Beginning Stages of Work

Almost two weeks have passed since I officially "started" my internship work. Last Monday I participated in a training session to learn how to use the software I use to catalog the titles that are sent to me. The training session lasted about a half hour and went over the basics. I felt confident to start working. The next day I was sent 20 records to catalog. The turnaround time for the records is one week. It took me a little while to get the hang of it and remember all the rules I had learned in LIB 248 (Beginning Cataloging and Classification). After MANY emails to Tom and Cindy, my site supervisors, I was able to complete the records. However, even after what seemed like endless corrections and tweaks to the records, they still were not up to production standards. Tom and Cindy have been very supportive and helpful when giving me corrections, but it's easy to become discouraged. I finished all the corrections I was given and I'm waiting to hear back now if they passed standards. I have learned several things so far.

• I am an intern. Therefore I am not expected to know everything or complete tasks perfectly the first time. An internship is a learning experience. If I already knew how to catalog perfectly, what would be the point of doing the internship?
• Don't be afraid to ask questions. My site supervisors and I probably email back and forth ten times a day. Since we're in a virtual environment I can't just walk down the hall and ask a question. The supervisors are there to help you. You're not bothering them. It's better to ask questions than do something wrong and have to go back and change everything.
• When you start feeling discouraged, take a step back. You were chosen for the internship for a reason. If they didn't think you could do the job, they wouldn't have chosen you.

I hope all of your internships are going well so far. For those of you who are stressed like I am, take a deep breath. We'll get through the semester.

Deanne