INFO 289 ePortfolio – Dr. Patricia Franks
SJSU School of Information / Fall 2015
Patricia Ayame Thomson
Competency B
Describe and compare organizational settings in which information
professionals practice
Information professionals practice their profession in a variety of organizational settings and environments. Most commonly, the four settings where graduates of library and information science programs traditionally work are public, academic, school, and special libraries. However, with the recent advent of technology and the information age, there have been new trajectories that propel information professionals to explore settings outside the traditional library walls.
For the purposes of this discussion, first I will focus on the similarities and differences between public and academic libraries. Both public libraries and academic libraries have rich histories serving their respective patrons. One of the most important differences between the public and academic libraries is that the audiences or patrons differ. Public libraries are funded by taxes and serve the members of the tax-paying community. On the other hand, academic libraries serve the student population and are funded by the educational institution where the library is located. Information professionals in both public and academic libraries traditionally practice their profession from inside the library walls.
The organizational systems are comparable at both public and academic libraries where the books and other library materials are collected and shelved in a similar way. Both libraries have various collections such as fiction, non-fiction, online databases, DVD’s, CD’s, and periodicals.
The goal of both public and academic libraries are similar, which is namely to serve the information needs of their patrons. More specifically, the primary mission of public libraries is to provide popular materials to the public including recreational, educational, and informational materials in demand by the majority of patrons. In academic libraries, their primary mission is to provide appropriate, requested, and necessary educational materials to aid the students with their courses and research at the academic institution.
Since the advent of technology, there have been significant changes in regards to the responsibilities, organization, and services of both public and academic library systems. Presently, both public and academic libraries aim to bridge the digital divide and provide computers, e-books, iPads, and other digital equipment for patrons to use.
The librarianship profession has encountered a shift in paradigm and is beginning to find various ways to move library services outside the conventional library walls. As a case in point, the third type of library organizational setting I will be discussing is the embedded librarian in an academic setting. In other words, embedded librarianship is an extension of the traditional academic librarian.
In the course LIBR 220-13 – Embedded Librarians, the focus of the organizational settings was specifically in academic libraries. The degree and depth of the embedded information professional’s presence, immersion, and participation varies depending on the collaboration and partnership between the faculty member and information professional.
In embedded librarianship, the parent company of the academic librarian is the academic institution where the library is a part. The academic librarian still works primarily for the academic library, but can be placed physically in a particular department or discipline within the college or university.
Another form of librarianship can be the presence of the academic librarian embedded in the course itself. The academic librarian can be present during each class or visit intermittently to help students with their research and information literacy instruction. In other words, by being present and accessible, the academic librarian is extending library services in a more hands-on way and providing immediate assistance to the students.
Personal Experience
I have worked at the Santa Monica Main Public Library (SMPL) as a page and in the information management department for almost eight years while I attended San Jose State University’s long-distance MLIS program to get a master’s degree in library and information science. Primarily, I shelve returned books as a library page for the circulation department. In addition, I process new books, cover them with cellophane, and mend damaged library materials in the information management department.
Duties and responsibilities are compartmentalized at the expansive Santa Monica Main Library, and there are clear distinctions between the various supervisory levels, as well as, employees’ duties and responsibilities. For example, the duties performed by library pages are clearly distinguished compared to the responsibilities of the library clerks. My experience working at the Santa Monica Main Library has taught me the inner-workings and infrastructure of a very large library organization.
Recently, I completed a semester of internship at the Palms-Rancho Park Public Library which is also a part of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system. I am a lot more familiar with public libraries since I have worked at the internship site for an entire semester. As with most public libraries across the US, the Palms-Rancho Park Library is a modest-sized library providing information to nearby community members. I learned that in smaller libraries, the duties between the employees are not nearly as delineated and everyone shares responsibilities to serve the patrons. Consequently, I learned how to accomplish and master a variety of duties as a librarian at the Palms-Rancho Park Library, as opposed to just shelving books for the circulation department at the Santa Monica Public Library system.
Additionally, I concluded another semester of internship at the American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog Department. The American Film Institute Catalog Department is creating an authoritative database that lists every single movie ever made in the US since the beginning of feature films. President Truman created the American Film Institute in 1967 to preserve the history of motion picture and educate the future generation about the craft of filmmaking and storytelling. The American Film Institute is getting ready for a grand opening ceremony in Washington D.C. next summer in 2016. Obviously, it is a very ambitious endeavor and they need all the help they can get. The authoritative database they are creating rivals the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) which is the most current popular prototype.
The AFI catalogers describe each film in detail including interesting facts associated it. I helped with the research by going to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Margaret Herrick Library. At the AMPAS archival library, I had copies made of pertinent hardcopy newspaper articles, movie reviews from trade papers, and other relevant production notes. I discovered that the archival library serves a very limited clientele who are conducting research about the motion picture industry.
In a very officious and stringent organizational setting, I had to sign in and out each time I visited the Margaret Herrick Library. The security was very tight and we were not allowed to carry our purses, pens, cell phones, or anything else into the library. Additionally, I had to get a library card every time in exchange for my driver’s license to get any copies made. Also, the application forms had to be filled out in a certain way—in alphabetical order or the technician would admonish us. The American Film Institute internship gave me the opportunity to explore another very different kind of organizational setting and experience what it is like to be in an archival library. Although there are many similarities, I found the differences between public, academic, and archival libraries to be significant in many respects.
Evidences to Support Competency B
First Artifact
LIBR 275 – Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities
This artifact is presented in order to demonstrate my understanding and knowledge about a variety of organizational settings where information professionals work. For an assignment in the course, LIBR 275 – Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities, we had to select and visit a local library that provides collections for a specific ethnic group. I selected the Asian Pacific Resource Center which is part of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system and caters specifically to Asian Americans and people of Asian descent in the region. The Los Angeles Public Library System (LAPL) has 72 branches plus the main central library. The Montebello Public Library is one of the LAPL branch libraries, and the Asian Pacific Resource Center is located inside of the library.
The Montebello Public Library and the Asian Pacific Resource Center is under the jurisdiction of the parent LAPL system’s policies and regulations. The LAPL system has many levels of supervisory positions, and the chain of command is extremely important in a government organization. Many of the descriptions and insights in my assignment about the Montebello Library demonstrate my knowledge about the public library system upon first-hand investigation and experience. As mentioned above, I am including this artifact as evidence to fulfill Competency B.
Second Artifact
Competency B – LIBR 220-13: Embedded Librarianship
The second artifact presented is about an organizational setting where information professionals work in academic institutions. In academic institutions and academic libraries alike, the primary mission is to help students succeed in their educational careers. As a result, the main focus always depends on the collaboration between the academic librarians and faculty members in order to provide the best educational materials for students to supplement their coursework. I believe this artifact will demonstrate my understanding of the academic library’s climate and organizational setting.
The academic library is funded by the educational institution and by students’ tuitions. Additionally, the academic library is no longer only a storage place for collections of books, databases, and articles for students to utilize. In the age of technology where information is easily accessible to everyone, academic librarians have to take a more proactive approach and increase collaboration with faculty members to meet the students’ information needs.
The paper explores the need for centralized and independent departments on the campus to come together and collaborate for a common good, which is to serve the information needs of the student population from the context of their courses. In particular, the paper compares and examines the possible collaboration between the student affairs department and the academic library. The ultimate aim of the collaboration between student affairs and the academic library is to create an information literacy tutorial to first-year incoming students.
This paper articulates the current state of affairs in the academic environment and climate. Due to political and geographical reasons on the campus, the paper explains that the various departments have silo-thinking and remain secluded. Instead of compartmentalized departments within the educational institution, the paper advocates creating partnerships and projects between the departments.
In this particular artifact, I believe I demonstrate my knowledge and awareness of the academic library as an organizational setting. This paper illustrates the need for information professionals to collaborate with faculty members and embed themselves in various departments in order to be most beneficial to the students. Although I have never worked in an academic library in person, LIBR 220-13 Embedded Librarian gave me a much better understanding regarding the inner-workings of an academic library. I included this paper to fulfill my required competency for Competency B.
Third Artifact
Competency B – LIBR 220-13: Embedded Librarianship
The third artifact demonstrates my understanding of an embedded librarian in an academic setting. For this particular assignment, the focus is on embedding an academic librarian in the Asian Studies Department at California State University Northridge (CSUN).
Although there are many potential organizational settings for embedded librarians outside academic institutions, the artifact explores the organizational setting’s infrastructure within the Asian American Studies Department. Further, the artifact examines how an academic librarian can be embedded into the coursework within the context of the specific department. I believe the third artifact helps to expound on my understanding about the organizational setting in an academic environment and how a librarian can be embedded within a discipline-specific department.
Conclusion: Knowledge of Various Organizational Settings – Competency B
In the introduction along with the three artifacts presented above, I believe I have demonstrated a clear and distinct understanding of the similarities and differences between several organizational settings. The three different artifacts represent my depth of understanding specifically about public, academic, and embedded librarianship. I believe I have sufficiently and successfully clarified, compared, and contrasted the distinction between the libraries by focusing on the organizational settings’ funding, policies and practices, audiences, management, regulations, and various other relevant characteristics.
As a librarian, the courses I have taken at the San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science program together with my personal experience working at the Santa Monica Main Public Library, Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences—Margaret Herrick Library and the Palms-Rancho Park Public Library have prepared me for future employment at almost any library setting.
Reference:
American Library Association’s Code of Ethics hyperlink: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics