Ownership
(Warning: for anyone of you that had to sit near me at Midwinter as person after person asked me about my thesis ... skip this post. Really, there isn't much new and you should be well nigh sick of this. Especially you, Rick [if you're reading this] ... you must have heard this 10 times already ... go play)
I've mentioned here and there that I'm working on a thesis as the culmination of the MLS program at SJSU. It's one of three options at SLIS ... I assume that most MLIS students write some form of thesis or have a comprehensive.
Thus far, it's been a frightening, alienating experience. Much beating about the head and shoulders about why I did this option, as opposed to others. However, after approximately 7 months of making the proposal, finding a committee, spending too much time, money and gasoline searching for documents, risking my immune system with 50 year old tomes ... I have a title. And a title is a big deal. I don't feel involved and committed to the papers I write until I have a title.
Mind you, it's not a great title:
Irreconcilable Allegiances: A Qualitative Evaluation and Comparison of the Reactions of American Librarians and other Library Workers to Government Concerns over National Security and Libraries in the Early Cold War and the Post-September 11th Eras
but what would you expect from a thesis?
Still working on the abstract ...
Intellectual freedom as an operating principle of American librarianship was still a fairly new concept when confronted by the political pressures of the Cold War, motivated by concerns over national security. The aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the current War on Terrorism have also resulted in threats to information access. This paper reviews and compares the reactions of librarians to infringing behavior for both periods by examining the professional literature of the time ...
Despite my horoscope (week of Jan. 15, 2004), perhaps things will come together after all. Fingers crossed.
Comments
I have faith in you!
Posted by: Chip Unicorn | January 19, 2004 08:26 AM
Hello,
I was searching for information about the MLIS program at SJSU and came across your site. I would love to ask you about the program. If you're open to telling me about your experience, please email me. Many thanks!
Posted by: emily | April 26, 2004 11:44 AM