|
SLO 1: Information for People
The evolution of libraries and information centers throughout their existence is fascinating, especially as it relates to technological advances, digital materials, and libraries as community centers. And yet, so many people still believe libraries are only about books, and that you need to be silent when you are there (if I had a nickel for every time I heard a parent shush a child . . . ). For the LIS 7010 (Introduction to LIS) biographical infographic, I chose to feature Sanford “Sandy” Berman. Berman, who was the 1977 Minnesota Librarian of the Year, was known for drawing attention to the prevalence of harmful, outdated and racist, sexist, etc. language used in Library of Congress subject headings. He worked ceaselessly to get them changed to more accurate, appropriate, and non-offensive headings, so as to better accommodate the needs of library users. (BI-e) The Welcoming the Dear Neighbor (WTDN) community engaged learning project for LIS 7710 (Public Libraries) provided an opportunity to go beyond reading about social justice to being an active participant in supporting a community initiative focused on social justice. As a member of a six-person team tasked with examining St. Paul Public Library (SPPL) archives in search of evidence of racism, I was able to delve into the history of this public library system in Minnesota and read firsthand accounts of library life from librarians participating in library board and library council meetings in the early 1900s. In searching through the archives, instead of evidence of racism, our team found that SPPL made conscious, deliberate efforts to engage with and reach out to the whole community. In reading through the history of SPPL, we were able to identify the community members who played a role in the establishment of SPPL and its leadership (the people who held the power and created the library’s policies). We closely examined library board and council minutes, marketing materials, newspaper clippings, Library Beacons and other documents, in order to determine whether SPPL exhibited racism or discriminatory practices in its operations. What we discovered was evidence demonstrating that SPPL prioritized reaching the marginalized, underserved, and often forgotten members of the community (home bound, imprisoned, those without access to transportation, foreign-born, etc.) as much as they worked to provide service to those who crossed the library’s threshold. Our team compiled photographs and notes, compared and analyzed them, then created a slide presentation for WTDN, which highlighted our findings. (BI-a,c,e) SLO 2: Social Justice That St. Kate’s MLIS program is social justice oriented is easily my favorite aspect of the program. In every course, I have been encouraged to examine principles of librarianship through a social justice lens, which has enabled me to view these principles in a broader social context and take into account issues of equity, diversity and inclusion. I no longer simply look at a library display, reading list, program plan, marketing plan, etc. from my own narrow perspective, but consider the wider community and their perspectives. (BI-e) When planning the caregiver presentation for LIS 7230 (Services for Children & Young Adults), I was deliberate in choosing images for the slides that represented diverse groups of people and multiple types of family units. I took care to use language that was gender neutral and spoke of ‘caregivers’ as opposed to ‘parents’, as not all who are preparing to welcome a newborn are the child’s parents. If giving this presentation in person (for class, it was over Zoom), I would bring a diverse array of board books for attendees to peruse, making sure multiple races, ethnicities, abilities, etc. were represented in both the authors and subjects of the books. One aspect of ECRR (Every Child Ready to Read) that I should have addressed in the presentation is encouraging caregivers for whom English is not their first language to read and speak to their newborn in their native language too, which exposes the child to an even wider range of vocabulary. Plus, the caregiver may be better able to express feelings and give explanations in their native language. (BI-d) We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and the #OwnVoices hashtag were the subjects of my IGNITE presentation for LIS 7010 (Introduction to LIS). In an effort to ensure that all the world’s children can see themselves in the books they read, WNDB works to mentor and support diverse authors, illustrators, and people in publishing, to celebrate diversity in kid lit, and to get those books into our nation’s classrooms. #OwnVoices was initiated by author Corinne Duyvis, with the intention of indicating that she wrote the autistic main character in her novel On the Edge of Gone from the perspective of someone who shares the same identity. The hashtag took off as a way to indicate authority or authenticity of book characters based on the identities of the books’ authors. Just as is it vital that all children are able to see themselves in books, it is imperative that children see authors and illustrators who look like them. [Note: WNDB no longer uses the hashtag #OwnVoices, out of concern that it can be used as a weapon against the marginalized authors it was intended to uplift.] (BI-a, b, c, d) For a small group book club in LIS 7190 (Social Justice in Children’s & YA Lit), our group focused on food insecurity, and the discussion I led featured the children’s book Poverty and Hunger, by Louise Spilsbury and Hanane Kai. While taking LIS 7190, I realized just how many issues social justice encompasses. I had been limiting my understanding of social justice issues to those pertaining to race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ (basically, the more visible ones), but hadn’t even thought about issues such as food insecurity, class/caste dynamics, environmental justice, mental health stigma, and others that may be less visible or not the current “hot topic.” As library professionals, we need to be aware of the social justice issues affecting the people in the communities we serve, partner with organizations that may specialize in dealing with those issues, and advocate for library programs and resources that will benefit people who are struggling or suffering. Likewise, as library professionals, we should to strive to increase awareness of the issues within our communities and position the library as a leading organization working toward community wellness. (BI-a, b, c, d, e) SLO 3: Research Preparing the bibliography plan for LIS 7040 (Information Access Services) provided an excellent opportunity to hone a variety of personal skills in researching and to increase my confidence in my ability to assist others in accessing information. I split the project into two parts, to first determine the intention of the phrase "separation of church and state" and to then examine how it applied to clergy in regard to what they are allowed (or not allowed) to say in church regarding political issues. For the first half of the project, I searched subject-specific databases (law, political science, and theology and religion); and for the second half, I searched theology and religion databases as well as general/multidisciplinary databases. The second half proved more challenging that the first, as it was trickier to think of search terms to adequately define what I was seeking. In addition to honing my research skills, I gained more experience with analyzing the process of researching, evaluating reference sources, mining for optimal search terms, and recognizing personal struggles and successes along the way. I also spent a considerable amount of time in the seventh edition of the Concise Guide to APA Style to make sure I was getting the citations right. (BI-c,d,e) Further developing my research skills, I worked with three others to prepare a research proposal for LIS 7050 (Research Methods for LIS) on augmented reality (AR) in public libraries. I really appreciated experiencing each of the steps in the process of developing this proposal and then presenting it in class. Learning about augmented reality and the potential uses for AR in libraries was interesting and exciting. (BI-b,c,d,e) SLO 4: Technology During my first semester in the program, I created an IGNITE presentation for LIS 7010 (Introduction to LIS). Having not previously heard of an IGNITE presentation, I viewed a few to see what they were like. Researching my chosen subjects (We Need Diverse Books and #OwnVoices) was the easy part; condensing the information into twenty, 15-second sound bites was very challenging. Having never before created a timed slide presentation with audio, meant watching a few tutorials. I was nervous to begin, and it certainly took many takes and continuous editing, but I eventually accomplished it and am grateful for the experience. It's always a bit scary to try something new (especially when you'll be graded on it!), but considering I entered the MLIS program 26 years after finishing my undergraduate degree, I anticipated having a lot of new things to try. (BI-a,b,e,) Creating an online tutorial for LIS 7640 (Information Literacy Instruction) gave me the opportunity to learn more about a public library service, then create an online tutorial to educate others about the service and instruct them on how to use it. I chose to create an online tutorial about hoopla, a free-to-patrons, digital streaming service offered by many public libraries. The assignment was to “apply learning theory and incorporate critical thinking strategies” (Yukawa, n.d.) and create a concise, user-friendly, accessible tutorial that incorporated interactive elements (such as quizzes). Having no prior experience with creating an online tutorial, I was quite intimidated by the idea; however, once I began the process, I found it to be rather exciting, and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to create a final product that looked and sounded like it was created by someone who knew what she was doing. I won’t go so far as to say it looked like it was created by a professional, but I was able to successfully create a digital instructional element to communicate information to public library users. (BI-a,e,f) SLO 5: Literacy and Learning I have always had a heart for working with children, so preparing a storytime plan for LIS 7230 (Services for Children and Young Adults) was a joy. Instead of a traditional storytime held in the library, I created a plan (plus a flyer and storytime "rules") for an after school storytime for first-, second-, and third-graders at the drop-in center of a local elementary school. The theme, “Pictures Without Words, Words Without Pictures,” was designed to show kids that there are books created for them that are different than the picture books (with pictures and words) that they are used to seeing, which allow them to imagine what is not on the page in front of them. (BI-b,c,f) For my LIS 7640 (Information Literacy Instruction) teaching demonstration, I chose to create a lesson for senior citizens in a public library setting on how to create strong and unique passwords for online accounts. Throughout the semester, the course readings and text provided extensive insight into various taxonomies, teaching and learning approaches, and pedagogies (particularly Char Booth’s USER Method, Wiggins & McTighe’s Understanding by Design, and British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Learning and Teaching Framework). Information gleaned from the readings helped to inform my process of successfully creating and executing a teaching demonstration at the end of the semester, which I plan to utilize in a public library position in the future. (BI-b,c,e) SLO 6: Leadership For the final paper for LIS 7700 (Management of Libraries and Information Centers), I worked with two classmates creating a proposal for implementing (or continuing) Curbside Pickup at libraries. When libraries were directed to close their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, librarians got created and found ways to implement touchless, curbside pickup service for their patrons. Considering the success of curbside pickup in the retail market, our group proposed that libraries that offered the service when their buildings were closed should continuing offering the service and those not already using it should implement the service. Our team collaborated well throughout the process of determining a problem statement, gathering information for the lit review, proposing solutions, researching equipment and pricing, and composing our final paper and presentation. (BI-c,d) When creating a library advocacy plan for LIS 7160 (Leadership in Theory & Practice), I chose to focus on outreach. I believe that if we want to have a true and lasting impact on the lives of others, we need to meet people where they are. As library professionals, it is natural to focus our time and energy on the programs we host and the people we serve within the walls of the library. That said, it is imperative that we recognize that there are people in our communities that will never cross the threshold of the library, and that doesn’t mean we aren’t still called to serve them. Providing library services offsite may have its challenges, but I will always advocate for meeting people where they, which is what true library outreach looks like. (BI-e) Conclusion When I began my journey in the MLIS program at St. Kate's, I anticipated a steep learning curve in regard to the technology I would be required to utilize, especially considering the program would begin completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was nervous but trusted that between St. Kate's faculty, my peers, and my adult children, I would be able navigate the new (to me) technology. My confidence in learning new technologies and the ways in which they can be applied has increased over the course of the past three years, and I feel better equipped to assist others -- not only in learning new tech, but also in overcoming their fears of giving new tech a try. In addition to the growth I have experienced in regard to tech usage, my skills as a researcher have improved, particularly my ability to critically evaluate research produced by others, and I have come to realize I enjoy the process of conducting research a great deal, which was a surprise to me. Issues of social justice have always affected me deeply, and this program has both broadened my awareness of the breadth of issues plaguing our communities and deepened my understanding of those issues. What's more, the St. Kate's MLIS program has provided me with the tools to move from education to advocacy -- to take what I have learned and use it to better minister to the people I have been called to serve as a librarian. |
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)1 Information for People
Demonstrate understanding of the philosophical, historical, and ethical foundations of the field and apply library and information science principles and practices. 2 Social Justice Demonstrate understanding of issues of power, privilege, and marginalization in society and in the LIS professions in order to analyze inequities in library and information services and work to empower marginalized groups. 3 Research Demonstrate understanding of research methods and the interdisciplinary nature of LIS in order to apply research methods to improve practice, critically evaluate the work of others, and answer questions in the profession. 4 Technology Demonstrate understanding of the social, cultural, and ethical implications of technologies and use this understanding to critically analyze, select, use, apply, and evaluate technologies in the information environment. 5 Literacy and Learning Demonstrate understanding of the evolving set of literacy skills and ways to promote literacy learning for self-actualization and participation in a global society. 6 Leadership Demonstrate understanding of and apply principles of leadership, management, advocacy, and communication to professional practice. |