SLIS alumna Lindley Shedd (MIS ’08) recently published an article, “iTunes U: Experiences from Two Universities” in College and University Media Review.

Lindley is also the Media Services Coordinator for the University of Alabama Libraries. In a recent email interview, she shared information about the position as well as advice for current students.

Here is what she said:

Basic job duties:
I am the administrator of the Sanford Media Center (SMC), which is a student media production center that is part of the University of Alabama Libraries. Being part of the library system, the SMC is open to all +30,000 students. My role as administrator of this unit is to select all hardware, software and equipment for our unit, manage all staff and market and evaluate SMC services and programs. Faculty and instructors can come to me to assist them in designing multimedia projects. I also spend a lot of my time providing software instruction and multimedia project planning lectures in classes that have incorporated multimedia assignments into the curriculum. I provide both group and individual instruction session in all forms of digital media, including video, audio, graphic and web design using software such as Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Garageband and HTML/CSS to name a few.

My favorite aspect of the job:
I enjoy my interaction with so many different colleges and departments across campus. One day I’m teaching in the English Department and the next in the School of Social Work. I also really enjoy the planning and administrative elements of my job. The long term planning and adjusting to changing needs is an element of my job that I really enjoy.

Tips for fellow students:
Be Flexible. For me, I had to be flexible about the kind of position I would take since I was not willing to be flexible about my general geographic location (i.e. the South). I wanted to be a behind-the-scenes person, not working with the public. Now, I teach around 500 students a semester in their classrooms and interact with thousands of students in the SMC throughout the semester. It’s not at all what I had planned, but I truly enjoy it.

Be Willing to Change.
Libraries are looking for people who are willing to move into many different positions over the course of a career. Make yourself learn something new every year. Learn something about a different department or new piece of technology. It will make you more marketable over your career.

Find Accomplishment in Every Day.
It can be hard to see accomplishment when it seems like you are always need to get more done than you are humanly capable of doing. Enjoy the little, every day victories. Every little thing that gets done adds to the whole.

Posted April 12, 2012