NARRATIVE
E-books, smartphones, 3D printers, Makerspaces, and other devices have transformed the technological landscape of the last several decades. Along with the changes in technology have come changes in people's expectations regarding information delivery. People want to access relevant information quickly, anywhere, anytime, and in a variety of formats. To respond to these expectations, contemporary library and information professionals must be adept at creating engaging visuals, audio, and text using a range of hardware and software tools.
Successful use of technology requires being mindful of the diversity of users being served. People have varying skill sets, hardware access, and comfort levels with technology. Marginalized and underserved populations in particular may have had limited opportunities to access certain technology and software applications in school due to the unequal distribution of educational funding across different neighborhoods. All information users are subject to information overload and may be overwhelmed by overly “busy” websites. Library and information professionals have to balance the need to reach diverse audiences with the equally important need to keep things simple and accessible.
As an MLIS student, I have learned multiple strategies for using technology to serve the needs of users. I have cultivated my technical skills by producing a podcast, building websites, and developing resource guides. These activities have prepared me to deliver services in a variety of formats to a range of user communities.
E-books, smartphones, 3D printers, Makerspaces, and other devices have transformed the technological landscape of the last several decades. Along with the changes in technology have come changes in people's expectations regarding information delivery. People want to access relevant information quickly, anywhere, anytime, and in a variety of formats. To respond to these expectations, contemporary library and information professionals must be adept at creating engaging visuals, audio, and text using a range of hardware and software tools.
Successful use of technology requires being mindful of the diversity of users being served. People have varying skill sets, hardware access, and comfort levels with technology. Marginalized and underserved populations in particular may have had limited opportunities to access certain technology and software applications in school due to the unequal distribution of educational funding across different neighborhoods. All information users are subject to information overload and may be overwhelmed by overly “busy” websites. Library and information professionals have to balance the need to reach diverse audiences with the equally important need to keep things simple and accessible.
As an MLIS student, I have learned multiple strategies for using technology to serve the needs of users. I have cultivated my technical skills by producing a podcast, building websites, and developing resource guides. These activities have prepared me to deliver services in a variety of formats to a range of user communities.
Using Technology, Part 1: Delivering Information
Throughout my time in the UNCG MLIS program, Professor Crumpton and other professors stressed the importance of having a high comfort level with technology. Having a fearless attitude toward technology empowers librarians to explore a variety of technological tools (not just the ones most familiar to us) when deciding how best to deliver information to library users.
While I did not come into the MLIS program with a technical degree, I have worked to develop proficiencies in various technologies during my time as a student. One example of this was in my use of Google Suite and Box applications during my practicum assignment. While I had experience using these applications in previous work environments, the practicum experience required me to build new competencies with these tools. Through daily practice, I was able to use them to create work-tracking and instructional documents for my supervisor and others on the project team.
Website development was another skill I acquired as an MLIS student. I created a resource website in the Wix platform for Professor Martin’s media production services class and a digital profile website in the WordPress platform for Professor Crumpton’s foundations class. In the latter website, I incorporated a blog about librarianship, learning experiences, and literacy. This was not a required component of the project, but I created it to gain experience conveying information in the blog medium. Many libraries use blogs to advertise events and communicate with their users. I have used my blog to communicate about library programs and initiatives (i.e. The Human Library and National Poetry Month), as well as about the sometimes overlooked but continued need for adult literacy and outreach services. In the months ahead, I plan to write more blog posts about library service in minority, marginalized, and underserved communities, some of which will likely be inspired by my outreach work.
Throughout my time in the UNCG MLIS program, Professor Crumpton and other professors stressed the importance of having a high comfort level with technology. Having a fearless attitude toward technology empowers librarians to explore a variety of technological tools (not just the ones most familiar to us) when deciding how best to deliver information to library users.
While I did not come into the MLIS program with a technical degree, I have worked to develop proficiencies in various technologies during my time as a student. One example of this was in my use of Google Suite and Box applications during my practicum assignment. While I had experience using these applications in previous work environments, the practicum experience required me to build new competencies with these tools. Through daily practice, I was able to use them to create work-tracking and instructional documents for my supervisor and others on the project team.
Website development was another skill I acquired as an MLIS student. I created a resource website in the Wix platform for Professor Martin’s media production services class and a digital profile website in the WordPress platform for Professor Crumpton’s foundations class. In the latter website, I incorporated a blog about librarianship, learning experiences, and literacy. This was not a required component of the project, but I created it to gain experience conveying information in the blog medium. Many libraries use blogs to advertise events and communicate with their users. I have used my blog to communicate about library programs and initiatives (i.e. The Human Library and National Poetry Month), as well as about the sometimes overlooked but continued need for adult literacy and outreach services. In the months ahead, I plan to write more blog posts about library service in minority, marginalized, and underserved communities, some of which will likely be inspired by my outreach work.
Using Technology, Part 2: Teaching Others
My time as an MLIS student was my first experience earning a degree in an online learning environment. While I had taken online learning modules in the past and even set up courses in the Blackboard course management system, I had no experience with the Canvas system used by UNCG. Navigating the features of Canvas and delivering class presentations in the system’s embedded WebEx platform exposed me to some of the challenges library users might face when using unfamiliar library technology. It also taught me how one can use a learning management system to foster intellectual inquiry across geographic boundaries. My experiences in Canvas will inform any future online instructional or reference work I might do in a library setting.
The teaching role of librarians was emphasized in several of my MLIS courses. Teaching with technology was a topic of special interest in Professor Daniel Martin’s media production services course and Dr. LaTesha Velez’s information literacy course. In Professor Martin’s course, I created a short video tutorial on the features of the Wix.com platform, as well as an online oral history training module with visual, audio, and text components. In Dr. Velez’s course, I produced a podcast on the information literacy strategies of incarcerated women that featured commentary, interviews, and background music. The podcast allows for more dynamic engagement with research than might be possible with a scholarly article or a lecture. To illustrate how I would provide the podcast content for deaf and hearing impaired listeners, I included a transcript of the podcast introduction in the Learning Artifacts section of this learning outcome.
My use of nontraditional platforms like podcasts to convey research is tied directly to my interest in challenging traditional scholarly norms. The voices of marginalized individuals often go unheard in the academic landscape due to the broader public's limited access to the scholarly arena and, frankly, a lack of interest among many scholars in broadening the scholarly discussion to include more voices. Through podcasting, blogging, and other popular formats, I hope to highlight the perspectives of marginalized individuals within the world of library and information studies scholarship in ways that will appeal to the public at large.
Using Technology, Part 3: Providing Reference
Librarians introduce people to the resources and tools they need to expand their knowledge. One way they do this is through reference sites and guides. As an MLIS student, I created two such guides: a LibGuide on atheism in the United States and a resource site for aspiring oral historians. For both projects, I drew on the principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which encourages instructors to acknowledge and cater to different learning styles through use of teaching materials that engage multiple sensory channels. In addition to these projects, I created a cataloging resource page to assist me with any cataloging work I might do in a future librarian role. This resource page, which I built as part of an independent study I did with Dr. Sonia Archer Capuzzo, includes links to cataloging guidelines as well as sample catalog records. Although this site would not be used by library patrons, the guidance it provides will help me create cataloging records that are responsive to patron’s information needs.
Creating the LibGuide and sample catalog records taught me just how much power a librarian can have when it comes to influencing how people think about and research different topics. I found myself struggling with how much or how little to include in the LibGuide and which subject headings to use when describing books. No matter how balanced a perspective a librarian attempts to maintain, a certain amount of personal judgement and subjectivity is inherent in the process of identifying and naming resources.
In creating resource guides, catalog records, and metadata items, I want to avoid reinforcing biases and stereotypes that will further marginalize people who may have, through past experience, already been made to feel as if they do not belong at the library. To do this, I must not only be conscious of my own biases, but I must also have a firm grasp of the technology that can make it so easy to put people in boxes and categories without questioning how or by whom those boxes and categories were created. Being fluent with the technology used to create reference guides and catalog records will help me be a better advocate for marginalized and minority populations who may be inaccurately represented in library reference tools or metadata.