Raven K

It will never get old how lively this class is, whether we are discussing difficult materials or going wildly off-topic as librarians are so known to do. The more I sit in and take in the course’s atmosphere, the more I am reminded of a professor who used to state that focusing history graduate students was like herding cats. He would often make several references throughout a seminar discussion about his inability to wrangle the “cats” of the class, and every time Kristin tries to get us back on topic, his voice pops into my head with a little chuckle stating, “It’s just like herding cats.”

Still, the inability to stay strictly on-topic is not necessarily a bad thing. Our anecdotes and branches bring in interesting qualities to our discussion that staying completely on-topic would never allow for. I think this was particularly highlighted, in a good way, through our brief presentations in the class this week, and emphasized why such paths are not necessarily hindering our learning in this profession. Librarians and other information professionals work with a variety of people at various education levels and other diversifying factors. General knowledge about an array of subjects, whether it is slang (“perfect 10”) or visual word mapping (“outer space”  “astrology”  “stars”), slightly off-topic discussions opens our minds to different subjects and ideas. The diverse collection of perspectives in such a small class I think is even more important for this type of learning. I know I have personally gone home from several questions and looked further into concepts, ideas, and subjects that have been brought up in class that I didn’t have a general working knowledge of when it was mentioned. I think it makes me a better student, in the long run.

A round discussion on readings in any course is always extremely helpful for me, but this one, in particular, was important. Due to the varying backgrounds of the classes in the entirety of the School of Information, everyone picks up on something different from readings. While this is true no matter what type of group you come in contact with, it is especially true in a program like this, and it is really appreciated. It is clear that there are several people in our class that are comfortable with Search and with Statistics. While I feel confident that I can often “muddle through,” I am not confident enough to consider myself comfortable with either. Hearing from these individuals and noting some of their thoughts on the readings actually helped me to further understand the pages of notes that I took on the material. Their perspectives and ideas actually make me want to become more comfortable. I know, especially as I reorient my way of thinking, that confidence is further being shaken. I knew how to conduct searches and write in my other focus, and now I feel as if I am in a foreign world trying to do the same for this focus. While the same principles should easily transfer from one profession to another, being confident in the types of sources and how to search for them does differ. The comments about both the statistical and search topics made me feel like it is possible to regain such confidence in this new field, by working with colleagues who understand certain aspects of information better than I do, and by employing new approaches to enhance my searching skills.

This week’s readings brought in a lot of information about the same subject in so many different ways that, at times, it was difficult to process. While I enjoyed the Markey chapters that addressed the more formal terminology in approaches to searches, I feel it was harder to comprehend because I first dealt with the Bergson-Michelson materials that address the same material in a much more informal way due to the audience she is often addressing. As she stated in her chapter, “informal language lightens the tone,” and while she was speaking of another scholar, I found Bergson-Michelson’s work much easier to digest because of the tone she took in both her webinar and her writing (Bergson-Michelson, 45).

Bergson-Michelson’s webinar made me think about sources in a more concrete terms than I ever have in research. The idea of imagining your source was a completely new subject to me. While she discussed this idea I understood it as the way I did process my search for sources, but having a way to organize my thoughts in such searches may have made research more productive in my past. This was made clearer as she began her discussion on the differences between fishing searches and stepping-stone sources. Being able to distinguish the two make searches and research more productive in the long run. She makes a statement that most students are not educated how to search, which I can agree with. My research practices, by the time I needed to develop them, were expected to already have been established. A concrete approach to searching and researching as Bergson-Michelson sets out in her webinar, I feel, will create more capable information users from an earlier age. We shouldn’t be expected to either know how to research or not, all users should be given the foundations that Bergson-Michelson has so clearly established here.

Bergson-Michelson continues her clear-cut explanations in “Statistical Storytelling” chapter. It is often easy for me to forget a common theme that was brought up throughout this chapter, data is evidence not an argument, which makes statistical storytelling so important in writing. Bergson-Michelson hits this fact even harder in her discussion in the importance of language and how language changes from reading, writing, and searching. She also brought to the forefront concepts that often slip through the cracks when researching and writing. I know I’ve forgotten them on more than one occasion. Audience and users matter. The audience must be thought of when a researcher writes, as to provide the correct type of language for optimal understanding. This exact approach is also why the user matters. To properly analyze evidence, whether it is an historical document or a secondary source, the writer is important to understand motivations, biases, and perspectives of the topic being addressed. The way that writers discuss and interpret data to support their argument, for example, provides understanding for the writer’s views, but most be written in a way that the target audience can understand, which is why statistical storytelling becomes so important for data-based writing.

Markey was much more formal in the discussion of search and its intricacies. While she provided a great general overview of search and brought up tools I didn’t know existed (like Controlled Vocabularies in databases), her work was more difficult to digest after the informality of Bergson-Michelson. Still, Markey took keys of the search that I believed I understood decently, and broke them apart in a way I never considered. The CV was the one that sticks out most poignantly, as I search most databases the same way, not understanding the basic makeup of their search abilities. I will consider this in my future research, and hopefully it will make my searches more fruitful.

Josh Catone’s “Google-fu” also will influence the ways that I search. While I do not often do research on Google, unless I am searching for a known item on Google Scholar upon failing to find it in a database I have access to, I was completely unaware of how to set up a true Google search to get the best results. The infographic was not only helpful, it opened my mind to a whole new way of considering the search engine in the beginnings of my research process.

Learning new libraries and library systems can be a daunting task, and I really appreciated the time we took to look at Hatcher Graduate Library. Pulling from the questions the class was asking, I feel that this was a mutual feeling. In my short time on campus, the only campus library I have been in is the one I work at, the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library on North Campus, and because of my duties there, I have not truly gotten the chance to fully explore its wonders, though it is on my long list of things to do. The entire University of Michigan’s Library System, is complex and hard to understand at times, and this look into how one library is set up can open doors to make other libraries throughout campus more approachable. Even just the task of finding the Gallery was intimidating at first, as I did not come in the main entrance of Hatcher, but the moment I hit the stacks, it was like coming home. I have spent many days among the stacks in different libraries, and I hope to become just as comfortable with the stacks of Michigan’s campus libraries as well.

The reference guide activity following out tour, I feel, brought the lesson home. While it is important to understand how a library or library system is set up and run, it is even more important to be able to do your duty as an information professional. This exercise I feel encapsulated the importance of understanding the plethora of resource materials at the fingertips of most librarians, whether they be print or electronic materials. I think the most interesting part of this assignment was being able to compare materials that are accessible in both formats and how using these guides changes from one platform to another. The Chicago Manual, for example, I find to be much easier to browse through the print copy than the online interface, though I know those preferences most likely differ from person-to-person.

The introduction of these seemingly traditional reference resources also opens the door to more unorthodox materials that may be used, depending on the audience the information professional is trying to serve. While researchers often need access to references such as basic statistics or biographical information, children may require references to other resources that draw in their attention. While it is less likely to be adopted by the world of information professionals, an article Kristin sent me after a conversation we had following class kept bringing me back to the idea of reference resources, especially after our exploration of the Reference Reading Room and the types of sources I saw on the shelves. When Brian Ash and Yehudi  Mercado were approached by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld about a Yom Kippur project to engage young Jewish children in learning about the importance of the holy days, a reference resource was created that engaged the religion’s literature in a fun way that kept children interested. Exploring more types of reference resources that have developed in these sorts of ways definitely holds some interest for me as well.

Katie Dunn’s informational session was extremely appreciated with all the overwhelming information we have been thrown in the last few months as we prepared to begin our journal with UMSI. The information has just been increased since the semester began, and it was a little refreshing to hear about opportunities that were really just focused on our interests instead of trying to sort through all the information about other aspects of the program. Notes I jotted down as she spoke will be extremely helpful as I start to build on my ideas for the next steps in my career. The information that was supplemented by this by some of the second years somehow made it seem much less daunting than the constant stream of information we are supposed to be digesting and acting upon through our devices.

The jobs that the rest of the class pulled were varying in interest and made me think of different ways I could enter the library profession myself. While the academic approach has always been my focus, I have also never really considered the public library system, which was an important staple from my own childhood. My interests for my future oddly meld those two together, as well, and some of these job descriptions made me consider putting a little more work into the public library aspect, as my limited experience is strictly with academic institutions. While we joked about jobs calling for “pizzazz,” positions that inherently hold that type of description seem interesting and something I might want to consider in my professional capacity to connect with different members of diverse communities.

Our final portion of class, as we discussed the Code of Ethics, Bill of Rights, and Freedom to Read Statement from the American Library Association, I feel, truly brought to life the essence of this course’s personality. Extremely critical for varying reasons, I feel that the conversation was valuable and made me think of the documents in entirely different ways than I already was. Emma’s point about the nuances between “neutral,” “equitable,” and “equal” were among the top comments that truly made me rethink, again, what I had read. While I had also made the mental note that “equal” and “equitable” mean different things and the documents focused on “equitable access,” I had not noticed that at no point is there a call for librarian neutrality. This, I believe, opens up a new slew of issues within the right to information for users, but I think it is important by not addressing the librarian as neutral, these documents did a service by maintaining that librarians are bias, as all people are due to their own lives and experiences.

Part I of Information Services Today: An Introduction reintroduces the idea of information professionals to me in a way that I had not thought of them before. Librarians are not just librarians anymore, but full-fledged information professionals that helm a ship of possible services to be used at the will of the people. Understanding the people and the services available are essential for an information professional to be successful and this introduction to the profession today provided a compact and easy-to-understand overview of what it truly means to be an information professional, from the political, social, and cultural implications that are attached to every profession and career. Even as a constant user of library services, I often forget the importance of providing technology services, which this summary was clear to indicate was essential to the profession today. Information Services Today is also clear in stating that a librarian is an information professional, but not all information professionals are necessarily librarians (Hirsh, 3-4).

The importance of community, a topic that appeared in last week’s discussion, was also addressed, and the issues that come with it, such as denoting what the nature of the community being served truly is (Hirsch, 20). This may be due to the fact that the information communities being served may differ from other communities surrounding the information organization providing services. The final chapter of Part I continued to highlight these issues with community including: multiculturalism, inclusion, and diversity (Hirsch, 28). In a world that continues to emphasize the need for inclusion, a profession that is meant to address equal access to information for everyone cannot overlook the importance of multiculturalism. To achieve the goal of true cultural competence, there must be a diversity of services and collections that address the intersectionalities of people seeking information. Cultural competence thus makes the information profession more integral and helps information organizations reach their full potential through a mission to serve (Hirsch, 35).

The American Library Association’s (ALA) “Code of Ethics,” “Bill of Rights,” and “Freedom to Read” statement continue to highlight the importance of community and access to information. Speaking to the idea of cultural competence, each of these documents commits the information professional to providing a safe environment to all people to inspire a collaboration of information from all perspectives. These statements go so far to say that intervention to those attempting to prevent the dissemination of information may be needed to assure that all users are capable of remaining able to expand their knowledge regardless of anything deemed controversial. This means information professionals should not advocate censorship and should provide information regardless of their own biases, as the freedom to read and think critically is essential to the maintenance of democracy.

Due to my own academic background, historical issues stuck out to me that are not addressed in the readings, or, at least, not addressed as a historian would discuss them. Though, I suppose that should be expected in a text that is addressing the information profession. Hirsch states that “information organizations that fail to engage diverse communities are likely also to fail to preserve their historical records,” which speaks volumes to emerging focuses in the history profession today (Hirsch, 35). I believe this could have been furthered in the discussion on multiculturalism by discussing how this lack of historical preservation has effected historical research due to lack of access to information. In social histories today, there is an ever growing focus on “silent” histories that have not been addressed before. These histories are often considered unorthodox, but are essential to creating cultural competence historically and in the world’s present political climate. For example, an emerging field of study in history revolves around the LGBTQ community, as this history has been silenced throughout the centuries, and evidence has become increasingly difficult to find. A failure to engage with this community by information professionals could continue the difficulties of securing historical preservation for this community.

The original publications of the ALA’s documents on access to information also bring up interesting historical concerns. The “Code of Ethics” and “Bill of Rights” were both published in 1939 and included terminology to encourage equal access for everyone, yet libraries, paired with the Catholic Church and several school systems, were part of the censorship movement in the 1940s that led to comic book burnings that mimicked the book burnings of Nazi Germany. The “Freedom to Read” statement which furthered this idea of access to all people on information of all perspectives was published in 1953, just one year before another round of censorship rocked the literary world when comic books were officially censored due to the popular book, Seduction of the Innocent, that scared a generation to the effects comic subject-matter was having on children, depleting a rich literary and art genre for decades to come. If these issues were had at the original publications of such documents, is it any wonder that there are still issues surrounding these notions of equal access to all people and all information today?

In a search for postings I may qualify for once I finish my education and one I may qualify for after 3-5 years of experience, I came across two levels of outreach positions that would focus on client relationships. With the experiences I hope to attain while at the University of Michigan, I feel that I would qualify for the Williams College position of Reference and First Year Outreach Librarian. This would highlight my skills with the social sciences, the specialty the reference librarian should have, and my interactions with users at the university level would enhance the skills I want to develop as an information specialist. These skills would also provide me with the experience I would need for the job I found for 3-5 years after entering the workforce: the UCLA Head of Outreach and Community Engagement for Library Special Collections. The importance of user outreach to further encourage information seekers to use information organizations and the focus on specific work, such as reference or special collections, would better prepare me for my ultimate goal to run an information organization that specializes in a specific topic. Such a position would require extensive knowledge and experience with topic focuses and community outreach.

The initial class culture and discussion last week provided me with a sense of welcoming and a general feeling that the entire course is going to be enjoyable this semester. The personality of a course is extremely important, especially when a group of individuals with very similar interests comes together. The learning opportunities from our varying experiences and interests, in a class with a positive culture, can shape us in ways I cannot wait to discover.

I often forget the many ways that people can go into the library profession, as I tunnel vision more often than not in my own quest for knowledge. Therefore, the introductions in the class where we discussed our interests in the library field and unique things we think of when defining libraries opened my eyes to many things I had previously not considered. Though I know the University of Michigan is known for some of its interesting collections, like the Computer and Video Game Archives (CVGA), and the research I have done in my past academic career can also be considered unorthodox (women’s baseball history and comic book history), I often forget just how unique some approaches to library collections can be. The sense of safe spaces and the later discussion on what libraries mean as being “for everyone” also piqued my interest, and I am intrigued on where that discussion will take us a few weeks from now when we address the issue at length.

These differing interests in libraries and their services were further highlighted in our discussion of Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service, when the aspect of service and customer service were discussed at length about how varying positions in libraries may provide different opportunities for service. While I clearly see librarianship as a service industry where my interaction with clients and users are paramount to providing good information services, understanding other perspectives for positions that may not deal with the public face-to-face and their understanding of customer service was also enlightening. Kristin made an interesting point as well, when she stated that although there are positions where face-to-face customer service is not necessarily part of the job, understanding what the customer needs is essential, and, therefore, provides customer service without requiring the customer interaction.

I’m Kaitlyn Haines, but I go by Kate, and I’m from Fairmont, West Virginia. I spent the last six years in Huntington, West Virginia at Marshall University getting two bachelor’s and a master’s degree. I work with an organization called the International Women’s Baseball Center selling merchandise to raise money to build a museum and education center, which I hope to run one day. I am a huge sports fan, especially baseball, soccer and hockey. I also enjoy comic books, movies, and learning about sharks. Learning new things and taking on new challenges fuels my motivation, and, often, my inspiration.