"and what is that?"
"I am a librarian."
Rachel Weisz as Evie in The Mummy, Universal Studios, 1999.
This is, to me, the ultimate expression of the value of librarianism. Well, that and all of the value that librarians provide in the worlds of cataloging, reference and just generally providing access to books and other information. But The Mummy has fights and explosions and Brendan Fraser.
This portfolio is meant as a demonstration of everything I have done in pursuit of this degree, as well as other parts of my life to make myself ready to provide the same value and level of service in the world that my predecessors have, and to do so in the face of rapidly changing technology and the definition of the word itself. It is also supposed to answer the question of "what kind of librarian I want to be?"
Showing what I've done and why I would be a good library professional seems fairly easy. Below are a range of links to artifacts and comments on my overall processes.
What kind is a little harder. In a job interview some months ago, I was asked "Why do you want to work in a public library?" I had the worst time answering that question because the first answer that popped into my head was, "why wouldn't I?" School and life are learn as we go. I've said since I first read the term (in some Journal of American Folklore article whose title I can't remember) that I wanted to be a "scholar dilettante" and I think I've managed that. However, that means my scattered skills are not always what I'd like or what they should be. Or as organized as they need to be. But they are many and varied and can be expanded upon.
Julia's CVs
Beyond practical experience in teaching and through volunteering, there's the Directed Fieldwork I did for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) over the summer of 2010. This was actually in archiving, which is something I have loved since my time at MUNFLA (Memorial University Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive) when I was a Folklore graduate student in the late 1990s.
For three months I worked to help the Seattle branch of DARRP (Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program) create a process for archiving their case law documents with the National Archives, as well as to begin the process of transferring the documents themselves. This has led to a further position with them which will begin in November of 2010 and last through the end of the year, as that is when I hope to graduate and the current job is a student position. Ideally a way will be found to continue this after that time.
Products of NOAA work
Another aspect of my MLIS studies that have helped me in several areas, especially the NOAA work, but also in researching teaching others ways to research was LIS526GovDocs. This course gave me a wonderful window into the impossibly wide range of government documents and resources that are available, especially on the web. It also showed why there's so much information and why it's so hard compress down.
The other things I do are write and edit. I was Managing Editor of the graduate Folklore journal Culture & Tradition and I've followed that up by volunteering with the iSchool newsletter, The Silverfish and as an associate editor with the newly revived online journal New Directions in Folklore. I've also published a book review and short note piece there and done a peer review for the Library Student Journal, although I can't find anything on their website that proves I've done this.
That it happened to be actually published shortly after I started this program is coincidental, but my three entries in the Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife also show my skills at researching, gathering information and presenting it in a way that is comprehensible to others.
I also write fiction and have had three pieces picked up by zines, but that isn't really part of the academic world, although I've linked one example anyway.
The Pig's End
The academic world has provided me with a lot in the way of thought and study.
For example, in the course of my MLIS studies at UW I have learned about creating literature reviews and some of the values of social networking:
Facebook Lit Review
This has taught me more about researching and not only helped my own work, but my teaching. For example, I've just finished up teaching two composition courses at DeVry University, and the skills I've gained in many of my classes were applicable to helping me help others become better writers. The coursework here has also certainly improved my ability to instruct on information literacy and becoming better researchers, which is something that younger students in particular need help with, when they've grown up knowing you can Google anything.
This teaching skill can be exemplified in work I did in LIS560 -- the course about teaching -- where I expanded upon my work on and knowledge of the impact of death beliefs on real estate sales:
Management is an essential aspect of any field of librarianship, as well archiving and absolutely when it comes to teaching. Management comes in many different shapes and forms, but it all comes down to knowing how to work with people and to get them to work with you with as few disasters as possible. Except in the area of teaching, my practical experience has been more in the realm of the managed than the managing, but I embrace the possibility of that kind of challenge. I like people, I'm good with them, and I often have ideas. In more than one of his books Terry Pratchett has noted that people often say "Someone should do something," but very few follow up with a willingness that that someone be them. Effective management means accepting that it should be you.
I've also taken courses in cataloging and reference services, both of which are still crucial library services, despite many of the things that are happening that try to make them seem less vital. For example, I'm currently taking a course called "Indigenous Systems of Knowledge," that shows how vital it is to create a new catalog that incorporates the Indigenous terms for things -- themselves for example -- alongside the terms the colonizers put in place and which have become dominant despite work to reclaim ownership. The electronic media we have today is ideal for facilitating that process, but catalogers are required too. It was probably my worst subject, but as often happens with me, one I think I could love in the practical world.
Collection Development Paper
Reference work was easier for me, although there too, there's plenty of room for improvement, but that only happens with practice. For this reason, I continue to sporadically volunteer with the IPL, as well as recommending it to my students as a resource.
IPL example
And of course, this blog was started for a class about intellectual freedom in libraries, to discuss my own personal feelings and hopefully, larger issues. In earlier parts of it can be found some reflections on other things I've done to try and make myself the best MLIS student I can. They can be found by tracing back from this point, but the two most specific are linked here:
And finally, for new and exciting things in my MLIS life, I'm taking LIS534 - "Indigenous Systems of Knowledge," which may be one of the most important courses extant, as it deals with a seriously marginalized and under-represented section of the population, both in the real world and in cataloging terms, and I'm co-blogging with a fellow Folklorist, who is also the Asian Studies Librarian at UCLA:
