Hi everyone,

I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York where we are in the midst of the arctic blast of winter. My first degree and profession are as a Speech/Language Pathologist but since 2013 I have also been the director of a very rural and very small library which shares a building with the Post Office.

I began with my love of libraries very young in life, with my first “job” in a library when I was in 4th and 5th grade as a “Library Helper” and then as a paid Page in High School. At the time it didn’t seem to be my calling in life but when we moved into this community I became involved in the library as a volunteer, then a board member, and when our director of 30 years retired I applied for the position. I find it unbelievable that the director of a small library does not need to have any specific education to perform in the role of basically running a business!

After a couple of years I began to consider pursuing my library degree. There were many details I related to the library world that I wished I was more knowledgeable about so that I could make sure I was doing things “right”. A colleague of mine was attending SJSU and the idea of an online degree seemed perfect, however the digital divide is real and we did not get broadband internet service at my home until September 2016. I applied to SJSU the day after it was installed and was accepted on my birthday in October 2016. Later that month at the Finger Lakes Library System Annual Meeting, the guest speaker was none other than……Michael Stephens! And the topic of his talk? The Hyperlinked Library! I have been hoping to take this course ever since that time, and I hadn’t even begun the program yet. Unfortunately, he had to leave prior to the end of the meeting and I didn’t get a chance to meet him.

I continue to also work as an SLP so I am only able to handle one class at a time. This class will put me at the half-way point in my journey to my MLIS. I have subtitled this blog “my #hyperlib Adventure” because I find each new class to be the beginning of another adventure. What am I going to learn this time? How am I going to be able to put that information/skill to use? It has been very exciting!

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you through your blogs and to get some extra practice in using Word Press. While I do maintain our website Hazard Library Association and our Facebook Page, I admit I am not always very creative and would love some insight and pointers.