Practicum Log #15: Upward Bound Maker Space Lab

Our students from Upward Bound for the week. They got to make their own junk journals from Little Golden Books.

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 from 1:00-5:00 PM

For this week, the Southwestern Library staff worked with students in the Upward Bound Program. They started a short research project on cuneiform, where Megan Firestone, the Distinctive Collections Librarian, talked to them a little about the history and preservation of cuneiform tablets. The students also picked out a specific cuneiform tablet they wanted to study, and Megan made them a 3D model of their tablet. While the students toured the 3D printing lab, the other students worked in this study room, making junk journals. The librarians showed the students how to give Little Golden Books new life by using an Exacto Knife to cut the spine, and then custom make pages for journaling. Students had access to a typewriter, Polaroid camera, scrapbook making supplies, and then they could bind their new journal with a spiral.

After the students left for their next activity, the librarians and I cleaned up the space a little and then went about doing administrative things. Emily Thorpe, my supervisor, and I took packages for next year’s programing days and stored those in the marketing closet. We made sure we had everything we needed for the next day’s Upward Bound Activity. Then, Emily and I spent time talking through her career path, the kinds of library jobs she’s had, how she ended up at Southwestern, etc. We also made plans for recording the script for the primary source video I created.

Full Schedule: l will be working 10:00-2:00 from May 28th to June 7th, M-F online. (The campus is undergoing some construction and all of the librarians are working from home.) Then, from June 10 - July 19th, I will be working 1:00-5:00 on campus at Southwestern University. I will more than likely finish by July 12th, but I'm adding a week for wiggle room. This should lead to 128 hours.