Introduction
When I began college, the “personal computer” didn’t exist, card catalogs still were made of cardstock, Richard Nixon had not yet caused the creation of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, and ISO15489 wasn’t even a gleam in the eye of records managers. I had no idea what I wanted to do as a career
Much has changed since then.
The Presidential Libraries concept has expanded into a full-fledged arm of the National Archives and Records Administration, ISO 15489 has been in use world-wide for over ten years, catalog cards are used for elevator wallpaper because the information is now electronic, and personal computers have not only become common, but sometimes as small as a pad of legal paper. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, and developed a long career in that field. In 1998, I began to do serious research into my family’s history, and started using archives for onsite and remote research. In 2006, I decided to become an archivist.
While all those changes were happening, the fields of archives and records management acquired entirely new areas to focus on. Just as more and more individuals and organizations became aware of the value in preserving their records for archival research, organizations also became aware of the need to store current business records in a manner to validate their authenticity for legal, historical and administrative reasons. Libraries began a gradual shift to accommodate the new ways their patrons access information and expect to use that information. It’s no longer enough to offer shelves of books and periodicals to be borrowed for a few weeks; patrons need access to online serial databases, online reference materials, digital collections, audio and video files, and the ability to work with all of these from anywhere, not just from in front of the Reference and Circulation desks.
The process of learning the information, theories, and practices needed to become an archivist has been my focus since 2009 when I began this program. I’ve learned much more than I ever anticipated grasping, including becoming aware of the many details, skills, facets, and core knowledge which an archivist relies upon to do his or her daily and ongoing work.
Additionally, because this is a Masters of Library and Information Science, I’ve learned that planning, running, and helping patrons to use a library entails many more skills and knowledge than I’d noticed in my own library use. While the traditional librarian was portrayed as someone who reshelved incorrectly-placed books, guided users to different sections of the library to answer their questions, or maintained strict decorum, I now realize how knowledgeable librarians ought to be, and how much more useful they could be to their patrons, if only the patrons knew what to ask.
This, my e-Portfolio, documents the theories and concepts I’ve learned during this program with the School of Library and Information Science. As a consequence of explicating for these pages what I’ve learned, and documenting that knowledge through examples of my work, I’ve gained an even stronger appreciation for what I’ve gained. While I reviewed my research papers, discussion postings and commentary, and notes from each course, I also realized how my new knowledge from many classes intertwined in ways I didn’t necessarily realize as I was in the middle of it all.
This e-Portfolio is a culmination of all the knowledge I’ve gained in this program, and in its pages I hope to clearly demonstrate my mastery of the many competencies upon which this program is based.
Note: Personal names of classmates have been redacted. Some specific documents have also been removed for privacy reasons.
Hilary Henkin
MLIS Candidate 2012
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