Final Reflections

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end  

Seneca, mid-1st century Roman philosopher

The introductory course of my master's in library and information science program ends and the rest of my program begins.  My introductory course, Intro to the Information Profession, has laid down a foundation for me. 

We covered a multitude of topics.  That is the mark of excellence in an introductory course.  Expose the students to the major as a whole.  Spend time on the philosophy of the profession.  We started our course in just that way.  Our first discussion threads consisted of: What is information? What is a librarian? What is a library?  What is professionalism?  My definition of a library and a librarian, especially, grew over the semester and has become much more inclusive of a variety of settings and job descriptions.  

Our discussion board was an arena of growth for me.  I am continually amazed at what I learned over the semester from my classmates via the discussion threads.  I expected to learn from my professor and from my readings.  I did not expect to gain as much as I did from the discussion board.  I am in awe of the gifts and talents of my classmates and will continue to be in touch with them throughout my studies. 

I have to admit I was skeptical of the value of a team project in an online class.  How can one work together as a cohesive team on the internet?  (I know I sound old when I say that :)  But, I was proved wrong, once again, and find that the team projects were some of my favorite assignments this semester.  The "Think Tanks" did exactly what was intended.  Find resources, propose ideas, question, re-do, post for the class to see, think! discuss! re-think!  The team blog took me further into web page design then ever before and for that I am grateful for my teammates and their talents and patience.  My teammates and I learned from and leaned one another over the semester and I know I will call on them as I proceed through my classes.  I now recall Dr. Maatta explaining the reason for and the value of using this model of online teamwork based on her experience of continuing this forum in her professional career.  

As the semester draws to a close, I find my mind opening up to new possibilities.  My definitions of what a librarian does and where libraries are have expanded.  Where do I fit in? It may be in a public library and it may not.  It may look entirely different from what I first envisioned.  And that is exactly as it should be.  

The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Malcolm S. Forbes (1919-1990)

Revisit Assumptions, Assertions about LIS

The semester is winding down and it is time to revisit my assumptions and assertions about the library and information field I shared at the start of the semester.

1) Librarians are intelligent, service oriented people.

2) Librarians must stand strong against those who would ban books and other materials.

3) Libraries are valuable community assets.

When I first shared these assumptions and assertions, it was merely based upon my personal experience with librarians and libraries.  After my first LIS class and the readings and research we did for it, I feel I have more knowledge to back up my beliefs.

Librarians are intelligent, service oriented people:  While the intelligence factor may be impossible to measure across an entire profession, writings read across this semester underline this assumption.  The readings assigned were varied but many could be used as evidence of the intelligence of librarians across the decades.  Some fine examples include:

Ranganathan's five laws of librarianship states:

Books are for use

Every reader his book

Every books its reader

Save the time of the reader

The library is a growing organism
(Haycock and Sheldon, 2008)

These laws are as relevant today as they were when they were written.  One needs to only expand the definition of books to include resources and it's set for 2014 and beyond (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008). The final law which states of the ever growing library speaks to the changing nature of libraries.

My LIS leader assignment taught me much about the history of children's librarianship.  It also provided evidence for my belief in the intelligence and service of librarians.   Over the past century, few people have influenced children’s literature and library service more than Anne Carroll Moore.  Children’s librarians nationally and internationally knew her as the grande dame of children’s services, who first introduced those services to the New York Public Library.  For editors, publishers, and authors, Moore’s name was associated with the standards that laid the foundation for the newly emerging fields of children’s librarianship and children’s publishing (Cummins, 1999).   She believed in children and their right to their own books and library service.

Librarians must stand strong against those who would ban books and other materials: I still feel strongly about this and the responsibility librarians have for freedom of access.  However, my ethics assignment and feedback from Dr. Maatta taught me that work in ethics is never cut and dry.  Ethical decisions will always be tainted by one's own beliefs and the influence of the community in which you serve and must be handled as such.  Merely quoting the American Library Association's Code of Ethics and believing you have handled the situation is an oversimplification of the solution.  Thoughtful, thorough research and discussion with other professionals will serve me better in the future if and when I encounter ethical dilemmas in the library.

Libraries are valuable community assets:  My studies throughout the semester supported this assertion even more strongly than I first assumed it would.   In fact, the definition of library and community expanded as I studied.  Upon first declaring the above assertion, public libraries were my focus.  Upon spending a semester in my first LIS class, I have come to remember that there are a variety of libraries. There are public, academic, school, and many, many special libraries.  Each library unique and important to their community.  Many hours this semester were spent discussing, dissecting, and researching how to best serve the patrons of the libraries we serve or may serve some day.  The pew internet research center shared the following article on this very topic: Libraries and Learning Communities (Libraries, 2011).  I know I have just begun my study into the importance of the relationship between libraries and communities.

My assumptions and assertions still stand, but they now stand with a broader, sturdier base.

References:

Cummins, J. (1999). Moore than meets the eye. (legendary children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore). School Library Journal, (7). 26.   Available from: Academic OneFile, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 1, 2014.

Haycock, K. and Sheldon, B.  (Eds.). (2008).  The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Rainie, Lee. (2011, October 18).  Libraries and Learning Communities. Address at the Interent Librarian Conference.  Accessed at http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2011/10/18/libraries-and-learning-communities/

Professional Blogs

Librarians-in-training can gain insight into the library world by reading blogs written by librarians in the field.  One can easily find one or 50 to follow!  (I don't recommend trying to follow that many, however.)  But, I do suggest that you take a look at several to try them on, as it were, and see what is happening in their world.  Living in an age of instant access comes in handy sometimes.  We might as well take advantage of it and virtually visit several librarians and their libraries and see what we can learn.

I follow several blogs for personal enjoyment in my free time and I also read several blogs each week at work.  I follow YA literature reviewers to help me in my selection of books for my small library.  I also follow professional organization's blogs such as ASLC.  I have played with the idea of writing a blog myself, but this journal is my first attempt.  I have a new appreciation for how much time and effort goes into writing a blog that offers the right mix of substance and humorous anecdotes that would cause others to jump for joy to read!

Free image by Pixabay 

The blog written by Abby the Librarian caught my attention immediately.  She graduated with her MLIS degree in 2006 and started blogging in 2007.  She is a youth services librarian in a public library in Indiana and I was hoping to learn a few things from her.  She has not disappointed me! She shares her ideas freely with her readers and I have already implemented several of them at my library.  I have used some of her preschool story time programs and tips to bring in after school kids for programs.  In looking at her blog as a whole, you see she blogs most often about literature for all ages of children birth through teens and sharing ideas for programming for preschool-middle school.  She is well known in the youth services circles and occasionally has guest posts from other bloggers.  She writes about the highs (author interviews and presenting at ALA)  and lows ("When to call it quits with a program") of youth services librarianship.  I plan to keep following her as I enjoy her writing and more importantly, she makes my job easier.  

The second blog I started following this semester is written by an academic librarian who is the library director in a small, liberal arts college library.  Jessica Olin started writing her blog in 2011 as she wanted a place to communicate directly with library science graduate students and new professional librarians (Olin, 2014).  Because of this desire to connect with new librarians, she named her blog: Letters to a Young Librarian.   I enjoy following her blog because she does address topics that those of us that are new to the profession want to know about (even if we didn't realize it yet!).  She writes with candor and humor and also invites guests to write on a regular basis.  All of those factors lead to an interesting and informative read.  It reads as part advice column and part day in the life of a librarian.  It does lean more heavily towards an academic librarian but she is sensitive to that fact and covers things more generally and invites guests from other types of libraries for balance.  It is difficult to pinpoint what she most often writes about, but I guess one could say she writes about what it's like to be a librarian!  :)   Some of my favorite posts have been: To shush or not to shush , Small libraries are big with me,  I got a job, now what?, and Visiting other libraries to name just a few.  I will continue to follow Jessica's blog as well, as I find it informative and I always learn something new. 

References:

Johnson, Abby (2014, April 5).  About this blog.  Retrieved from http://www.abbythelibrarian.com

Olin, Jessica (2014, April 5).  About this blog.  Retrieved from           http://www.letterstoayounglibrarian.blogspot.com