u/T0SS4WAY

I am trying to consider what to include in a mini 'history and cultural' UofT tour that I am making as a personal project. I wanted to include some 'student culture insights' in the tour and was wondering what people think is worth mentioning in regard to the student culture here.

So far, I have considered the food trucks/food debates, famous student memes like the Northrup Frye McDonalds, and the various ghost legends around the university. Very different things I realize but they all have played a part in shaping some sort of shared student culture in such a large university.

What else would you want to see highlighted about the student culture here in a self-guided 'for fun' tour?

As I wrap up the third year of my undergraduate history degree, I have found myself increasingly interested in pursuing a career in librarianship. Based on my interests, I believe I would be best suited in academic librarianship, but I am open to looking in other specializations as well. I wanted to ask for some advice or feedback on what I might be missing when considering applying to an MLIS program / a future in librarianship.

What I learned to love in relation to librarianship:

• Organizing and cataloguing books/knowledge: I had the opportunity to help catalogue some historical speeches and loved every second of it. I also found great satisfaction in organizing all of the physical speeches after cataloging them.
• Event planning and teaching: I had an internship where I helped educate students on career counselling and job searching. I loved getting to plan and host educational events for students to learn and connect with others and support the facilitation of classes. I always believed that I would love to be a teacher, but only if my students actually wanted to be there to learn.
• Research: conducting research for my academic papers has always been interesting for me; finding the right sources to answer a specific question feels like solving a puzzle and eventually using those sources to create resource hubs/educational lessons is something I would love to do.
• Connecting with others: I have always felt comfortable connecting one-on-one with others and supporting them through their challenges. I am introverted but still love listening to people and their stories; I just get exhausted over time rather than energized.
• Dynamic environments: I appreciate work where I have new and unique challenges that ‘shake things up’ rather than following the exact same routine every day.

What I don’t have in relation to librarianship:

• Actual volunteer or work experience in a library 😓
  • I have been trying to volunteer/work part-time in my university or community library for a while now, but it is unfortunately very competitive so I might not be able to get that kind of experience before application season begins in September.
• Data management: based on some coffee chats I’ve had with librarians, this is supposedly becoming increasingly important to have in library spaces, especially to break into the field?
• Anything else?

I would really appreciate hearing anyone's thoughts or advice on what other opportunities I should explore before considering applying to an MLIS program or if there are any other areas of librarianship I might want to consider beyond academic librarianship based on my interests. I am worried that I might be missing something significant to consider before I commit the time and money to pursue the field.