Three Reasons for Public Librarianship:
Reflective Statement
Official Artifact Name: Paper One: Three Reasons for Public Librarianship
Course for which the Artifact was Developed: LI 863 Current Issues in Management of Information Organizations: Public Librarianship with David Hanson
SLIM Program Outcome: PO1
SLIM Professional Values: PV1 and PV3
This course has focused on preparing for leadership roles in public libraries. The history of public libraries was covered in so far as that history can be used to generate an understanding of the purpose of public libraries. A public library leader can champion the services that support that purpose in order to make their public library relevant, productive, and focused toward a goal.
The theory base for this course is largely out of the business field. Primary readings included Good to Great by Jim Collins and Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. These books discuss why organizations succeed and give frameworks for leaders to consider when planning and decision-making.
This artifact was the first major project of the course. The assignment was to generate a paper discussing what each student finds to be the three to four reasons that student believes to be the core purposes of public libraries. I feel that public libraries exist for the purposes of Guidance, Self-Education, and Entertainment.
In preparing this assignment I had to think very carefully about what I know of public library history, the political and societal environment that public libraries work within, what it is that public libraries do, and what I believe. Out of this introspection, a clear, concise statement was generated.
The paper generated as a result of this assignment was directly applicable to Program Outcome 1 and Professional Values 1 and 3. It expressed a philosophy of librarianship, one that shows a commitment to ethical behavior, knowledge, and attitudes, while delivering client-centered services that do not discriminate and that I can proudly express as a library and information professional.
Course for which the Artifact was Developed: LI 863 Current Issues in Management of Information Organizations: Public Librarianship with David Hanson
SLIM Program Outcome: PO1
SLIM Professional Values: PV1 and PV3
This course has focused on preparing for leadership roles in public libraries. The history of public libraries was covered in so far as that history can be used to generate an understanding of the purpose of public libraries. A public library leader can champion the services that support that purpose in order to make their public library relevant, productive, and focused toward a goal.
The theory base for this course is largely out of the business field. Primary readings included Good to Great by Jim Collins and Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. These books discuss why organizations succeed and give frameworks for leaders to consider when planning and decision-making.
This artifact was the first major project of the course. The assignment was to generate a paper discussing what each student finds to be the three to four reasons that student believes to be the core purposes of public libraries. I feel that public libraries exist for the purposes of Guidance, Self-Education, and Entertainment.
In preparing this assignment I had to think very carefully about what I know of public library history, the political and societal environment that public libraries work within, what it is that public libraries do, and what I believe. Out of this introspection, a clear, concise statement was generated.
The paper generated as a result of this assignment was directly applicable to Program Outcome 1 and Professional Values 1 and 3. It expressed a philosophy of librarianship, one that shows a commitment to ethical behavior, knowledge, and attitudes, while delivering client-centered services that do not discriminate and that I can proudly express as a library and information professional.