In Spring 2022, I began my studies with LIS 5100, “Foundations of Librarianship.” This class offered a good introduction to the values, ethics, and professional guidelines that shape the library profession and, in my day-to-day work as a Library Generalist (working in youth services, circulation, outreach, technical services, collection development, and collection maintenance), I was able to directly apply what I learned about through my studies.
One of the values that holds a special relevance for me is the importance of building diverse library collections that speak to a variety of perspectives. Being autistic and queer, I haven’t always had access to books that mirrored these perspectives. As an autistic person, especially, I haven’t always felt as though the library profession was welcoming to me.
Reading promotion project:
One of the highlights of LIS 5100 was to design a reading program. To fulfill this assignment, I utilized an idea that I actually wanted to implement at the school where I work, which was for students to be able to read-down the fines for lost or damaged library books.
I don’t want an unpaid fine, that a family can’t afford, to keep a child from getting books from their library. Not when it’s just so important for children to have access to books, and considering that sometimes, an assignment for school depends on the student checking out a book.
When designing this project, I looked at existing practices at a school and at a public library. Through implementing this project, I hope to eliminate barriers that prevent students from checking out books, and I am excited to continue my studies in Library and Information Science.
Selected works:
April 23, 2022: ‘Popular’ reading materials
April 22, 2022: State of America’s Libraries
April 7, 2022: Professional associations
March 27, 2022: ‘Elevator speech’ for school-library staffing
March 18, 2022: Exploring the ‘Diverse BookFinder’
March 6, 2022: Labeling systems for books
March 2, 2022: Extrinsic vs intrinsic goals for a reading program
Feb. 26, 2022: Collaboration between school and public libraries
Feb. 19, 2022: Libraries and people with disabilities
Feb. 19, 2022: Diverse populations need diverse library collections
Jan. 22, 2022: Digital collections in libraries