Outcome 7

Demonstrate life-long learning skills by continually acquiring new knowledge, skills and perspectives to respond to changing conditions.

As a systems librarian, it is even more vital for me to always be learning and acquiring new knowledge; technology is fluid and never complete. Already, I use an RSS feed reader, Google Reader, to stay on top on 200+ technology, library, and education blogs on a daily basis. Learning skills is an absolute necessity of my job and profession. Through my time at SLIM, I have taken several courses that I may never directly use the skills learned in those courses (especially the legal information curriculum). However, taking courses outside my intended profession as a systems librarian has enabled me to hone my learning skills.

The first artifact I have chosen is a research proposal I developed as part of the Research and Inquiry course, looking at WebJunction’s impact in Kansas public libraries. I have been able to carry out this research proposal on a small scale, interviewing two librarians; but it’s not enough yet, to have any tangible results. 

The second artifact is a collection of cataloging records I created for two cataloging classes at SLIM. I have combined the records for ease of reading and archiving purposes. In the first cataloging class, I learned how to catalog books; in the second cataloging class, I learned how to catalog almost everything else, including cds, movies, art, and magazines. I discovered in this class that I actually loved cataloging, and it’s an extra skill I can now highlight on my resume. As a systems librarian, it actually will be helpful to understand the MARC structure while working with integrated library systems (ILS), like Koha and Follett. 

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