We’ve had the first sessions of both of my classes this semester. I had the privilege of being among those to raise their hand when asked, “Who is graduating at the end of this semester?” I am taking the following courses:

• Records Management – the last of my archives core classes. The instructor is all “Woo hoo records! Awesome!” And I’m all, “Yes, important, but not that woo-hoo.” Still, records make the world go round, especially in an archives, therefore, it must be learned. It’s a very structured course, which complements the looseness of the other course (see below), and should provide that needed balance. It’s an evening course (6 – 9pm), so I’m stretching my boundaries a bit. My brain usually clocks out around 4 pm, so this might be a struggle. Though I may do well and get a second wind, so we’ll see.
• Digital Libraries – this is where it’s at this semester. I failed to register early enough to get into this class originally, but the series of scary emails that the instructor sent out must have been sufficiently frightening so as to make the wait list people drop like flies. I was number twelve on the list in the beginning, and I was able to get in two days before the class began. We’ll be working as a committee to launch a website for the Notable Women of Simmons collection. I’ve already volunteered for the position of documentarian/historian/project archivist. There was a bit of competition for this position, but I had my camera at the ready and as soon as class was over, took photos of our brainstorming activities. I really wanted this position, and so (even though the instructor asked us to let her know our preferences after class) I just sort of stepped up. Not my usual classroom behavior, to say the least, but I’m excited about it. I’ll be managing that section of the class wiki, most likely. And I’ll be setting up a Flickr page for that aspect of the project.

I’m feeling pretty energized about the semester. It’s going to be a TON of work, but well worth it. In Digital Libraries, I will have been part of a collaborative effort, and will have something tangible to show at the end of the semester. And in Records Management I’ll be gaining skills appropriate for the academic archival environment, so that’s good, too (though not as exciting).