March Advice Column
*Featuring* Marion the Librarian and Information Professional

Image used courtesy of Virtual Librarian.

Hello again iSchoolers!

Thank you to those who wrote in. It was brought to my attention by two alert readers that the spelling of my name—Marion—is not the traditional spelling of the name for a female.

“Marian the Librarian” a character from the great musical “The Music Man” and Marian Gould Gallagher, the longtime director of the UW Law Library (for whom it is now named) were both mentioned in support of the Marion with an “an” for female Marions/ans. You can only imagine what a furor it caused when I chose this great profession of librarianship as my career when “Marian the Librarian” is such beloved character in musical theater.

Well, I happened to end up with the “on” spelling because my mother was enamored of arguably the most famous male Marion—John Wayne. It’s as simple as that folks. I have my mother and “The Duke” to thank for years of misspelling and confusion!

Now, on to this month’s letters…

Not surprisingly, I received a response to my advice regarding group projects. One reader wrote:

Dear Marion,

What is it about group work that is so, so, so distasteful? Is there
anyone out there who likes it? It is so time-consuming and stressful to
me. I'm wondering how others feel.

I will open up the floor to you readers—IS there anyone out there who likes group projects? Does anyone have anything positive to say about their group work experiences? Please write in and share your experiences, good, bad, and indifferent. What you have to say may help a fellow Ischooler.

Next, I received a letter from a reader having trouble deciding which classes to take for spring quarter

Dear Marion,

I am looking over the offerings for spring quarter and am having trouble deciding on which classes will be the most valuable in my experience here at the Ischool. Any helpful hints?

Signed,
Seeking a productive and exciting spring quarter

Dear Seeking,

Good question! Of course you need to take care of your core classes, but after that, you should think about your interests and strengths, as well as your career path, and let that guide you towards the electives that you choose. At the risk of sounding trite—you have to ask yourself where you would like to be after graduation and even five years after that.

Another idea might be to talk to your classmates, alumnus of your program and your advisor. These people will be able to give honest advice (especially if it is a classmate or former Ischooler who has taken the class), and help you in your decision.

You may also want to contact the instructor of the class that you are considering; they will be able to give you additional information in addition to the description provided in the Ischool literature and provide a more in depth outline of the class structure and content.

Good luck and happy spring quarter!

Sincerely,
Marion

That’s it for this month, please keep the letters coming and write to share your group project experiences.