Allison Liesz

Reflective Essay e-Portfolio

Fall 2022

Upon graduating from high school in 2016, deciding to attend Dominican University was

an easy decision in hindsight. No other schools that I looked at really compared to the

stunning architecture, small community, and interesting programs. However, I knew that

deciding where to attend college was only one of the many decisions I would have to

make regarding my time there. Of course, there was the usual decision of deciding a

major or if I should join any clubs or extracurricular activities. However, by far the

decision I was most daunted by was looking for a job. And, after browsing several ads

online for various local places, I had heard from a family friend of mine that her mother-

in-law was looking for a student assistant at Dominican University’s library. Honestly, I

didn’t really know how much I would enjoy it, being that I wasn’t much of a reader at the

time, but I decided that since the job was so convenient, I would just apply. Little did I

know that my acceptance to that job would change the course of my career forever. My

supervisor, Michelle Gerster, worked as the periodical’s coordinator in the technical

services department, and I fell in love with the inner workings of the library. I loved

working behind the scenes: processing books, making withdraws, repairing materials. I

fell in love with it so much that when I neared the completion of my undergraduate

degree in graphic design that I would immediately jump back into school and join the

MLIS program at Dominican.

not without its ups and downs. It especially came to a head when my plans were

uprooted by the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, which not only resulted in my

graduation and upcoming art show to get canceled, but also changed my plans for the

MLIS program. But despite this, it is a journey that I learned a lot from, and gained skills

that I don’t think I would have gained if it weren’t for the pandemic. This was helped

further when I applied—and was hired—as the acquisition’s coordinator at the Rebecca

Crown Library. My supervisor, technical services librarian Stephanie Fletcher, and I

made a lot of changes to the department, which was both exciting and stressful. But in

all honesty, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It is hard to believe that I am finishing up

the program at the end of the year, but I am excited for what the future holds.

Working in the library helped make certain decisions relating to my MLIS degree easier.

For example, I knew I enjoyed technical services, but there were other parts of library

work I enjoyed as well. I also knew what I liked and didn’t like about working at a library

—something that some may view as a blessing, but I honestly think was more of a

curse in hindsight. And with this knowledge in my mind, I jumped right into the program,

ready for the ride it would take me on.

In the MLIS program, we are presented with goals and outcomes that help us plan and

prepare us for our future career working in a library. Each of these goals and outcomes

allow us to demonstrate many core ideas found in libraries and present them via

numerous projects and assignments we worked on through the program. I will be

referring to these goals, outcomes, and assignments throughout this essay, and they

can be found on the website.

philosophy within the library and information professions, I felt rather comfortable. I had

already created an identity for myself in the past, although in a different way, during my

undergraduate, where I had to create a personal logo and website. Developing a

philosophy, however, was more complicated, especially considering that I realized early

on in the MLIS program that my views still had a lot of growing to do. LIS 701 brought

many of those issues to a head, as many of the issues presented in that class I never

really put much thought into. Even ideas and topics that I did already have a perspective

still had many elements that I didn’t think much about prior to taking that course. The

artifact I chose for goal 1a, the research paper Immigration in the World of Libraries,

was a prime example of this. I have always thought that our country should do more to

support immigrants, but taking this course and looking at things from a librarian

perspective made me realize that simply saying that blanket term was not enough. Just

vouching for support in a library community is not enough, and they require much more

action than just words, such as diversifying collections, improve access to information,

and creating events. Realizing the flaw in simply vouching for support allowed me to

improve my librarian philosophy by being more detailed orientated and helped me put

my words into action.

For the second goal, which deals with understanding the essential nature of information

and its relevance to our diverse society, many of the artifacts featured items that

expanded my knowledge on areas in library and information science that are lacking in

terms of diversity and how to improve them. My artifact for outcome 2c, An Analysis of

LGBTQ+ Issues in Library of Congress Subject Headings and Resource Description

MLIS for this reason. Evaluating the abundance of issues that these cataloging

programs have had over the years showed me that the world of libraries still has a long

way to go in terms of diversity. But by becoming aware of these issues and critically

evaluating them, we can improve these systems so that they are more inclusive, even if

some of this data is hidden from patrons and only visible to librarians.

The third goal, navigate, curate and create information across the spectrum of human

records, is something that, while I think everyone has done before, needs to be refined.

We have all searched and browsed information online, and many of us have

accumulated information through various different ways, and we never think of it as

curate and creating information. However, in order for this information to be evaluated

and collected effectively, skills needed to be learned, many of which I learned for artifact

3a. This assignment, which had us digitize physical materials into digital artifacts, was

challenging, as simply scanning in an item was not enough. We had to ensure that our

items, in my case photos from my grandma, were of the upmost quality, which led to

quite a bit of tinkering with the scanner and creating information about each photo. The

vast majority of these photos needed additional information, since you could not tell

what was happening in them in a glance. So additional information was needed to

provide context so that anyone seeking these photos can understand what information

they contain. As I said before, it was challenging, both from a digitizing standpoint and

gathering the information, but it created an artifact that not only do I think provides

enlightening information, but also allowed me look back on time with my grandma. On

the other end of the spectrum, the artifact for outcome 3c allowed me to evaluate
information with a magnifying glass, seeing what information would really be useful for

research purposes and which wouldn’t be.

The fourth goal, synthesize theory and practice within a dynamic, evolving, and diverse

information environment, contains two artifacts I am most proud of. The first, featured

for outcome 4a, is my cataloging portfolio that I created for LIS 730. Cataloging has

always been something that I loved to do throughout my career, and this was the first

time I had ever created records from scratch. Not only that, but this was the first time I

had ever cataloged items other than a book. These five records really allowed me to

test my skills and put them into professional practice as if I was going to actually use

these records for library use. One of my other personal favorite artifacts, featured under

outcome 4b, is a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon event that I helped host while working as the

acquisition’s coordinator at the Rebecca Crown Library. This event sought to teach

students how to edit and create Wikipedia pages, not only so that they could fix errors

and add information, but also so that they could make Wikipedia as a platform more

diverse. Hosting this event not only allowed me to evaluate Wikipedia as a platform, but

also add diverse information and edit preexisting pages. I personally think that

Wikipedia is a great source for starting research, as it can provide some more

information that you can apply to more extensive research. So making this website as

helpful as possible, and teaching others how to do it, will hopefully make the research

process easier for others.

Finally, goal five, effectively communicate and collaborate to deliver, market, and

advocate for library and information services, allowed me to fine tune the skills I learned

while obtaining my degree so that I am prepared for working in libraries. This goal
features what is most definitely the artifact I spent the most time on, featured in outcome

5a, the research guides I helped create and curate for the Rebecca Crown Library. This

project was a huge undertaking that I started all the way back in 2020, and I am still

actively working on to this day. This artifact had two major parts to it: developing a guide

for others working on research guides can follow so that guide can remain useful and

consistent throughout, and the actual creation of guides. I worked on this project with

several of my colleagues, and the main elements that I focused on for creating the

guide was to create rules for accessibility, creating html code, and designing images via

Canva, a graphic design platform. Prior to this, I had never really worked or put much

through into accessibility tools, but I now realize just how important using these tools is

for people with disabilities. From making sure images are distinguishable for people with

colorblindness to providing information in the code of images so screen readers can

identify them, these tools are key for people with vision disabilities to use our guides

without any issues.

This goal also had me build on leadership skills and improve them, which I discuss in

outcome 5c. In addition to this artifact, however, my time working at the Rebecca Crown

Library has also helped prove these skills in the field, especially recently. In July, my

supervisor left Dominican to pursue another job, and since then, I have been running

the technical services department until we hire a technical services librarian. This

change, while challenging, has helped me develop numerous leadership tools that and

proved significant for improving my leadership skills. During the months I have been

leading this department, I have worked on the backlog of items for the McGreal Center

and other items that require original cataloging, successfully implemented rented items
into our catalog, worked with the Innovation Lab staff to set up a circulation desk for

non-traditional items (drones, headphones, Legos, etc.), and collaborated on weeding

projects with other departments. This was also the first time that I held a job search on

my own, which lead to the successful hiring of a student worker for the technical

services department who works alongside our intern on other projects. This is just some

of what I have done while managing the technical services department in this time, and I

am very proud of the leadership and communication skills I have developed during that

time.

In conclusion, these five goals and their subsequent artifacts, and the experience I have

gained while working at the Rebecca Crown Library, helped me develop skills and tools

that I believe have prepared me for a career in librarianship. The items present in my e-

portfolio have helped me build my professional identity and learn the ins and outs of

librarianship and the responsibilities we have. This ranges vastly from ensuring that

libraries stay diverse and accepting communities to providing accurate and effective

information to patrons. In addition to my artifacts, my personal experience working at

the Rebecca Crown Library, especially in recent months when I have been managing

the technical services department, have helped me put these skills into practice. I am so

thankful that I took the opportunity to take the student assistant job at Dominican

University during my undergraduate degree that put me on this path. And I am grateful

for what this program has taught me so that I can refine my skills and put them into

practice.