UCLA LISAAA Class Notes

At long last the co-blog manager has secured his first full time position after working as a library temp for the past year.  After an extensive job search throughout the DC and SoCal areas I have started a position as a Reference Librarian at the US Trademark Law Library.  My library is part of the US Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA, a vast new complex with over 10,000 employees.  Althought the USPTO is a Federal Agency, my position is through the Artic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), a corporation based in Alaska that manages a couple of federal libraries amongst other things.  My position involves conducting research on potential trademarks for trademark lawyers.  The work is mostly done online and communicated mostly through email, although there is also some interlibrary loan, information literacy instruction, and possibly some web design.  Learning a lot about online search databases and glad I got to learn about Dialog from Professor Maack in the reference class.

Since August of 2006, I have been the Music and Media Librarian at Cal State University Northridge.  It’s my dream job, as I focused on music librarianship at UCLA and worked in the music library there.  At CSUN, I manage the music, cinema/television, theatre, and dance collections, provide reference and instruction, and of course work with faculty and students.  I moved to LA for grad school and never thought I would stay.  But I am delighted to have found a great local job and many of the librarians here are UCLA alums.

Lindsay Hansen, 2006 lindsay.hansen@csun.edu

Being a librarian and working with young minds and a wealth of information resources is, in my opinion, the most dynamic, exciting career around.

After graduating in early 2006 and then finishing a very brief stint as a Children’s Librarian with the County of Los Angeles, I accepted the position of Head Librarian of the middle/upper school library at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks in July 2006.  I have implemented new information literacy instruction workshops.  Last year we also joined ISLE-GAP, a resource-sharing consortium of independent school libraries in SoCal.  The new few years at Buckely involve the building of a new library and technology center.  It’s scary to be a part of a facilities planning project so early in my career, but I’m all in!

It’s an absolute blast to be part of an independent school campus and be able to chaperone outdoor education trips to cool places like the Joshua Tree National Forest.  Every day is different and I’ve been able to be innovative and enthusiastic…all the things that the MLIS program at UCLA encouraged me to be.

Meghan O’Neill, The Buckley School

As of July 2007, I’ve completed my first year at the Von der Ahe Library at Loyola Marymount University.  My responsibilities include reference, instruction, and collection development.  I particularly like interacting with students during instruction sessions and helping them learn how to find the information they need.  My job title, Reference Technology Coordinator, hints at the other aspect of my work.  Aside from general technology support, I also get to think up cool new ways to use technology so that we can provide better service to our students.  I’m just starting along that path, and am excited about the service we can provide to students by meeting them where they "live" technologically.

We’ve recently broken ground on the new William H. Hannon Library.  With the new library comes the opportunity for innovations in services and technology.  The next couple of years will be an adventure!

• Ken Simon
• Reference Technology Coordinator
• Von der Ahe Library    
• Loyola Marymount University
• 1 LMU Drive, MS 8200
• Los Angeles, CA 90045
• 310 338 7686
• ksimon47@gmail.com                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ksimon47@gmail.com

My name is Norma Vega.  While attending UCLA I specialized in archives and received my MLIS degree in 2006 .  My e-mail address is nmargret00@earthlink.net.  Although I had come to detest my job as a substitute teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District over the past 15 years, I found I was reluctant to leave the position.  I’d workedas a substitute for so long that I was fearful of the change. I didn’t put out any job applications until nearly 8 months after graduation.  I’m happy to say I got the very first job I applied for.  I am now happily employed as the archivist for the Science and Technology Council at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (for which I interned during the summer of 2005).  A big thanks to Keri Botello for the Internship Fair!!  Ironically, one of my job duties is the hiring of interns for the processing of paper collections from the Science and Technology Council.  I love my new gig!!!

Currently I am working as a Children’s Librarian at the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library. I recently began serving as a Board Member for the Children and Young People’s Division of the Indiana Library Federation. I am also excited to report that ALA has named me a 2007 Emerging Leader. I live in downtown Indianapolis and always welcome visitors… race fans, Colts fans, and especially cool librarians!

Rebecca began the PhD program in education at the USC Rossier School of Education in the fall of 2006. She received her B.A. in History from UC Berkeley and MLIS from UCLA. Rebecca also works as a research associate with the USC Center on Educational Governance, and research assistant with the UCLA Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.

After 19 years of continuous studenthood (Kindergarten thru MLIS), I entered the work force as a rare books cataloger at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Special Collections Library.  Other areas of interest include preservation/conservation and promoting access to special collections materials.  Recreational interests include historical costuming, crafts in general, Norse/Viking culture, and gothic literature.