An electronic portfolio is a thoughtful collection
of artifacts and reflections, which together uniquely expresses a
student's educational journey. The capstone portfolio is a culminating
experience at Southern Connecticut State University, and is a
requirement for the Master of Library Science degree.
With gratitude to Dr. J. M. Kusack, my advisor, and Laura McKay,
secretary for the
Department of Information and Library Science, without whom this
venture would have been far
more difficult.
The Capstone Project
I have assembled this electronic portfolio to
provide examples of my critical-thinking development and skills
regarding the field of librarianship.
Each of the courses that I took, from the required courses (ILS-501, Introduction
to Information Science and Technology; ILS-503, Foundations of
Librarianship; ILS-504 Reference and Information Resources and
Services; ILS-506, Information Analysis and Organization;
and ILS-680, Research and Evaluation) to those that were
recommended as appropriate for me, have contributed greatly to my
understanding and development as a librarian.
I learned that there are many paths to librarianship. My original
intent was to follow the "Academic track" but I veered off that road
near the end of the program in favor of the "Special libraries track"
because of the affinity I felt for the tasks in librarianship that are
somewhat non-traditional.
Indexing and Abstracting (ILS-531), for example, was a
fascinating course that challenged me to quickly grasp the significance
of a book or article, and reduce it to a succinct but bare-bones
description (an abstract). You may wish to view my abstract analysis document. A thesaurus is
necessary to both abstracting and indexing, and I reviewed two thesauri for this course. The
indexing part of the class forced me to focus on the most important
topics and keywords, then correlate those terms in a logical fashion. A
typical index utilizes just 5% of the words in a text. Indexing an online journal was extremely
challenging and yet greatly rewarding, and the course opened my eyes to
a type of work that I had not previously considered.
Library Management (ILS-565), offered the opportunity to think
about library work from the point of view of a
manager. Dr. Kusack was quite clear that a major part of
librarianship is management. It was interesting to learn and think about the diverse
tasks that a library manager or department head must be able to
handle, especially regarding sensitive topics. This course expanded on
themes brought up in the Foundations of Librarianship (ILS-503) course,
such as the Library Bill of Rights.
Instructional Design Principles (ILS-575) made me aware of the complexities involved with instruction. The
diverse needs of learners are such that extensive planning and
testing should be performed before implementing an instructional plan.
Research and Evaluation (ILS-680) provided me with an
opportunity to query academic librarians at baccalaureate-level
institutions across the country on their attitudes toward marketing
library services. My analysis of their
responses indicates that college librarians are actively reaching out
to students today, helping them understand and use reliable information
resources.
The Digital Libraries (ILS-655) course, in which I created a
digital library of my husband's family history (complete with digitized
documents, audio tracks of favorite songs, home movies, photographs,
and links to websites on Italian immigration) provided a venue for me
to utilize many of the skills that I developed in library school. My digital library project required
knowledge of cataloging and classification, indexing, and the
development of an extended website using HTML. I also became proficient
with digital image manipulation, for items that were "born digital" as
well as those analog images that were digitally converted. The Proni
Digital Library is a professional project that provided a great
deal of personal satisfaction.
Special Libraries (ILS-564), like the Digital Libraries course,
also built on lessons learned in earlier library classes, as this
course discussed the duties and responsibilities of librarians in
non-traditional settings. Librarians working
in corporate, medical, or
law libraries, as well as independent information professionals,
must be both strong advocates for librarianship and able to justify
their existences with regard to the company's fiscal policy and
mission statement. I created a brochure for
ViaProni Information Services, my own (new) company, as a class
project.
I greatly enjoyed the diversity of classmates in my courses at Southern
Connecticut State University, as I interacted with students from Europe
and Asia, as well as from all over the United States. I look forward to
attending library conferences in the future, as a way to renew
acquaintances and build on friendships begun in these courses. I would
like to thank the classmates, who, in different ways and at
different times, provided me with the encouragement and inspiration to
continue. Several of my instructors were instrumental in the path that
I chose. I have an enormous amount of respect for their work.
I am forever indebted to my former husband, Tullio, who provided
technical,
financial, and emotional support during this program, and was a willing
test subject more than once.