Demonstrate information literacy and technological agility.
5.1 Exercise expert information literacy skills including the ability to identify information needs, search, evaluate, produce, and use information ethically.
To me, the ability to exercise information literacy skills is crucial to navigating all walks of life from the reference desk to reading the news or even just within casual conversation with friends or family. People need to be aware of different ways to narrow down their own information need, conduct their own reliable research, evaluate said sources based on a number of different criteria that fit the specific source, and to use the information they found to understand the best way to use this information. Due to how easy it is to fall for false information it is critical that everyone be aware of how to disseminate, evaluate, and review information. In libraries and archives require not only the ability to exercise information literacy, but the ability to teach others about information literacy and guide them on their way to developing key skills.
Over the course of my studies, I have worked demonstrated my own expert information literacy skills through different research projects and through my attempts to create lesson planning with the goal of providing expert information literacy skills to students. A reference scenario project demonstrates all of the key skills required for one to be an expert in information literacy such as the ability to narrow down information needs, conduct thoughtful research, deeply evaluate each source being users, and explain how each source might be used based on the given information need. There are fifteen sources provided, each of which demonstrate each of the key information literacy points. Other sources such as a teaching portfolio and a primary source instruction session lesson plan for first year college students also demonstrate the teaching aspect in regard to critical source evaluation and information dissemination.
In the future I plan not only to continue utilizing an sharing my knowledge of information literacy, which will be done in the classroom, at the reference desk, and in archives evaluating artifacts, but also through my continued learning as expert information literacy skills require continued learning to be well informed
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5.3 Employ research methods to investigate important questions; collect, analyze, evaluate, and communicate data; and interpret results from studies in library and information science and cognate fields.
Much like information literacy skills, employing research methods to investigate questions requires developing and updating different skills related to information evaluation, organization, and communicating which all need to be interpreted to develop a comprehensive picture. Knowledge regarding how to use databases, utilize Boolean operators, and navigate search results are also essential research skills.
I have demonstrated my ability to employ research methods to investigate important questions through a number of different projects. My reference scenario project has fifteen individual sources, each of which contains a section detailing my research process. Other projects such as a timeline summary of the history of modern books called The history of the book timeline demonstrates my ability to collect information from a source, interpreting its meaning, and communicating it to others. A paper on born digital artifacts communicates my ability to investigate and research questions that arise throughout my studies. A report on information objects metadata gives insight into my knowledge and progressive growth regarding different database/library catalogue systems and how they produce different results based on their background systems.
In the future I plan to continue to employ research methods whether it involves helping others conduct research or conducting it on my own. I plan to continue to learn different database systems in order to easily navigate multiple interfaces for an easier time conducting my own research as well as continuing to learn about the best research practices. The ability to employ research methods in a variety of ways is a critical skill no matter the field I choose but given my choice of career field it is absolutely vital I continue to learn more.
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5.2 Apply knowledge of user information behavior in various contexts.
Applying knowledge of user information behavior means taking the information gathered from community feedback, internal usage statistics, and any other form of data that provides a comprehensive picture of user behavior within an institution and applying said data in the field or to simply help patrons fulfill their information needs. This data is critical for tasks such as weeding old library books that are no longer being checked out or helping determine what programming the library should offer. User information behavior is also critical regarding more one on one encounters which involve assisting patrons fulfill their information needs. Here the librarian needs to be willing to ask for more information to help narrow down the user’s information need. In either case the focus is on the gathering of information to solve crucial problems.
I have utilized user information behavior many different times. My first experience working with user information behavior was in a reference scenario project which saw me directly engage with a fictional user to determine what sources they would want based on their information need. The scenario focused on applying user information behavior to a reference desk scenario. Another experience I had applying such information was in a project which saw me create a school library reading buddies program. The program was created based on the needs of the school librarian and tailored based on research I conducted into reading buddy programs, specifically on how to best conduct the program with students of a certain age and the benefits of the program overall. Both projects had a heavy focus on user information being used to create better experiences for the user.
I plan to continue to utilize user information behavior to further improve upon programming and user experiences in my future career. Research and statistics as well as communication between institutions and patrons can greatly improve existing programming and work to tailor new programs to those who need them.
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5.4 Engage, evaluate, and deploy various technologies ethically and critically.
To me, Engaging, evaluating, and deploying various technologies ethically and critically means to be able to determine what technology best suits a particular job and to be able to utilize the chose technology in the correct manner.
I have demonstrated my ability to engage with, evaluate, and deploy various technologies through a number of different projects. A presentation of Artist books in Special collections show my ability to create slide shows for presentations, A reference scenario project clearly shows my ability to work with different search engines, databases, and library catalogues, and a school library reading buddies program I created highlights how I recommend different technologies to aid in programming. This portfolio also highlights my ability to choose a platform and create portfolio works on different website hosting platforms.
In the future I plan to continue to engage, evaluate, and deploy various technologies ethically and critically through my use of different platforms to create programming or conduct job-based tasks.
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Ian Murray 