Big Picture

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On Being a “Traditional” Librarian

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 16, 2013. For the past few months, in addition to being a full time student, I’ve also been working as a librarian at an elementary school.  The other day, I was talking to a friend about my job, and she excitedly […]

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Locally Grown Library Advocate

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on January 6, 2012. A year and a half ago I wouldn’t have described myself as an advocate for much of anything. Ive always kept aware and informed on ‘the issues’ and I always vote—but until recently I didn’t sign petitions, or call […]

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The Hats We Wear

The capstone course of my dual degree in Children’s Literature and Library and Information Sciences is on “positionality.” Half the the students in the class been in the dual degree […]

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Precarious Labor, Student Workers, and Coronavirus

I’m taking a break from my series “To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” to talk about the impact coronavirus has had on the LIS field/students. I’m in Seattle, the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. I live near the Life Care Center of Kirkland, where the first U.S. death occurred and now where over 25 people have died. All Washington state K-12 schools have been cancelled for at least six weeks and the University of Washington, along with other higher education institutions, moved online. Museums and public libraries have closed to the public, and buses and the streets of Seattle are empty. There’s no longer traffic at rush hour as many people now work from home. But what are the impacts on student library workers, grant-funded workers, or LIS students working on capstones, practicums, or internships?

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To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: Mentorship

Mentorship – in any form – can be an effective way for LIS students of color to learn more about the field. We learn a lot outside the classroom through jobs, internships, and volunteer experiences, and mentorship is another aspect that can help increase a student’s knowledge. Yet besides learning about the academic hiring process, dealing with negative workplace environments, or where to find job postings, mentorship of LIS students of color by mentors of color can help us see ourselves in the field, learn how to navigate white spaces, and how to advocate for ourselves.

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To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: Imposter Syndrome, Mental Health, and Surviving Another Day

Nearly everyone in grad school has dealt or is currently dealing with imposter syndrome. Those who claim to have never suffered from it are either lying or actually are the imposters. Alyssa wrote about imposter syndrome in September so, for this post, I’d like to focus on imposter syndrome as a person of color and especially for those of us who also have mental illnesses.

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To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: ALA Ethnic Caucuses Part 1

Before even starting library school, students can join local and national associations, such as the American Library Association, often at a student rate. Within ALA are five ethnic caucuses: the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Chinese American Library Association (CALA) and REFORMA—the National Association to Promote Library Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.