Published: July 3, 2019 by Havilah Steinman

Hot off the presses, it’s the latest edition of our Day in the Life of an iSchool Student series! Today we’ll be introduced to Rosa Conrad, library services specialist at California State University San Marcos. With an expected graduation in spring 2021, Conrad juggles school, a full-time job, and being a mom with fantastic skill.

iSchool Best Practices According to Conrad

When I asked Conrad what her favorite class was, she named INFO 254 Information Literacy and Learning. She commented, “The instructor’s assignments provided opportunities for us to try new tools to create instructional videos for students on how to use different library resources and databases. Since the future of librarians seems to be challenged with both having enough time to provide in person instructions, having the knowledge of creating video tutorials will be a necessity.”

Conrad also gave some insight into student life efforts she’s part of: “Recently, a few SJSU students that live in the San Diego County arranged to meet. Connecting [with] other students in the area has been a wonderful way to learn about how students are involved at SJSU and what types of librarianship they are pursuing.”

Conrad’s Networking and Conference Efforts

Conrad is also a member of the American Library Association, California Academic and Research Libraries and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. She believes “Being a member of these associations is a terrific way to connect with librarians and other MLIS students. Being on the listservs of these association has informed me of conferences, job postings and what librarians are working on both in academic and public libraries.”

Conrad doesn’t just peruse the listservs of these organizations, though. She shared, “I recently submitted a proposal for SJSU iSchool students to present at a poster session at ALA. I will be participating in the poster session in June; the title and theme of my poster is: ‘You’re Invited: How Interactive Displays can Transform Library Spaces for Student Engagement.’”

She’s also attended many conferences since entering the program: “My experience so far has offered opportunities to attend conferences such as California Academic and Research Libraries, and Seguimos Creando Enlaces, a binational conference that brings librarians from Mexico and the United States together. I’ve attended People of Color in Library Science Summit (POC in LIS), California Conference on Library Instruction (CCLI), and will be attending the ALA annual conference for the first time in June. At these conferences, I met librarians, explored interesting and informative workshops, and gained insight of the different roles of librarians.”

Rosa Conrad’s Typical Day as an iSchool Student

9 a.m. I find time to work on school assignments during my mornings and days off. Since I am attending the MLIS program part-time, the course load so far has been manageable. One of the benefits of working in a library is that you are gaining experience and learning on the job as well as applying what you do at work in some of your assignments. This has been helpful because I can speak from what I have learned through my day-to-day work.

12 p.m. I head to Cal State San Marcos Library where I work Library Services Specialist. In this position, my primary responsibilities deal with Outreach, where I work closely with the Engagement and Inclusion Librarian. The majority of my time is spent preparing events, displays, and other Outreach related activities.

3 p.m.When I’m not working in my office I help in the computer area and the Research Help Desk. I also plan work projects for the Outreach student assistant and supervise student assistants for the Research Help Desk, during evenings and weekends. Having these dual responsibilities requires that I stay organized. I use both an Outlook calendar and daily planner to help me keep track the projects I’m working on and the meetings I need to attend.

5 p.m. School is important but I try to enjoy a night out or just meet up with my daughter for lunch. The best practices I apply to keep me going is to make time for myself. It’s important to balance my personal life, job and school. I am old school, so I use a daily planner to keep track of everything. This includes setting time to do things for myself as well as spending time with my loved ones.

I hope this glimpse into Conrad’s life has been engaging and insightful! Please check out our other editions of Day of the Life of an iSchool Student series listed below.