B. Describe and compare different organizational settings in which information professionals practice
INTRODUCTION
Many people might be surprised to realize how diverse the career opportunities are for Information Professionals (IPs), the term increasingly being used in conjunction with, or in place of, librarian. Aside from the more “traditional” libraries—public, school, and academic—there are specialty libraries such as law, government, medical, and patent. As we get further into the 21st century, options for IPs are endless. Technical Librarians have become integral to the software industry. According to Bedord (2018), “Google, now Alphabet, hires thousands of new employees every year. These new hires are not only coders, but also information professionals who understand user interface design and information architecture” (p. 69). The main focus of any library should be on connecting users with accurate, reliable information as well as providing equitable access to technology and other library resources. Regardless of the type of library setting, “a librarian’s job is all about information and its retrieval” (Kane, 2018, p.57). In this document I will compare the three types of libraries I have become familiar with through both my professional experience and my studies at SJSU: public, school, and academic.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The free resources a public library offers are vital to the communities they serve. I learned a lot about the ins and outs of how a public library works during my 19 years as a library assistant. First and foremost, working in a public library means daily interactions with a myriad of different people, “direct interaction with library users is essential to these types of positions, and you have to enjoy it” (Kane, 2018, p. 59). I thoroughly enjoyed my time working in a public library. Getting to know the regular library users and discussing books was one of the best parts of my job. The almost daily encounter with one or more eccentric personalities, meant there was never really a dull day in the library, “in public service positions, no day is ever exactly the same as the last, and you can ‘expect the unexpected’’ (Kane, 2018, p. 59). One of my co-workers used to joke that we should be on a sitcom, and we all agreed!
Most public libraries are governed by both a Board of Trustees and their local municipality. The Board of Trustees appoints a director, and establishes the policies and procedures of the library. The government provides the majority of the funding, including the salaries of all library staff. Generally, depending on the size and scope of the library, public libraries have reference, circulation, children’s, young adult, and technical service departments, staffed with both certified librarians and paraprofessionals.
Public libraries have had to expand their service model in order to stay relevant and meet the ever changing, diverse needs of the 21st century. No longer a simple brick and mortar building filled with books, public libraries have morphed into multipurpose, flexible spaces that provide a vast array of services and materials in a variety of formats to meet the needs of their specific community. While most libraries still offer “traditional” library programming such as story times, book clubs, and museum passes, many have evolved to encompass makerspaces, citizenship corners, tutoring for English language learners, cooking classes, help for job seekers, genealogy mapping, trivia and game nights, as well as a variety of e-resources including streaming services. Unique and special collections have also become very popular facets of the library “the best proof that public libraries are about more than just books is their evolution into libraries of things, offering nontraditional collections that are community-specific and imaginative” (ALA, 2020, para. 5).
Recently many public libraries have had to transition from face-to-face programming to completely virtual due to the novel coronavirus; COVID19. The way libraries adapted to the “new normal,” reinventing their whole system in order to be able to continue to serve patrons during the current global pandemic has been innovative, inspiring, and proof that service truly is their mission.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Three years ago, I went from working in a public library setting to a suburban high school in Massachusetts as a library media paraprofessional. Like the public library, the school library is service oriented, focused on students becoming career and college ready in the 21st century. A school library’s mission, policies, and procedures must align with that of the school it resides in. High school libraries, like public libraries are funded by the government. The budget for most high school libraries is determined by the principal and/or the school committee. A couple of key differences between the public library and the high school, aside from the hours, is the community served, and the number of staff members. While anyone may use a public library, the school library is only open to students and faculty members. Large inner-city public libraries may have hundreds of employees, while most middle and high school libraries are staffed with one certified library teacher and one assistant. At the elementary level, there is usually only one paraprofessional.
In order for students to be successful, school libraries have had to increase their focus on incorporating more technology driven services “although school libraries were once considered repositories of information, new technology requires learners to have the ability to locate, use, and create information using various technological tools” (Everhart, 2013, p. 15). By collaborating with classroom teachers, and with support from administration, school library teachers instruct students on becoming effective and ethical users of ideas and information, teaching students information literacy skills, with a goal of instilling a lifelong love of learning and reading.
Again, due to COVID19, school libraries have had to adapt many of their services. Any collaboration is now virtual, with the library teacher either creating short instructional videos for students and faculty, or joining the class live, remotely. Instead of teachers bringing their classes to the library to check out books, the library prepares book carts to send to classrooms as needed. Once a vibrant, energetic space, the library is now subdued; capacity is now limited to 50 students, spaced 6 feet apart, with plexiglass partitions at every station.
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
Comparable to school libraries, the mission of academic libraries is to support the goals, mission, and curriculum of the greater academic organization they belong to. The size and type of higher-education institution dictates; both the budget, and the number of staff needed to adequately serve the students and faculty. Depending on the specific needs of the college or university, academic librarians may be required to have a secondary degree or specific training in subjects such as; business, law, or medicine in order to effectively do their job “research university librarians are often subject matter experts who also hold an MLIS degree” (Bedord, 2018, p. 70). Similar to school libraries, an academic library’s resources are usually only available to students, faculty, and alumni. I have been fortunate enough to have experience with two types of academic libraries: physical and virtual.
While studying for my undergrad, I regularly took advantage of the library’s resources; its database collection, as a quiet place to study, a place to meet other students and work on group projects, and of course to check out books not available at the public library. Living in Massachusetts, I have never stepped foot inside SJSU’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. However, I have used the King Library databases extensively. I have been very grateful for all of the virtual reference services provided, live and through email communication. A positive aspect to my exclusively using virtual library resources is that my studies were not adversely affected during the current pandemic.
EVIDENCE
Info 233 School Library Media Center - The Ideal School Library
The Ideal School Library Assignment assigned in the School Library Media Center course had two components. A written paper describing my interpretation of the ideal school library, and an audiovisual component. For the paper portion, I incorporated what I think the library I work at does well, with extensive research on what the 21st century school library should look like. I then made a power point presentation highlighting the most important services and resources. In this assignment, I outlined the various component that make up a school library: staffing, budget, collection, physical space, mission, virtual presence, materials, and the atmosphere. I believe this assignment shows I have a clear understanding of the overall operation of school libraries, what is required to run an effective and equitable school library.
Professional Public and School Library Experience
I have over 19 years public library experience, and 2½ years working in a high school library. I am presenting two pieces of evidence to demonstrate my understanding of both public and school library environments. The first piece of evidence is my up-to-date resume documenting the variety of work experience I have in both public and school libraries. The second is a YouTube video I made for the 2020/21 school year’s virtual open house. I feel both pieces of evidence show my ability to understand the similarities and differences between public and school libraries.
Info 266 – Collection Management – Collection Development Comparison
In my Collection Management Course, each student had to choose a library to study and then submit a presentation on that library including the library’s collection development policy. After watching and discussing each student’s presentation, we were then required to submit a reflection, or “quick write” comparing and contrasting each library’s policy with the one we had studied. For this assignment I focused my presentation on the high school library I work in. In the quick write, I compared my collection development policy with four other school libraries, two public libraries, and four special libraries. Looking at policies from a variety of different libraries gave me a better insight and understanding of the way different libraries design their collections to fit the needs of the communities they serve. Public library collections are generally more broad in nature, trying to encompass the diverse needs of an entire community. School and academic libraries are housed in education facilities, therefore they base the majority of their collections on supporting the school’s curriculum. Special libraries, like their name, have specialized collections such as an art collection or a hops and brewing archive, making their collections unique to the individual institution. By completing this assignment, I believe I can distinguish between the various types of libraries, their individual needs, and missions.
Info 204 - Information Professions - Bundle 2
In the course, Information Professions we were required to write a weekly discussion post in response to the assigned chapter(s), respond to classmates discussion post, write two additional annotated citations, and then a summary of what we had learned. I believe my discussion post on week 7, p. 11, and my summary on p. 25 show that I have learned about the different types of career paths open to Information Professionals in the 21st century. In the week 7 discussion post, I talked about some of the options now available to IPs due to our technology driven society. Students graduating with an MLIS have opportunities available to them that the librarians of yesterday could not fathom, including; digital asset manager, due diligence/fraud research specialist, knowledge center head of operations, and social media specialist. In the summary on p. 25, I discuss what I have learned regarding the different roles an IP can fulfill, while keeping in mind that regardless of where an IP chooses to work, there are some defining characteristics that all IP’s should possess: interpersonal communication skills, a commitment to lifelong learning, and the ability to help library users find accurate and reliable information.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, as someone who has transitioned to working in a school library from a public library system, I feel I have a clear understanding of these two types of libraries. Through my studies at SJSU, and my personal experiences using academic libraries, I feel I have a good grasp for how an academic library operates. I also believe this will help me in preparing students for the academic rigors of collegiate life, and the research expectations that will be placed on them in higher education learning institutions. Although I only briefly discussed special libraries in my introduction, I know through course work in both info 266 and info 204 that I have explored a number of special libraries and their unique attributes, giving me a sense for what constitutes a special library and what sets them apart from the more traditional types of libraries.
References
American Library Association. (2020, April 12). Public libraries. http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2020/public-libraries
Bedord, J. (2018). Where can you work with an MLIS? Extending your career reach. In K. Haycock & M.-J. Romaniuk (Eds.), The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts (2nd ed., pp. 69-84). Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO.
Everhart, N. (2013). Defining a vision of outstanding school libraries. Teacher Librarian, 41(1), 14-19. https://search-ebscohost-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=91262433&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Kane, L. T. (2018). Careers for the information professional. In K. Haycock & M.-J. Romaniuk (Eds.), The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts (2nd ed., pp. 57-68). Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO.