Each graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program is able to demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for professional collaboration and presentations.
One of the most difficult aspects, for me personally, of my time in the iSchool program has been the aspect which called for group work. This has meant using special computer tools such as Collaborate, to hold voice over IP communications with people far removed from me in geographical distance, and across time zones (I have always had to calculate an hour ahead for most of my Collaborate meetings, since most of the students I have worked with were in GMT- 8 Pacific Time Zone, and I live in GMT -7 Mountain Time Zone). I have tried to use this tool as little as possible because I have found it difficult with family demands to find the time to attend more Collaborate meetings. Instead of conducting most of my meetings in class work, I have used e-mail and newer collaborative tools such as Google Docs to conduct class work and communicate in a collaborative way with classmates. However, in the work world of LIS professionals, collaboration is demanded. Some will take place in meetings, where you will have to make proposals to fellow professionals. If you are a library director, you will have to communicate the library’s needs and situation to the library board and to other community stakeholders. You will also need to communicate with patrons, through instructional programs and simply as part of the process of identifying the patron’s particular information needs. For my first piece of evidence, I am incorporating a written transcript of a Collaborate presentation I completed in concert with five other people for INFO 265. It is located on page 4. Note that my last name is misspelled as Ryan Calducci, rather than Ryan Kawaguchi as it should be. This presentation was discussion popular genres for young adults, and I specifically treated anime as one of the genres. I reviewed about 5 different anime series for the presentation. I specifically chose the written transcript over the audio recording to help the observer review my speaking skills and my words. There are some sounds transcribed into the presentation. The second piece of evidence I will be incorporating is a link to a Youtube video of a presentation I completed for INFO 200 in which I discussed the nature of invisible disabilities, specific disorders considered invisible disabilities, and ways that libraries can accommodate the needs of patrons with invisible disabilities.
Most communications will take place in-person, where my listeners will be able to identify visual cues such as body language, facial gestures, eye contact, and hand movement (through which a lot of non-verbal communication takes place). Being a person diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, it is sometimes difficult to pick up on non-verbal cues, but it is a vital part of the job description. It is important to not only learn how to be confident when you speak to other people, but also how to be sympathetic and to be attentive to your listener, to pick up the invisible cues. It is also important to develop presentation skills and know how to present information in a concise manner which presents information effectively without boring the listener. Presenting is also a major part of the teaching process, and people will receive auditory communications and then ask questions of you, or make comments. Other forms of communication will take place on-line and over the phone, where you will call people in other libraries. If you are a reference librarian, sometimes you will need to communicate with patrons over the phone, and I have found the RUSA guidelines particularly instructive in this regard with teaching me the protocols of communicating with patrons.