My path to Librarianship

This e-Portfolio represents the culmination of my three years of study in the Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program at San Jose State University. I earned my bachelor’s degree in English three decades ago in 1994, and while I knew then that a career involving literature and literacy would be ideal for me, the pressing needs of my young family led me down other pathways. I pursued a paralegal certificate in 1998 and began a career doing indigent defense work in the United States Federal Court system shortly thereafter. I continue in this vocation today, working full time as a litigation paralegal and branch librarian for the Office of the Federal Public Defender since 1999. While my career has been a fulfilling one in many ways, it has never been my heart’s true calling. With retirement looming, I decided to finally step into the world of librarianship, this time bringing a lifetime of real-world experience with me. It has been a tremendous, eye-opening challenge, and along the way I have discovered a profound desire to spend the next phase of my life setting my skills, experience, and enthusiasm to the task of opening access to the world information to others via special collections or archives. This e-Portfolio signifies my readiness to do just that, demonstrating my mastery of the 14 Core Competencies of the MLIS program.

Organization

This e-Portfolio is organized into four subsections, to include: this Introduction, Areas of Competency, a Conclusion, and a Statement of Affirmation. The Areas of Competency are further subdivided into sections A-H and J-O, each providing my explanation of that competency’s meaning and its significance to modern librarianship in its many variations, as well as demonstrative evidence of my proficiency in each area. The Conclusion will offer my reflections on the program and how I will put the skills and expertise I have gained to use to promote and embody the goals and values of the profession.  Lastly, the Statement of Affirmation will affirm that all work herein is my own original product. 

Methodology

Preparation of this e-Portfolio has been ongoing since the outset of my program. I have maintained folders for each course attended on my hard drive, as well as a cloud-based backup of the same. In these folders I have saved syllabi, assigned readings, class discussions, and all completed coursework, including hyperlinks and screenshots of work done on various outside platforms. I also maintained the Student Success Planner provided in Information 203 - Online Learning: Tools and Strategies for Success, tracking assignments, corresponding competencies, and grades received. This made gathering and sorting materials for the e-Portfolio Areas of Competency easy and efficient. In preparing each Area of Competency, I began with a review of each course syllabus to refresh my recollection of the class and its expected learning outcomes. I then studied the e-Portfolio handbook, blogs, and other materials to ensure my understanding of all requirements. That done, I was ready to select my best evidence for each competency area using the Student Success Planner as a guide to coursework, readings, and discussions representative of each competency’s stated objectives. Ultimately, I found that it was prudent to carefully read through all of my work in every class taken, as I frequently discovered that work product from an unexpected source was very good evidence in a competency area I had neither noted on my planner, nor sorted out previously. I set a personal goal of completing an average of two competency areas per week, as allowed by my work and family responsibilities. This schedule was sufficient to complete the e-Portfolio with adequate time for review, advisory input, and amendment. Finally, this e-Portfolio was assembled and uploaded to San Jose State University’s Canvas platform, with all evidence hyperlinked via Google Drive.