Practical Experience

I am so glad I took advantage of the opportunity to gain practical experience outside the classroom by participating in directed fieldwork. In the summer of 2006, I served one hundred hours helping at the Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library while gaining knowledge and experience in reference work, children’s services, collection development, and outreach. In addition to fulfilling (and in some cases surpassing) all of the learning objectives I outlined with my fieldwork mentor, Brian Bannon, I had the unique opportunities to plan and lead a book discussion group of second-grade girls, and to present library services to foster children and their families at a back-to-school fair.

I am also in the process of completing a directed fieldwork at the Eton School Library in Bellevue. The Eton School is a Montessori school with students in preschool through eighth grade. Here I work with students in a wide variety of age groups in a setting which is unfamiliar to me. In addition to fulfilling my outlined learning objectives in the school library I have the chance to observe the alternative teaching and learning style which takes place in the classrooms.

Additionally, some of my course projects have provided the opportunity to gain practical experience in the field. In LIS 566, Young Adult Materials, the final project was to select books suitable for reluctant readers and present them to young adults at a local middle school. It was a great experience to interact with students and to give mini-booktalks as they talked to me about the materials I selected. In addition, I had the chance to read numerous YA books and to write reviews and give booktalks on them. I know this is definitely a skill I will put to good use in the future.

Because I hope to work with children in the future, I have taken every opportunity to practice common children’s programming skills such as storytelling and booktalking. In my first year I wrote and gave three booktalks for my class on young adult materials, LIS 566, which I later submitted to a booktalking website, and in my second year I attended a booktalking workshop taught by Jennifer Baker, fiction librarian at Seattle Public Library. I also learned invaluable storytelling skills in LIS 561 and practiced telling stories both with and without books to my peers and to groups of children. Using the skills I learned in class, I planned and implemented five storytime programs at the Capitol Hill Library.

Service to the iSchool Community

In addition to the practical experiences I gained in the community, I also served within the iSchool in a number of ways. I donated books and volunteered my time to sell books at two annual Association of Library and Information Science Students (ALISS) book sales. I also worked with ALISS to help plan and set up the “Spring Fling,” a party for students and faculty to celebrate the completion of the school year. Both ALISS events were a huge success, and I am glad I helped that to happen.

Another student organization I spent time serving with was the ALA Student Chapter (SALA). In my first year at the iSchool, I helped to plan and implement a children’s book drive by selecting a local charity, preparing donation boxes, and collecting books. The books were given to the library at the local Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN) shelter for use by the children and teens living there. As president of SALA I plan to oversee the planning of a similar drive this year.