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Reflections on My Time Spent Working Towards an MLIS

Introduction

I began my studies at Dominican University’s School of Information Science (SOIS)

pursuing a certificate in Archives and Cultural Heritage Resources and Services and now, two

years later, I am leaving without. This is not due to a lack of motivation or a belief that archival

work is obsolete, rather, the lack of obtainment of this certificate is due to an evolution in newly

discovered interests; interests that would not have been realized without my attendance in this

program and exposure to the innerworkings of the library and information science (LIS)

profession.

I, like many, was the recipient of common misconceptions of public library work when I

first began telling people my plan to pursue this career: it’s a quiet place one only goes to for

books, the work lacks rigor and status, programming is only geared towards children, it’s a dying

field, etc., however, by learning about the true nature of the public library through coursework,

the juxtaposition of working in academic and public libraries, and collaborating with other

information professionals, I have come to realize that these sentiments are just that:

misconceptions. Through discovering that the public library is a living, breathing community

space, filled with relevant resources that positively affect the lives of all people who venture

through its doors or log on to its virtual space, I have come to discover that my place within the

LIS profession is in the public library; for it is here that I can best hone my people skills to not

only meet the unique information needs of the general public, but also personally and

professionally grow alongside them to influence the future projection of the public library as a

community hub. As I sit here reflecting on my learning experiences over the course of these past

two years, I hope to exhibit to you, dear reader, how I have met and, in some instances, exceeded

expectations of the SOIS learning goals and outcomes.

Learning Goals & Outcomes 1-3

As new theories of thought, societal inequities, and technologies emerge, librarians, and

thus libraries, must ensure that they progress alongside society. Through utilizing ALA’s code of

ethics as a framework for decision making, and acting as an advocate for equity and change, I

can utilize my platform within the LIS profession to advance intellectual freedom, literacy, and

dissemination of fair and reputable information throughout society. With the hopes that in doing

so, communities will be strengthened and better able to withstand the many vicissitudes of

human nature. On a personal level, in order to change alongside society, I recognize the need to

remain flexible in thought and maintain a level of clairvoyance in recognizing how events

happening around the world directly impact the local information needs of diverse communities.

The three artifacts that I feel best demonstrate the SOIS learning outcomes for Goal 1

present considerations for ways in which information professionals can adhere to professional

values and ethics while reimagining the status quo, the need for sustainable thinking and

practices within LIS leadership, and the importance of participating in collaborative work

environments to connect people with information on whichever platform they seek. The artifact

that I have chosen to showcase for outcome 1b is perhaps the strongest piece of writing that I

have submitted during my time within this program. In this paper, I discuss the need for

sustainable thought leadership within the LIS profession on both a global and local scale.

Through research into this topic, I have learned how imperative access to information is in the

global effort to achieve the United Nation’s 17 sustainable development goals. Vast in nature,

these goals work to attain equitable living environments for all persons, while attempting to

preserve the environment of our planet; a preservation effort that at times, leaves me feeling

powerless. A large part of why I find this paper to be amongst my strongest is because it gives
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me hope for the future. A hope that I plan to tightly weave into my professional identity by

advocating for more sustainable information resources and tools, decisions, and initiatives with

the hope that in doing so, I can help facilitate the use of information and technology far into the

future in ways that advances the world’s diverse set of voices. Through orienting ourselves to the

long-term consequences of our current decisions, we create resilient communities that endure

and flourish from the test of time.

Developing a sense of my professional identity would not have come without

understanding the very nature of information (SOIS goal 2). At the surface, information appears

simple: it’s translated data sets formed into cohesive thoughts that inform decisions and help us

build personal values. However, when we inspect information at a deeper level, we reveal that

information is complex and elicits different responses based on people’s unique set of values,

ways of thinking, geographical location, etc. As we sit in an era of an overabundance of

information and, unfortunately, misinformation, we must seek to ensure that what we share with

the world is accurate and simultaneously creates access to diverse information resources. For LIS

professionals we can create policies, programs, and initiatives within mission statements and

strategic goals to affirm patron’s right to access, intellectual freedom, and representation within

library services. This concept is further expanded on within my chosen artifacts for outcomes 2b

and 2c.

In order to provide accurate and representative information sources, we must first begin

by designing and curating digital resources that facilitate unbound access. Application of this

need is exhibited within my chosen artifacts for SOIS goal 3. Amongst which I learned about the

operational side of database retrieval through developing a metadata schema for a digital

repository, utilizing a free online tool to build a logical database model to sketch out relational
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connections between data sets, and evaluating existing metadata schemas for successful retrieval

capabilities of archival records. Although these artifacts lie in the more technical aspects of the

LIS profession, they are necessary skills to possess to not only understand how a lack of proper

resource description can cause materials to become lost and undiscoverable but also how people

interact with information. While the lack of discovery is possible from the technical application

of metadata, creating descriptions that apply current language (e.g. climate change rather than

global warming) allows end-users to discover relevant resources that meet their unique

information needs. Although I am not interested in pursuing a career within technical services,

taking LIS 882: Metadata for Digital Resources and LIS 751: Database Management Systems,

were pivotal in developing my understanding of how information is stored, how search engines

and databases function, and how information is retrieved based off of user inputs. Through these

classes, I have come to believe that knowledge of the operational side of technology is crucial

not only for working within information institutions but for understanding the current virtual

environment that I take part in daily. Through a continuous attempt to understand the back end of

digital resources, I find myself feeling more confident in my ability to draw upon this knowledge

to help connect people with pertinent information that meets their current needs. Technology

offered through public library services can be uncharted territory for patrons and I often find that

utilizing my newfound knowledge is the most useful for explaining “issues” that arise in

technologies offered, as well as commonly used search engines that we often take for granted

such as Google.

Learning Goals & Outcomes 4 & 5

As I began to match work I had completed during my tenure in this program to SOIS

learning goals and outcomes I found myself aware that the first 3 goals, and their associated
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outcomes, set the foundation for MLIS students to understand essential theories and principles of

the LIS profession, and that goals 4 & 5 empower students to build upon their learned knowledge

of themselves, theories, and principles and actively apply them in ways that contribute positively

to the LIS profession. In short, the ability for one to cognitively understand how something

works is vastly different than the ability to build upon this knowledge and appropriately apply it

to professional practice. And although the majority of my chosen artifacts for SOIS goals 4 & 5

are simulations for real-life practice, I see them as authentic representations of the type of work

that I plan to bring into professional practice.

The artifact chosen for outcome 4a is the most pragmatic proposal that I have written and

showcased within this e-portfolio. This action research proposal reflects the type of research that

I am likely to conduct throughout my career as a public librarian in that it seeks to evaluate

existing information literacy services for efficacy. As information platforms grow and evolve,

what it means to be information-literate changes alongside them. As a future LIS professional

who seeks to uphold the public library’s mission to be a learning space for all, I acknowledge

that the need for ongoing evaluation of information literacy services remains, in my opinion,

amongst the most critical tasks of a public librarian. Although the mission of the public library

has evolved with society it persists as a space for those who cannot afford the privilege of higher

education to turn to in order to fulfill their information needs. Information literacy, as a concept,

covers a wide range of information platforms including digital resources, and seeks to develop

the necessary skills for effective search, retrieval, evaluation, and application of information. An

example of a way that the concept of information literacy can be built upon within a public

library is exhibited in my artifact for outcome 4c, a program lesson plan for a workshop that

seeks to identify what a digital filter bubble is and its impact on search results.
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Unquestionably, programs and proposals can’t be initiated without LIS professionals

being able to effectively communicate with those within and outside of the LIS profession. The

ability to connect with people both through spoken and written word is something that I am

constantly reworking, examples of such are highlighted in my selected artifacts for outcomes 5a

and 5b. Through applying effective communication, I can act as an advocate and leader of the

public library to promote the value of its resources and maintain pertinent resources. In doing so,

a common understanding of community needs can be achieved, thus solidifying the library’s

standing as a relevant community-oriented hub.

Conclusion

To conclude I want to share an excerpt from my personal statement written for my

application to this program that I feel perfectly surmised what the outcome of attendance of this

program would be, “as a person with an omnipresent passion for learning, I strive to develop an

expansive knowledge base in order to better understand my personal story, and the stories of

those that surround me…I am excited by the prospect of attending Dominican University’s

program because it will push me to think outside of the box, in turn, developing a deeper

understanding of the world and subsequently, myself”. My time as an MLIS student has been a

period of great growth, for it is has been during this time that I found my professional identity

within the LIS profession, became empowered to advocate for those whose voices are less

frequently heard, and began to look towards the future in a way that finds inspiration in the

present. This e-portfolio is an accurate, albeit small, representation of the caliber and type of

work that I have completed for coursework, as well as real-life applications of LIS theories and

principles within library jobs that I have held. I find the LIS profession to be an exciting,

evolving career. An evolution that I have experienced since beginning my studies within this
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program, as I first set out to become an archivist before I realized that I am better suited to serve

the information profession within the public sphere; a realization that at first surprised me but in

retrospect feels like it was inevitable. Furthermore, it was through LIS courses that I came to

realize the community orientation of the LIS profession and, most specifically, the public library.

I believe that it will be through my future work in a public library that I can utilize my platform

as a community leader to create an information landscape that provides the general public with

equitable access, intellectual freedom, sustainable resources, and up-to-date technologies that

generate an emboldened future that impacts society at a local and global level.