[nabs-l] Grad School Essay

[Deb Mendelsohn]

Hi all,
Stephanie suggested I have others read it.
So here it is:
750-1000 words why I want MLs degree from University of AZ and what I think
is the future of Librarianship.
Thank you!
Deb

In today's fast-paced world, access to information and technology is
critical. To apply and understand our current complex array of information,
it must be organized, accessible, and presented in an intelligent manner.
Furthermore, contemporary organizations have intellectual property, which
the user must be able to choose which available format serve their needs.
My previous work and educational experience have crystallized my desire to
become a library scientist.


My initial experience in the field of library science began in junior high
school. I checked out books to both students and staff. I was amazed at the
sheer number of books, yet they were all organized and easy to find. As a
student at Northeastern Illinois University, I worked as a student aid and
assisted in the library reserve, interlibrary loan, and circulation
services. Specifically, I searched the shelves for the material
requisitioned by the requesting library and packed the books for
Inter-library loan delivery. I also checked in returned material shipped
via interlibrary loan. While working at the circulation desk, I realized
that circulation desk clerks are on the front lines of library customer
service, servicing the patrons, checking in materials, and collecting
fines. Fortifying Patron relationships at the circulation desk, where a
happy patron is a returning patron. Through my work experience in college,
I realized that I wanted to become a librarian because I was so attracted
to the challenge of organizing information to make it accessible to the end
user.


After graduating from Northeastern Illinois University with my B.A. in
Liberal Arts, I began my five-year career with the American Medical
Association (AMA) as a project assistant in the Office of the General
Counsel’s Information Center. As a project assistant, I created a filing
system, or file bank, from a controlled vocabulary using the AMA news
publication. After analyzing the printed articles, reports, and other
materials to determine their subject matter, I added subject headings as
necessary. Each attorney had his or her own specialty, which required a
separate file bank. Attorneys from the Health Law and Corporate Law
Divisions utilized the materials that I assisted in compiling.


The Vice President of the Health-Law Division promoted me to Research
Assistant in 1997 within the department. My responsibilities included
reference and research requests from member physicians and association
staff. Document delivery services were also available to staff and members.
In addition to these duties, I managed the daily activities of the library,
including ordering materials, was responsible a yearly budget of $25,000,
labeling, shelving, routing materials to attorneys, as well as other
projects as assigned. One of my other projects was scanning amici briefs,
Latin term meaning, “friend of the court” making them website accessible.
These briefs were only available to AMA staff. Since  the association
served member physicians, this was not a particularly user-friendly system.
This led me to realize that information is useless unless made available to
the people who need it in a comprehensible format. Print format is only a
small part of presenting information. Podcast, websites, and audio files
are a few examples of the modalities that require professional
organization.


Presently, I am interning at SAAVI (Southern Arizona Association for the
Visually Impaired). I am involved in organizing the SAAVI’s audio books,
which number over 1,500, into a system that is accessible to blind and
low-vision users. This project consists of sorting the audio books into
different media formats, such as compact disc (CD) or cassette, braille,
and large-print labels. Then, I catalog them in braille, large print, and
electronic format. An Access Database will serve as the catalog available
to both clients and staff. The library at Saavi, will house the audio books
with both braille and large-print signage. By organizing, the collection by
genre and alphabetically by the author will make the collection user
friendly to everyone.


I find my work at SAAVI to be an fascinating project because blind and
low-vision users are part of a community, which has unique needs.
Information needs to be accessible, in not only braille and large print,
but also in electronic format. Interestingly, many visually challenged
persons utilize screen readers to access this material. Screen readers pose
specific challenges for conveying information to the blind and low vision
user, one of which is interpreting the images on the audio book cover. Most
screen readers do not read pictures, graphs or charts. Blind users often
denied access to these data.  As a librarian with my MLS degree, I would
like to work in the academic world, organizing information to ensure
accessibility to special-interest groups, such as the blind. In view of the
many limitations of technology, it is crucial that we make these data
available in additional formats.   Without awareness to these special
needs, we neglecting to communicate critical information to many unique
needs
groups.





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