My academic journey at the University of South Florida began in August 2019, following my undergraduate degree in Literature from Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida. After gaining an appreciation for the multitude of resources available to me throughout my writing-intensive undergraduate major, I decided to pursue librarianship. I spent countless hours pouring over books, combing through journals, and discussing research strategies with multiple librarians. After seeing the benefits of such sources and interactions on my academic achievement, I knew I wanted to do the same for individuals in the future. This goal has motivated me throughout my studies, and I hope that my passion is reflected in my portfolio.

 

 This e-Portfolio is organized into tabs according to the learning outcomes set forth by USF’s School of Information. These outcomes are Leadership and Innovation, Systems and Services, Knowledge Representation, and Theory and Praxis. I began selecting the artifacts to be used in this portfolio in my first semester. My goal is to demonstrate the learning outcomes developed by USF's School of Information and the American Library Association’s Code of Professional Ethics in each of my selected materials. Using the positive feedback received from my professors and the appraisal skills I developed throughout the program, I chose artifacts representing my best work. 

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In my course of study, I enrolled in classes that would make sense for a future career of academic librarianship. During my first semester, I took Foundations of Library and Information Science and Basic Information Sources and Services, which provided a framework for the principles and practices of the profession. In Foundations, I learned about the various roles of librarians and how libraries play a vital part in today's information landscape. Basic Information Sources and Services provided me with specific tools to address patron reference questions and an overview of the best practices of reference work. I created a LibGuide to demonstrate my ability to locate reference resources according to patron needs and completed a Reference Quest, which tested my reference skills. 

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Core courses, like Organization of Knowledge I, Research Methods in Library & Information Science, Collection Development & Maintenance, and Introduction to Library Administration, highlighted specific, yet important, aspects of librarianship. Organization of Knowledge I touched on the basic concepts, principles, and instruments for information organization, including metadata schemas, content creation rules, controlled vocabularies, classification systems, taxonomies, and folksonomies. As a culminating assignment for the course, I wrote a research paper discussing the limitations of the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classification systems regarding organizing indigenous knowledge. In Research Methods, I was introduced to research methodologies utilized in the social sciences, such as surveys, experiments, observations, and historical research. Throughout the course, my group members and I collaborated on a significant research proposal that put the concepts learned into practice. I found this course beneficial to my future career goals, as academic librarianship in certain institutions requires extensive knowledge of professional research strategies and methods. 

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Collection Development & Maintenance taught the best methods for evaluating, selecting, and acquiring physical and digital library materials. The course emphasized collaboration and group work, as team members completed each of the four major assignments together throughout the semester. For the needs assessment, my group and I used actual library demographics and circulation statistics to assess the current state of a library's Young Adult (YA) collection. In the collection development policy and selection of materials, we put our needs assessment into action. Introduction to Library Administration presented a behavioral approach to libraries as organizations and discussed the administrative principles, theories, and problems of all types of libraries. This course changed my way of thinking about library management and highlighted the value of good library leadership. I put the skills I learned into practice through the creation of a five-year strategic plan and a research paper discussing how library managers can attract more diversity within the professional library workforce.

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The elective courses that I took throughout my graduate program also enhanced my understanding of the library profession. The technology requirement for LIS students, IT Concepts, provided a closer look at the computers and systems used in various libraries today. Data Management & Practice introduced me to methods and tools for working with scholarly data for multiple contexts, especially within academia. History of Libraries discussed the development of libraries from the earliest times to the present. Archives and Records Management allowed me to explore my archival interests as I described the standard procedures of archival institutions and created authority records using software tools and archival description standards. Supervised Fieldwork allowed me to intern with the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC) and produce a portfolio of work that demonstrated my impact within the organization. Graphic Novels in Libraries surveyed various types of visual literature for readers of all ages. 

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I am excited to begin my future career as a librarian. My career goals include pursuing academic librarianship at the state or community college level while also becoming an adjunct professor simultaneously. Throughout my time at USF, I have learned that librarianship is a constantly evolving profession with ample room for innovation, creativity, and ingenuity. USF's LIS program has shaped me into a confident librarian, ready to tackle any aspect of the career.