Finding an education institution

When I lived in England, I didn't know where I would go to college, or university, to gain qualifications to get into the library world. My mentor told me that she had gone to college for a one-year course.
Back in grade 11, everyone attended an afternoon devoted to specific colleges or universities in the area. I went to a seminar devoted to Red River College.

As I was looking through the handbook provided, I found the library and information technology program. As I look back at the very same handbook now, I see that the basic information for the program hasn't changed at all in the last 7 years. It's a two year diploma for 30 students every second September. The program takes a new intake in every odd year - so this school year (2008/2009) is the second year for students who started last year, and the next school year (2009/2010) will see 30 brand new faces for the instructors to teach.

The column with the information in is still highlighted. See, even at the age of 16/17, I was beginning to see where I could go. I realise a lot of people have a number of paths that they consider to take when they're going to college or university, but not me. It was just the one.

So what information is in this column? What did I learn about the program at the time?

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Two Year Diploma
Intake: 30 students every second September (next intake 2001)
Six weeks of non-paid work experience included

The program combines technical and academic courses. The student learns the fundamentals of both manual and automaated systems for acquiring, organizing, and disseminating information in a variety of formats. Academic courses are directed towards boardening students' general knowledge in order to enhance their ability to function effectively in an information environment. A variety of instructional techniques are employed including oral presentations, written assignments and group projects.

Courses include:
- information retrieval
- cataloguing and classifying
- computer and internet skills
- acquiring and archiving information

You will find employment as:
- library technician/assistant
- information specialist
- cybrarian
- research assistant/analyst

And what about the entrance requirements?

Well, further on in the book, it says the following qualifications were required:

Senior 4 with one 40S/G English credit or one 40S credit from compulsory core and 35wpm keyboarding speed. (Applied Math 40S recommended. Computer awareness course strongly recommended)

Separate columns indicate that there would be testing with an interview and/or orientation.

There were quite a few pros at the time for me. I would only have to move about three hours' away rather than further afield, and I could stay in the same province. I would be able to improve and extend my knowledge and skills.

It was just a shame that I was in the wrong grade at school and would have to wait longer to get into the course - if I was going to ...