Capstone #4(a) My interview

For Capstone we had to do an interview related to our topic. I decided to do two interviews. One was with Westport makerspace librarian, Margret Pastel, and the other was with Eileen Corbett, a Scarsdale children’s librarian. Today i’m going to be focusing on Margret Pastel.

I was really nervous about this interview because it was my first and it was in person so I couldn’t hide behind the camera. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic so when we got there we were an hour late. When we got there she gave me a mini tour of the makerspace lab. We saw somethings they had made in the makerspace and we also saw 4 3d printers, and two of those were working. This eased my nervousness a little but I was still really nervous when it was time for the interview.

Here were the interview Question I asked:

  1. Does your job only concentrate on books or has it gone into technology?
  2. How has technology affected being a librarian (training/responsibilities)?
  3. How has technology affected how often people visit the library?
  4. How has technology affected why people visit the library?
  5. What do you think of electronic reading devices?
  6. How does where a library is located geographically (i.e., urban vs. suburban vs rural) affect the amount/level of technology in a library?
  7. How have computers helped efficiency in the library?
  8. What are the main advantages of increased technology in libraries?
  9. What are the main disadvantages of increased technology in libraries?
  10. How do you personally feel about added technology in libraries?

I got less nervous as the interview went on but it was still nerve-racking when she asked me a question. I gathered a lot of information from this interview and I was really happy about it. If I was to do this interview again I would try to be louder and confident. Here is a picture of me:

Capstone #3 site visit

For our Capstone project we had to do a site visit to a site related to our topic. I went to the Westport library to do the Virtual Reality demo. I chose this because it shows how much libraries have changed from only supplying books to doing VR demos.

The VR demo was run by around high school aged kids. When we first walked in there was no one else there but there were technical difficulties so we had to wait 10 minutes before it started. In those 10 minutes I looked around the maker space lab and saw that there were 2 3D printers. Once it started it was really fun. I went first because it was only my brother and I. You entered a blank world. After 5 minutes in the headset I had completely forgotten I was in a library. Here is a picture:

;

The day before I had gone on an interview at the Westport library, which you will see in my next blog post. During that I got to see the 3D printers working. I think that was really cool because they were 3D printing an award which you didn’t used to do in libraries.

I think this was a really cool learning experience because I got to see how VR worked and it helped my project by showing me how the maker space was embracing technology.

 

 

Ellis Island Trip

In 5th Grade we were studying immigration. Since it was such a big unit we went on a trip to Ellis Island. Even though that unit is over, I still learned a lot of new,cool, facts.

I think it was a really good learning experience because we got to know more about what we were studying and we actually got to experience what the immigrants experienced. It also helped us understand Ellis Island from a whole knew view and not just blurry, black and white pictures.

My favorite part was the tour. A man took us through the baggage room and “Great Hall” and showed us some of the tests they would of done. I liked this because it was funny seeing some answers but interesting at the same time.

My least favorite part was the movie. I didn’t like it because most of the facts I already knew and I didn’t really like the story.

Overall I liked this trip. It wasn’t the best trip (we did have to wake up at 6:30) but it was really enjoyable.

Capstone #2 Main Inquiry Question and Sub Questions


For Capstone we needed to choose a main question to answer that is based of our topic. When we were choosing our question we needed to think of a question that can’t just be fixed by yes or no. My main question is: how have libraries adapted to the new era of technology and has it made them better? I think this is a good main question because it goes with my topic witch is libraries and technology and it also will be an interesting question to research. We also needed to have sub questions that would help us answer our main questions.

 

My sub question are:

  1. How have computers helped efficiency in the library?
  2. How did increased technology affect how (e.g., how often; purposes) people use the library?
  3. How does geography (i.e., urban vs. suburban vs. rural) affect the level of technology in a library?
  4. What are any disadvantages for added technology in libraries?
  5. Have e-books/kindles affected libraries?
  6. How has technology affected librarians (e.g., training, responsibilities)?

Overall I think these questions will help me with my presentation.