SJSU MLIS E-Portfolio

Hello everyone! My name is Emmanuel Edward Te. For the past two years, since Spring semester 2016, I pursued a Master in Library and Information Science (MLIS) through SJSU’s School of Information (iSchool). I see myself as an aspiring information professional and psychological researcher. I graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of San Francisco with a second major in Theology and Religious Studies in 2014. Focusing on the Information Intermediation and Instruction career pathway, I want the skills that I gained here to help me assist researchers – students, faculty, and myself – in conducting quality research. I hope to enter a psychology PhD program at some point after completing my MLIS to pursue my research aspirations further. My personal goal is to conduct research with an interdisciplinary perspective, investigating topics of psychology and theology and religious studies using the skills and perspective of library and information science (LIS). 

In synthesizing and reflecting on what I learned throughout my coursework, I see that Information Intermediation and Instruction involves “6 C’s”: Content Creation and Consumption, Connection and Collaboration in Community. Content is built up from information, and in our digital, technological, information age, anyone can create and consume content through a wide variety of means. It is up to the information professional then to connect people with appropriate and relevant information to meet their information needs and to collaborate to show people how to access, retrieve, and use that information efficiently and effectively. People with similar information needs and information seeking behaviors come together as a community to explore and address them. This concept of “information communities” forms the foundations for all iSchool students first entering the program, defined as dynamic groups of people that: 

1. Use various forms of communication and technologies to share information and establish relationships,

2. Collaborate and share information among diverse groups, 

3. Reflect specific information needs of that particular group, 

4. Operate beyond barriers (geographical, economic, cultural, etc.) that often prevent information access,

5. Foster a sense of connectedness among like-minded people (Fisher & Durrance, 2003). 

As part of a service-oriented profession, successful information professionals know how to serve various groups of people by helping them articulate and define their needs, navigate through various information sources and services, retrieve, evaluate, and integrate relevant materials, and teach users information literacy skills through formal instruction or online tools and content. 

The content throughout this e-portfolio and my discussion of the 15 competencies can be summarized by the following 10 verbs (presented here in alphabetical order and not in any order of importance): 

• Collaborating

• Discussing

• Documenting

• Organizing

• Presenting

• Reflecting

• Researching

• Synthesizing

• Troubleshooting

• Writing

Each of these ten verbs will play out to varying degrees across how I approach defining and discussing each competency and its associated artifacts and narratives as supporting evidence. As the SJSU iSchool hopes for its MLIS graduates, each graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program is able to... 

A. Demonstrate awareness of the ethics, values, and foundational principles of one of the information professions, and discuss the importance of intellectual freedom within that profession;

B. Describe and compare organizational settings in which information professionals practice;

C. Recognize the diversity (such as cultural and economic) in the clientele and employees of an information organization and be familiar with actions the organization should take to address this diversity;

D. Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy;

E. Design, query, and evaluate information retrieval systems;

F. Use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital information items;

G. Demonstrate understanding of basic principles and standards involved in organizing information such as classification and controlled vocabulary systems, cataloging systems, metadata schemas or other systems for making information accessible to a particular clientele;

H. Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies;

I. Use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information;

J. Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors;

K. Design instructional programs based on learning principles and theories;

L. Demonstrate understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the ability to design a research project, and the ability to evaluate and synthesize research literature;

M. Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for professional work including collaboration and presentations;

N. Evaluate programs and services using measurable criteria;

O. Identify ways in which information professionals can contribute to the cultural, economic, educational, and social well-being of our global communities (MLIS core competencies, n.d.).

Each section uses the following template: 

• Competency Definition.

• Discussion of Competency Supporting Evidence.

• Future Directions.

• References.

For each of the 15 competencies, I define key aspects of the competency in relation to my coursework and other relevant experiences. I then provide artifacts as evidentiary items in relation to the contexts in which they were created (courses, work experiences, etc.) that support what I discuss in the competency definition, providing links to the actual documents and embedding the digital objects directly onto the page where applicable (e.g., videos, graphics, images). I then provide some reflective thoughts in relation to where I would expand on the lessons gained from the evidence that aligns with the competency in future work positions and work places. I also provide appropriate APA (American Psychological Association) style references to show that my statements are supported by the academic literature and other relevant sources. 

Each competency is written so it can stand on its own, though I do highlight some connections between content across competencies in bracketed statements. I also provide numerous optional hyperlinks to supplement my discussions, linking to external content and additional documents as relevant. The competencies can technically be read from A to O, but to get a quicker grasp at some of my core takeaways from this program, I recommend reading Competency I first.

I hope you enjoy your stay! 

References

Fisher, K. E., & Durrance, J. C. (2003). Information communities. In K. Christensen & D. Levinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of community: From the village to the virtual world (Vol. 4, pp. 658-660). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781412952583.n248

MLIS core competencies (program learning outcomes). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ischool.sjsu.edu/current-students/courses/core-competencies