Daniel Murray's Group Reflection

I had not been involved in a group project since secondary school, where such undertakings had commonly been marked by apathy and reluctance to participate. So I was somewhat apprehensive upon first being informed that a considerable part of the module would include group project, feeling that I would be out of my ‘comfort zone.’

I need not have worried. The advantage of an MLIS course is that everyone is there because they want to be. The high levels of motivation and a determination to do well are shared. So almost as soon as the group was formed we were quickly discussing the options of what to do.

The initial topic was history before we decided on music, specifically Irish music as it is a niche interest we could specialise in while at the same time being an extremely popular genre that would be much in demand.

The choice of music was another ‘comfort zone’ I was out of, as I can barely tell the difference between a music sheet and a spreadsheet. However, the project did not require actual understanding of musicology, just the same set of skills needed for any library project in the future. The choice of music in that regard was extremely useful, teaching me the importance of flexibility in a world where we do not always get things that interest us specifically.

There was some debate on issues such as to who our target group would be, which were resolved quickly and efficiently. We were all keen to engage with the project and wanted to keep a steady pace going while ensuring nothing was left behind or undone.

There have been several group projects in the course for different modules, and our one here had the advantage of being one of the first to be set up. This allowed us time to ensure we all knew what we were doing. We began a habit of meeting regularly. The meetings were short, constant and allowed us to divide the work load between the group and then rejoining quickly afterwards to survey the latest work done.

Our early start allowed us to take a pause in the project and be ‘released’ to work on other assignments. When we returned to the project for the last few weeks, much of the groundwork was already done and all that was left was the mopping-up.

The hard-working nature of everyone in the project made for an egalitarian group, where everyone contributed evenly and diligently to the sum of the team’s parts.

There may be a few ‘I’s in ‘History and Development of Irish Traditional Music’ but there are none is this ‘team’!