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After seven years in small business IT consulting, I realize it's time to either affirm it as my life's work or take action toward a more wholly satisfying career. I do enjoy helping others use (and cope with!) technology for business ends, but I would prefer to support a cause I personally value: the promotion, operation, and protection of library services.
It would be hard to overstate the importance of libraries in my life. Literature shaped my imagination and character; informational books changed my fundamental worldview; contemporary academic discourse has become a hobby. I want to be directly involved in providing everyone else with the same opportunity or better.
Though I intend to stay open to other possibilities in coursework ahead, I am interested in academic librarianship in the areas of collections development, reference, digital libraries, subject specialization in philosophy and religion, and accessibility for visually impaired patrons. I will also follow and participate in the professional discussion of library principles, then do my part in articulating those principles to stakeholders. Day to day, I see myself working to improve the availability of information resources in general, then assisting students, teachers, and community members with their individual needs.
Why grant me this opportunity? Last semester, I earned a flawless grade in my first graduate level class, "Leadership and Management in Libraries and Information Agencies," demonstrating my ability and drive to excel in the program while working full time. But school is one thing, hands-on aptitude is another. My work in information technology has prepared me for a library career in the sense that I am familiar with the process of designing and implementing systems, then giving personal support to the end users of these systems; not to mention the concrete usefulness of IT experience itself in twenty-first century libraries! My demeanor is calm and unflappable. I have an appreciation for ideal solutions, but won't hesitate to address urgent needs with a workable solution. The one form of idealism I will zealously defend against practical concerns is human rights, which include those intellectual freedoms championed by the library profession.
Thank you for your consideration. I am excited to officially get started in this program!
