Introduction
I attended San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science’s graduate program as a distance learner, working towards the terminal degree of Master of Library and Information Science. This e-portfolio represents my two-and-a-half years of professional study at SJSU, as well as professional enrichment earned while volunteering in my community.
I began my e-portfolio by evaluating the competencies and making a worksheet of likely sources of evidence. I then created a Google document for each competency’s essay and devised a schedule of work where I could complete two essays a week on average. This method allowed me ample time to devote to my other classes, and prevented me from “burning out” when faced with what amounted to a thesis, completed in parts. I handled this project like I do other very large tasks: one step at a time.
Every week during my final term, usually on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I would open up my essays and evaluate what felt achievable that day. Sometimes I would end up working on several competencies at once, and adding a sentence or sometimes an entire section to the essay. Other days I would concentrate on finishing my two for the week, so as to keep on schedule. I tried to be clear, concise and effective in my writing, and referencing my coursework frequently was a big help in this effort.
Some of the competencies appeal more to my personal interests than others; my degree focus was digital services, so the more ‘computer-related’ competencies inevitably ended up getting written earlier. Each competency essay is labeled with its corresponding portfolio number and states its requirements in quotes at the top. They have been listed by number in the sidebar, and my statement of professional philosophy is included there as well. They all feature a conclusion statement which offers a quick overview of my thoughts on the competency and its importance to our field.
The arguments and explanations that comprise each essay are supported by at least three pieces of evidence that are linked at the bottom of each competency. Throughout my coursework I diligently saved assignments, presentations, discussion posts and anything else which I thought might prove useful in creating this summative project and in supplementing my technical knowledge. I also retained documents from my volunteer positions, whenever possible drawing upon examples from these professional experiences.
I volunteered at three different libraries while enrolled in this program, attempting to maximize my exposure to various aspects of information management. In early 2012 I assisted with collection maintenance of a small public library with diverse user populations. Over the summer of 2013 I designed several brand new curricula for the Adult Services department of the second-largest public library in Oregon while also volunteering in a local academic library’s Digital Initiatives department. As this academic volunteership allows me to directly contribute to an archival metadata migration project, employing technologies which strongly intersect with my future career development plans, I have continued to support this project throughout the completion of my MLIS. Many of my responsibilities in these organizations reflect upon my skills learned and honed in SJSU’s SLIS graduate program, and proved instrumental in reinforcing concepts and methodologies.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading these essays that comprise my professional portfolio and represent over two years of very intensive and highly rewarding learning.
The following courses constitute my graduate training, and thus represent the areas of MLIS skill development I have focused on most deliberately while pursuing my degree.
- 200 Information and Society
- 202 Information Retrieval
- 203 Online Social Networking: Technology and Tools
- 204 Information Organization and Management
- 268 History of Youth Literature
- 271A Genres and Topics in Youth Literature
- 240 Information Technology Tools and Applications
- 243 Systems Analysis
- 247 Vocabulary Design
- 242 Database Management
- 251 Web Usability
- 285 Research Methods in Libraries and Information Science
- 281 Metadata
- 246 XML
- 289 E-Portfolio