I responded to the rabbi directly, but I'll repeat here that I know of no library school that would allow an internship without a librarian supervising the student. If the student is going to get credit, there has to be learning going on, and if that's to happen, there has to be professional supervision. Also, I have always had to grade my interns, and again, that would require a supervisor who could appropriately evaluate the student's work. The rabbi would not be able to do that. There may be library programs that don't require intern supervision by a librarian, but not one with which I've worked in Southern California.
I'm OK with volunteering to run a library, as that is what I do (in addition to my paid, academic library job). Before I took over, it was run by a well-meaning engineer who really didn't know how to organize the collection much less provide outreach and services. I've been doing this for 20 years. I make it clear that this is my gift to my congregation. Emily Bergman Temple Sinai Glendale, CA On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 12:13 PM, Nancy Poole <[email protected]> wrote: > How about this: > > I can see the value of the learning experience - and assistance to the > rabbi - who indeed may have a limited amount of funds - but I am tired > of seeing situations where someone is expected to volunteer as a > student to undertake a learning experience (from whom is the student > going to learn?) - for nothing. > So- a) do the work as a practicum (for credit) under an instructor who > agrees to provide assistance and do it for nothing - but it's up to > the university whether this would be an acceptable practicum. > Generally - they would want a site supervisor who is going to be > providing guidance; b) get the synagogue to do a mini fund-raiser - > for a small internship grant - like maybe $1500 - or so for 120 hours > or so (the going rates are small in NC - so judge on the local going > rate) ; and c) seek out a volunteer from ha-safran (or elsewhere?) to > run a check list on whatever this intern and the rabbi get done - > since there is (apparently) no expertise available on-site. > > It's a good opportunity - but even a student is going to need some > guidance - and the small amount of money would be helpful. In my > geographical area, I've seen "friends of the library" raise $$ for > internships sometimes - (but generally - the intern is going to engage > in a special project with guidance - not be on his or her own). > > > Nancy Poole > Greensboro, NC > > > On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 8:00 PM, Daniel Stuhlman > <[email protected]> wrote: > > I discussed this with my fellow librarians here at the college. What I > have > > to say may sound mean, but we have to stand up for our profession. We > put > > in a lot of time training to be librarians and trying to keep up with > the > > latest developments. Cataloging is as complex as all the books > published. > > While most contemporary commercially published books have cataloging from > > Library of Congress or another vendor, many Judaica books need special > > attention. Without a proper catalog, a circulation system will not work. > > Without a classification system no one will find a particular book on the > > shelf. > > > > Librarians are professionals. I would not expect my car, my plumbing, my > > electricity, my roof, or my teeth to be fixed for free or by a volunteer > > intern. I would not want a medical student treating me without > supervision. > > Students and interns are learning how to be professionals. They work > under > > the careful supervision of seasoned professionals. They have to learn > "first > > do no harm." > > > > Don't demean our profession. Don't condone using volunteers for > > professional work. It is hard enough to get people to understand that > > libraries don't get created and don't operate by magic. > > > > This "rabbi" is essentially asking someone to steal from one of us. > Please > > do not become a party to his theft. Stand up for our expertise. Let > > everyone know we desire to be rewarded for our knowledge. > > > > There is a story -- A person called for a plumber to fix his noisy > pipes. > > The plumber arrived looked around for a few moments, asked a few > questions, > > then took his hammer and hit a pipe. He announced that he was done and > > prepared a bill for the homeowner. The homeowner was thankful for the > job, > > but didn't understand why a 2 minute visit cost $150. The plumber > changed > > the bill to: $5.00 for the hammer stroke; $145 to know where to hit the > > pipe. > > > > > > > > Thank you for your attention. > > > > Subject: Library intern > > Reply-To: <[email protected]> > > > > > > > > Bensalem Kollel, Synagogue, and Outreach Center > > 2446 Bristol Road Bensalem, P.A. 19020 > > Phone (215) 752-5032 • Fax (215)752-2340 > > www.bensalemoutreach.org > > [email protected] > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________________ > > August 29, 2014 > > > > To whom it may concern, > > > > My name is Moshe Travitsky, I have a small Congregation in Bensalem, Pa. > We > > have over the last several years built a Synagogue, established a full > time > > kollel where Talmudic law is studied, and have an active outreach program > > where many people are connected to their Jewish tradition. Starting from > > scratch, we have built up a library of a few thousand (English) books. > > Things were totally out of hand as far as having books borrowed and > > returned, with no good record of what was out. One lady in the community > > tried to make a system with cards that were in each book,… but it really > did > > not work. This summer my mother put bar codes on most of our books. She > > lives in NY, but came here to volunteer for a while. > > At this point we are at an impasse as we try to get our library > functioning > > again. The bar coding is still not finished for the hundreds of new books > > that were never entered, nor with old books as they come back. We also > have > > not yet set up a system to actually start using the scanner that we have > > here. In addition my mother has told me that I must have a librarian > come in > > once a week to simply keep the library in order. Of course, paying a > > librarian is something that I simply don't have funds for. I've been > trying > > to get a local person to volunteer, but haven't succeeded yet. I know > that > > in many fields schools encourage their students to spend some time > > interning, as that gives them experience. Someone suggested that I > contact > > you, if you might be aware of or possibly be able to help me find an > intern > > and at the same time help us get our library together? > > > > Thanks for your time and consideration. > > Sincerely, > > > > Rabbi Moshe Travitsky > > [email protected] > > 267-228-8774 > > > > > > Daniel D. Stuhlman > > ddstuhlman at earthlink.net > > Chicago, IL > > > > Blog: http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > > > __ > > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual > > author > > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries > > (AJL) > > ================================== > > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > > [email protected] > > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] > > Ha-Safran Archives: > > Current: > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > > Earlier Listserver: > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > > AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org > > -- > > Hasafran mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > > > __ > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual > author > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries > (AJL) > ================================== > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > [email protected] > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] > Ha-Safran Archives: > Current: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > Earlier Listserver: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org > -- > Hasafran mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran >
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
