Vision Statement

As an academic librarian, I will strive to be a lifelong learner, meaning I will be open to change, eager to adapt, ready to engage with professional development opportunities, and welcome learning through partnership and community. I plan to readily engage in relational practice by developing and maintaining strong relationships with the various communities that utilize my library, focusing extensively on colleagues, faculty, and students (Fuhr & Popowich, 2022). 

I believe my librarianship should be patron-centered, therefore student-centered, and that I should seek to meet my patrons where they are in their knowledge journey. My pedagogy thus far has been adaptable and moldable depending on the needs and interest of the students and faculty I have worked with, which is something I plan to continue (Newton & Feinberg, 2019; Kostelecky et al., 2023a, pp. 109–135). I plan to embrace cultural humility which seeks to meaningfully dismantle the structures of oppression while simultaneously allowing users to decenter themselves and their perspectives to better identify and redress structural inequities and other forms of discrimination within my library system, as well as the services I strive to offer. Adapting my practices to better fit the cultural humility lens, I will seek to better understand my internal biases and work to limit them as I serve diverse and differently abled patrons (Kostelecky et al., 2023b). 

Information specialists wear many hats, in my opinion. At the most basic level, an information specialist is someone who guides users in gathering information, provides information skills and tools, helps users organize information resources, can both instruct and develop research strategies, provides basic reference help, and is someone who genuinely cares about research and information-seeking behavior. The professional role of the information specialist within the academic library structure is also complex. While assisting students in everything mentioned above, they also need to be able to teach information literacy; manage library collections; create campus-wide programs that focus on developing patrons research and literacy skills; develop and implement library instruction sessions or courses both in classrooms and remote; information specialist should work to increase the overall knowledge base of not only their students but also their institution for all research, teaching and learning. Information specialists must also understand their role in campus life as a form of stability. The best professional practices should include being adaptable and open-minded; librarians should make a commitment to lifelong learning; ethical conduct; seeking continuous improvement; working and evolving effective communication; and continuously advocating for libraries, information access, and literacy. 

Early in my time at the University of South Carolina in the M.L.I.S. program, I discovered a lot of what I thought to be common sense in librarianship not only had applicable terms in our field, but was considered a good-to-best practice. One of the terms I learned at USC defined much of what I was already doing at my current position: cultural humility. I come from a background in the fields of medicine, history, and recreation, and my previous experiences have led me to practicing something extremely similar to cultural humility. 

When selecting my classes for the M.L.I.S. program, I chose courses that I felt would best impact the academic institution I am currently employed at. The knowledge that has mattered the most to me, while completing this program, has been learned not specifically in any particular class, but over the kaleidoscope of courses. Some of the best ways to impact my current institution using knowledge gained from my time at USC include:

• Transforming our literacy program from just information literacy to encompass a refresher on foundational literacy, information literacy, for more advanced students critical information literacy, media literacy, news literacy, computer vs. digital literacy, civic and ethical literacy; 

• Modifying and adapting our instruction pedagogy for library staff who are teaching workshops and one-shots throughout the semester to better meet our students where they are in their knowledge bases; 

• Helping shape our new mission, vision and values statement not only for the library but for campus;

• Developing meaningful partnerships both on and off campus with assessment driven data to secure book donations, program creations, and community engagement. 

Coming into this program, I had no interest or intention in becoming friends with anyone in my cohort due to outside circumstances. I needed to complete my masters within a year of starting, so I am grateful that I had the right professors who with grace and humility reminded me that we are not islands alone. Librarians are a unique community: we have a fellowship between one another, even if our type of library is completely different, and we support and advocate universally for several of the same goals. “We are not alone” was my biggest take away from this learning experience. Not only is there literally a world of information out there, but there are hundreds (if not thousands) of librarians who are willing to share what they already know with each other. 

Within the next five years, I will assume the title of either Director of Stanley Library or Head of Information Services, depending on the needs of my institution. I will be accepting an additional role as coordinator of first year experiences alongside my duties within the library, as I’ve worked extensively with the program at Ferrum over the last three years. Following my acceptance of the offered positions from Ferrum, I plan to pursue my doctoral degree within the next three years, as well as entertain the possibility of undertaking a second master’s degree in History or English so that I may broaden my research and writing experience. 

As I continue my journey at Ferrum, I plan to continue my focused collection development to provide students who previously have felt invisible the chance to find their voice within the library. I hope to continue to provide a safe-space for students who are differently abled and diverse, while also promoting our differences as opportunities for interpersonal growth and open discourse. I hope to empower my students to reach for their dreams much like my previous professors encouraged me when I returned to Ferrum as a staff member following graduation, but most of all I hope to continue to be a lifelong learner, always eager for new information, technology, and concepts in pedagogy.