise, the University of Detroit-Mercy has crank shelving which enables stacks to be rolled open or closed and is ideal for small spaces. I’ve seen at least one library’s use of crank shelving and I was very impressed at its usefulness. However, I have never used crank shelving and found it to be very intimidating in this already unfamiliar library.

Unfortunately, my ignorance in properly using the crank may have lead to it bending. I kept turning and turning it so much that one of the pieces was bent and would not move. Eventually, once I tired of my failed attempts to open the shelves, common sense kicked in and told me to go ask for help! The circ student assistant, politely, came down to help me in obtaining my book. It should be mentioned that as she and I were walking back towards the stacks, I passed a pretty important sign. The sign was indicating how to use the crank shelving, and I completely bypassed it on my first trip down to the basement.

In about five minutes, she too couldn’t open the stacks and realized that one of the pieces was bent. She went upstairs to alert someone of the problem and I stood downstairs pondering what would happen next. Uncertain about whether or not she was going to return with someone who could get me the book, I took matters into my own hands! I began moving books around to determine if my book would be at the bottom or at the top of the shelves.

My hard work paid off because not only did I get the book I needed, but I got it before the student and her supervisor made it back to assist me. They were both amazed, especially her supervisor that I was able to obtain the book! Further self praise was needed as I quickly stated; “yes I just used my cell phone as a flashlight and was able to locate where the book would be on the shelves!” Ironically, what I failed to mention was that I probably broke their crank, how I uncaringly stood on their shelves, and re-arranged their books to get what I needed!

All in all, I’d say it was worth it! My philanthropy discussion went very well and that book was one of my main resources. Perhaps, the University of Detroit-Mercy should re-consider going to pull books for their patrons…This is no excuse for my alleged destruction of their property, only an observation…

Oh Bloggie...

In the words of Langston Hughes' Mother to Son, “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair!” The last couple of weeks have been so chaotic. These last two weeks have found me overwhelmed by work, school, and life! I had a great blog entry in mind that was going to give a detailed account of my stack experience at U of D Mercy. I had to borrow a book for them for my Urban Library Seminars course, and it ended up being quite the adventure. Although, I would really like to share my experience, I don’t have the time this week to properly write it. Hate to admit this, but I really need to dedicate time to my various school assignments as the deadlines are QUICKLY approaching! Not to worry though, I’ll be back to my usual detailed writing before you know it ;)

Class Highlight...

This week, for my Young Adult Literature class, some of us presented book talks. Book talks are presentations that briefly cover a book without giving away the ending. I have to do book talks for this class as well as my Children’s Literature class and I love them! What I most enjoy, is the variety of the types of book talks that I am required to do for both. My Children’s Lit class is online, so the professor has required us to create book talks using Power Point. However, my Young Adult Lit class meets every Tuesday, and I have many more options as to how I am allowed to present my book talks.

Did I mention that having a Theatre degree rocks?! Okay, well having a Theatre degree rocks, and here’s why, I get to use my performance skills to creatively appeal to audiences. It should come as no surprise that for my book talk, I choose to rap and perform a skit that I wrote based on my book’s main character. The book I read was A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah.

The book tells the tragic and emotional story of Beah’s journey to becoming a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Most of the book’s pages are filled with the sadness and grief that aided me in writing my skit. One of the things Beah and his friends loved to do growing up was rap to American music. They loved Naughty by Nature and LL Cool J and would often get together to rap to their music.

Inspired by the book, I decided that I would rap to Naughty by Nature’s hit O.P.P. Before I knew it, I was on google.com searching for lyrics to that hit song. After locating the lyrics, I purchased the song from iTunes, and began learning the first verse of O.P.P. Learning that verse proved to be intimidating at first, but after much practice the melody and words began to stick.

It’s Showtime!! Tuesday rolls around and I am gearing up to perform my rap piece and skit to my Young Adult Lit class. I had a great time performing O.P.P. and I believe that performance outweighed the skit's performance. My classmates thought it was pretty cool too, and my professor Janet Bobak was also impressed. Once class was over, she playfully suggested having me come to her school to do that for her students.

Final Thoughts: When I began to think of ways in which to present this book talk, rapping didn’t exactly come to mind. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became to rap. Realistically, how cool would it be if more librarians, teachers, and/or media specialists would rap to capture the interest of their students? They may not read the book, but if you present it to them in a way that’s catchy, exciting and attention grabbing that may pique some interest. Hence, the reason I chose to rap…