JENNIFERARCHULETASANTURE

This portion of my e-Portfolio marks the end of a semester filled with lots of hard work, reading, and writing; however, the completion of this project is only the end of my first step on the path to becoming a library and information professional.  When I first started working at the Berkeley Public Library in 2006, I had little understanding of the real work performed by librarians every day; however, I did know of the importance of this work, as I had been positively influenced by it as a young library user.  After five years of developing my skills as much as I could at my library, I made the important decision to become a librarian, and applied to the San Jose State University School of Information (formerly the School of Library and Information Science).  As a MLIS graduate student, I learned much about the professional tenets that help guide the important work that librarians do in our society.  Additionally, I learned about theories, research, and best practices related to the many areas which cumulatively comprise professional librarianship including: collection development, reference, information retrieval, cataloging, programming, and evaluation.  Throughout my three years of education at SJSU, I not only began to use what I learned at the library I worked at and my internship library site, but I also applied this knowledge to enrich my community through volunteer work with children.

I left my job at the Berkeley Public Library in May of 2015.  It was definitely a bittersweet moment for me as it had been the major force in my life that led me to this path of librarianship.  I relocated over 3,000 miles away from home, to Northern Virginia, in order to marry my partner-in-life.  Because the majority of my library experience has been in the San Francisco Bay Area, my next goals are to begin to establish myself in the library systems located in my current residence, and to find employment as a children’s librarian in a public library.  Despite my recent location change, the experience of my previous position and all of the knowledge that I have gained as a MLIS graduate student will help me accomplish my goals.  This e-Portfolio serves not just as a project which discusses many of the aspects of librarianship that every SJSU MLIS student must be proficient in before entering the field, but is also a record of all of the hard work and dedication that I invested into everything I did as a student here at SJSU.  As I embark on the next steps of my journey, I look back to everything I have accomplished as a MLIS student with pride.  I am ready to do my part as a library and information professional in order to impact the lives of the youth in our communities, in hopes of creating a more equitable, just, and kind world for all.

Lastly, I couldn’t have created this e-Portfolio without the help of my family, friends, classmates, and my e-Portfolio advisor.  I would like to thank my husband, for his love and support during these past few hectic months, and for always believing in me when I had trouble believing in myself.  I would also like to thank my classmates in the SJSU MLIS e-Portfolio Facebook group for their support, advice, and levity.  And lastly, my e-Portfolio advisor, Debra Hansen, for her guidance, support, praise, and encouragement.  Thank you!