Introduction

Special Project/Leadership

Teaching/Service

Information Management

Networking

Library Knowledge

Scholarship

Final Thoughts

Resume

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When I set out to find an MLS program, I was primarily looking to make a career move; I had decided that while I loved research and teaching research skills to college students, I was somewhat tired of the other requirement of my job as a college writing instructor - grading papers. I chose Southern Connecticut State University's distance learning MLS program because I could live in Colorado and still be enrolled in an ALA accredited degree program. I knew I was an independent learner and able to work outside of the regular classroom since I had already taught online writing courses for two years. My decision to sign up for my first MLS course sent me off down a road of adventure and change, and more importantly, opened up a new, and exciting, world I didn’t know existed.

Once matriculated into the program, I opted for the academic track; my original goal was to work as a college reference librarian. Since then, I’ve expanded my possible job opportunities to Instructional Librarian or Distance Learning at the college level; because I'm experienced at working independently and live in a rural area, I’ve also considered going it alone by becoming an Independent Information Professional. My studies have included coursework in reference, digital libraries, indexing and abstracting, online information retrieval, managing electronic resources/services, information networking, information seeking behavior and research. The different courses have exposed me to new ways of thinking and new ways of approaching what I already knew.

I have continued to teach online college writing courses throughout my degree program. Many times, I was able to tie major assignments to my teaching. The two have become inter-related – the college research paper, information management, library services and education. The new things I learned often worked their way into my teaching. Teaching college writing and libraries finally grew together in my special project which focuses on providing information literacy instruction to students taking courses through a distance learning consortium.

This portfolio is a presentation of the skills and knowledge I have gained over the course of my information and library education. The Special Project is the culmination of my study and the other projects and papers I’ve included are meant to highlight the knowledge, experience and skills I’ve gained over the last three years as an online graduate information and library science student.

Last updated to add CSS Stylesheet on March 5, 2005, by Mary L Cash