About

My journey to the MLS degree is a winding path with lots of detours, yet deep down I probably always knew I would be a librarian. My mom is the high school media specialist at Holton High School, and I found out shortly after I began the ESU program that my grandma had received her library science education degree in the 1930s from the University of Pittsburgh.

I have always been drawn to technology from a young age and still remember my first glimpse of the Apple LC II during library class in third grade: “this computer is the future and will soon be affordable at $2,000 or so,” the presenter said. Through middle school and high school, I would help out in the library, checking in/out and shelving books, helping students and teachers locate materials after school, and helping teachers and students with technology issues. I also took several computer classes, designed the high school and school district webpages (my versions are no longer in use), and helped with staff technology training.

Then I entered college (Oklahoma Baptist University) and decided to pursue a degree in political science. I walked away from the library and technology worlds for a time, but I couldn’t stay away from technology. During my sophomore year of college, I began working for the university’s Information Systems and Services department (Computer Center) as a student computer technician. I loved that job. I worked with faculty, staff, administrators, and students, installing computers and software, and resolving technical and network problems.

College graduation neared in 2005, and I contemplated pursuing a library science master’s degree, but political science was still too strong of a draw (or so I thought). I entered the University of Oklahoma’s political science Ph.D. program in the fall of 2005, as a University Fellow, but I quickly discovered that I was not interested in studying political science at the graduate level. I completed a year of a graduate assistantship and started my MLS education at Emporia State University in the fall of 2006. Meanwhile, I began working for Shawnee Mission School District in Johnson County, KS, as a network analyst I.

For a long time, I had also considered going to law school and started the MLS program taking classes to fulfill the requirements for the Legal Information Management certificate from ESU. However, after completing 8 of the 15 hours for the certificate, I discovered I no longer had any interest in pursuing a legal information management career. I had learned of the integration of technology and librarianship and the strong need for librarians with “blended” skills. By this time, I had started working for the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) as the Technology Support Specialist, providing technology support to almost 30 small public libraries across Northeast Kansas. Almost two years later, after completing my MLS coursework, I am fully ready to begin my career as a systems librarian.

Through my time at SLIM and in my technology jobs with teachers, students, and librarians, I have realized that working with technology is basically a specialized branch of librarianship. In teaching computer skills, you must be aware of your audience, their computer skill levels, their interests, and their needs. You have to know how to locate reviews of hardware and software, evaluate hardware and software. You have to have strong searching skills, in order to navigate through the many tech support discussion boards that are gold mines for troubleshooting solutions. You have to organize information into computer systems, whether it’s in an operating system, an integrated library system, a webpage, or a series of library databases. All of these skills have been enhanced by the training I have received through the SLIM program.