This tag was created by Curtis Fletcher.  The last update was by Linda Huynh.

Linda Huynh Capstone (E-Portfolio) Main Menu E-Portfolio Homepage Biography E-Portfolio Action Plan Statement of Professional Philosophy (SOPP) Job Search Artifact Matrix Program Goals Program Goals represent the MMLIS degree's Student Learning Outcomes Diversity Statement Conclusion A reflective essay discussing the issues and tasks I confronted and the insights and skills gained during the construction of this e-portfolio.

Program Goal - Understand Library Ecology & Information Networks

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The ecology of libraries and information networks consists of information professionals (librarians, archivists, etc.) whose goals are to engage with information resources (books, academic journals, etc.) and expand and sustain access to information users (library patrons, academic professors, etc.). This ecology exists in various unique environments because of its need to adapt to the growing changes in 21st-century technology (how technology impacts the libraries’ target users retrieve information) and the needs of the represented community to access library information (i.e., simplifying catalog records for limited-English proficient users). Therefore, obtaining a Library and Information Science (LIS) degree is critical to recognize and uphold these objectives. From the Master of Management in Library and Information Science (MMLIS) program, I learned about library systems and how they strive to create sustainable access to information resources for users. However, there is no one correct way to do this because information technologies are constantly changing, and LIS professionals need to adapt to the user community’s best interest. The two artifacts that will demonstrate my understanding that the ecology of libraries and information networks are continuously changing and adapting to the needs of creating easier access for users to access information, but what remains constant is LIS professionals’ role to commit to the goal of expanding equitable access to information.  

Historical Library Figure
This artifact is a brief research assignment on a historical library figure I created for my LIM 500 Fundamentals of Library and Information Science course. I learned about Shiyali R. Ranganathan and his transcending contributions to the library field across countries. Ranganathan (1892-1972) was known as the “Father of Indian Librarianship”. Of his many library contributions, he conceived the Five Laws of Library Science, which describes the ecology of libraries with five decrees he developed inspired by his Hindu devotions (Finks, 1992). Those five laws state, “Books are for use; Every person, his or her Book; Every book, its reader; Save the time of the reader; The library is a growing organism”. The artifact delves more into the relevancy of the five laws to 21st-century ecology of libraries. However, what I want to point out here is Ranganathan’s “The library is a growing organism”. It recognizes that the ecology of libraries is continuously expanding with the mind of the library user. It is with this artifact that I understood this goal and that the ecology of libraries means that information resources are unconfined to the walls of the library (Google, Kanopy, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) and that LIS professionals are the facilitators of knowledge within information networks.

Draft a Library Policy
In this MMLIS program, I learned that library policies are imperative creations that sustain a library’s ecology. This artifact is an assignment from the LIM 537 Legal, Ethical, and Strategic Fundamentals for Library Managers. It demonstrates how different library environments have different assessed needs; therefore, library policies should reflect community needs. The assignment prompt was to draft a policy to protect the privacy rights and confidentiality of library users based on a scenario- the city of Arrow is noticing economic growth from tourism businesses and tax revenues and wants to utilize those funds for creating a new public library. That new library will need a privacy rights and confidentiality policies, which I, the newly hired library director, would need to draft. While drafting this policy, I examined and compared many public libraries’ versions and extracted elements that I thought were relevant to the city of Arrow. This assignment taught me a lot about how vital it is for LIS professionals to protect the privacy rights and confidentiality of library users while expanding access to information resources. In addition, it is in policies that LIS professionals can include the library mission or values, elements that are part of the ecology of libraries. Mission/values set up the agreements on how a library ecology is run within staff and between staff and users. According to Haycock & Raomaniuk (2018), a patron can understand a lot of what a library offers by reading the mission, values, and strategic planning of a library. Therefore, in this artifact, I learned that library ecologies run well when LIS professionals draft policies and include library missions and values written considerably for library users.

Conclusion
The ecology of libraries and information networks consists of consistent elements that sustain the access of information resources to library users, upheld by LIS professionals knowledgeable of the systems. With the Historical Library Figure artifact, I learned that library and LIS professionals providing access to information resources should adapt and evolve alongside 21st-century information technology. With Draft a Library Policy artifact, I realized that policies and mission/value statements are always needed to sustain the library information network. As I enter the LIS field, I hope to uphold the responsibilities Ranganathan preached in his Five Laws and remember that library policies maintain the ecology of libraries and information networks. 

References
Finks, L. W. (1992). A centennial salute to Ranganathan. American Libraries, 23(7), 593+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A12532717/BIC?u=usocal_main&sid=bookmarkBIC&xid=4190fa8c

Haycock, K., & Romaniuk, M. (2018). The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts. Libraries Unlimited.

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  1. Historical LIS Figure
  2. Draft A Library Policy

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