[nabs-l] Grad School Essay

Tue Jul 17 03:42:44 UTC 2012

Also, on SAAVI, I'd put parinthesis, and what SAAVI stands for,
(because I have never heard of it.)
Thanks, Joshua

On 7/16/12, Deb Mendelsohn <deb.mendelsohn at gmail.com> wrote:
> HI Brandon,
> Thank you for reading and critiquing.
> I am going to make the changes you suggested.
> Deb
>
> On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 8:06 PM, Brandon Keith Biggs <
> brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello, my quick review:
>> This is confusing and doesn't flow very well:
>>
>> Furthermore, contemporary organizations have intellectual property, which
>> the user must be able to choose which available format serve their needs.
>>
>> It sounds funny by saying organizations and which.
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> That's kind of a long sentence and the first line is missing a word or 2.
>> I would have put a description before material's. Projects as assigned?
>> or
>> assigned projects?
>>
>>
>> Latin term meaning, “friend of the court”
>> If it was me, I'd put an A before the quote.
>>
>>
>> Presently, I am interning at SAAVI
>> If there was no word limit, I'd put an intern.
>>
>>
>> By organizing, the collection by
>> genre and alphabetically by the author will make the collection user
>> friendly to everyone.
>>
>> This needs to be rewritten and some commas taken out.
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> An fascinating? Also, I'd change that which to something less common.
>>
>> Heh, the last paragraph... I'll put an asterisk where the English needs
>> another look.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> Lets see some more enthusiasm in this sentence, it's the most important
>> sentence in the paper:
>>
>> As a librarian with my MLS degree, I would
>> like to work in the academic world,
>>
>> What?
>>
>> Without awareness to these special
>> needs, *we neglecting to communicate critical information to many unique
>> needs
>> groups.
>>
>> many people with unique needs? Or can it be more interesting?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>> -----Original Message----- From: Deb Mendelsohn
>> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 7:24 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Grad School Essay
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -- **
>> ______________________________**_________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/**listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/**options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/**
>> brandonkeithbiggs%40gmail.com<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/brandonkeithbiggs%40gmail.com>
>>
>> ______________________________**_________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/**listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org>
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/**options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/deb.**
>> mendelsohn%40gmail.com<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/deb.mendelsohn%40gmail.com>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> *Deb's Cell:  520-225-8244*
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%40students.pccua.edu
>