Internship @ Berea College: Day 13 and 14 (Entry 13 and 14)

It is interesting to see and feel the difference among the jobs I have had throughout my College and Grad school experience and the internship I am currently doing. I think I will find that to be the most important professional practice experience I will get out of this internship. The tasks and goals are important and will be great for when I am looking for a job, but getting to know the environmental differences and finding what environment I like to work in are the most helpful to myself when I go looking for that career after I graduate. I have deadlines, but they are not set in stone. The environment is more relaxed and open to me being a partner and equal in my experience and what I can bring to this internship. I can plan my own time with more flexibility. I like having my day filled and working, but I like being able to choose when I do something. I change from day to day in how I am feeling. It gives me the flexibility to plan my day mostly round how I am feeling. Sometimes I want a change from day to day, sometimes I want a routine from day to day. I am still not sure that I have a specific specialization and want to pursue something specific in the library world. But this is what I do know:

• I want to work in an environment where I can be flexible (in time, schedule, and tasks from day to day)
• where I can be a partner and an equal
• where I do not have constant, looming supervision (different from discussions, debriefs, and meetings to track the progress of something)
• something in a small environment (academic, public, or special)
• I want to work with a team, even if I do not have a team
• open to new experiences and information
• little, if no politics (I may have a Political Science B.A., but none of use like politics) 
• a place where I feel free of stress (even if it is not stress free)

After that tangent, lets get back to the RPS assessment.

Breadcrumb:

• After looking at the first 6 questions, I have decided to look at (in general) the places where there is a 20% difference (or about two horizontal bars on the charts). 

Here are some of the findings from these first six questions.
Question 1: College v Public Lib

• Freshman use the public library more than Seniors
• Seniors use the college library once or twice a week compared with Freshman, whom are spread out between once and twice a week or month

Question 2: reason

• Berea Freshman spread out their use of the library among recreation, research, and other academic purposes
• Berea Seniors use the library for research
• National Freshman mostly use the library for other academic purposes, not so much for recreational use
• National Seniors are split between research and other academic purposes
• Maybe BF use the library for recreational purposes because they also use the public library more often than NF, other reasons could include the holdings of the library, the distance of the library
• Also, I think the reason for the difference between the BS and the NS is that Berea students have to do big research papers and thesis their senior year, not something most seniors experience

Question 3: Instruction

• All Freshman and Seniors get instruction, there is a slight drop among the Seniors

Question 4: papers with 3+ sources

• BF mostly have 3 or 4 papers
• BS mostly have 3 to 5+ papers
• NF mostly have 3 to 5+ papers
• NS mostly have 5+ papers
• The majority of the data falls in the 3 to 5+ range of papers that require 3+ sources

Question 5: print sources used

• Majority of data goes with library books, encyclopedias, and academic journals as the print sources used. 
• BF and NF use library books, with encyclopedias and academic journals second
• BS and NS use library books and academic journals, with encycolpedias second

Question 6: online sources used

• Majority of online sources used are Google, journals, library catalog, and databases
• All Seniors use these online sources almost equally
• Seniors use them more than Freshman (except for Google)
• Freshman mostly Goggle and Journals with the library catalog and databases second