Experiences of a practical trainee in the library
Practical training as a part of further education
My name is Niina Korpi-Hallila and you may have seen me working with the library staff in the Campus House. I have been a practical trainee in the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences Library for five weeks. I am studying a further education course called KOKO2020. It is designed for participants who have a previous university degree. The aim of the course is to complement the competences that students have previously acquired and to bring that knowledge up to date. We have had lessons about project management and e-business, among others.
Our student group is special in the sense that everyone has a different background of studies and work experience. We also have different hopes for future. This all brought up multiple viewpoints when we discussed different themes during the course. I myself have studied languages and I have a Master of Arts degree. I applied for practical training in the SeAMK Library because I am interested in the field and wanted to know more about the work that is done in a university library.
The versatile world of libraries
My time as a trainee has been pleasant and informative. The biggest thank you for that goes to the library’s members of staff. They have been happy to explain what their work includes and have answered to all kinds of questions. The work in a library is versatile. For example, information scientists teach students how to manage information seeking. I have had the opportunity to participate some of these lessons. One of my tasks was to check teaching materials for online information seeking courses that are held in English. In addition, I have learned how the library uses social media to communicate with its users and what are the principles of customer service.
My time in practical training has brought to my attention new and useful things. Usually, mentioning libraries brings to one’s mind images of long rows of shelves and piles of books. Nowadays libraries have variety of additional services such as eBooks. The practical training has given me more insight of how I can make use of my education in work life. Now I will head towards new opportunities.
The article was written by Niina Korpi-Hallila, a practical trainee in further education.