COLLABORATION
Beginning in
ILS-501 Introduction to Information Science and Technology, MLS coursework provided practice in collaboration in
the form of required group projects. In
this class, students were divided into groups of two or three and assigned a
topic on which a group bibliographic essay had to be submitted. I worked with one other student on the topic
of Management Issues.
In ILS-503
Foundations of Librarianship, it was
the final exam that included collaboration and compromise. The class was divided in half and each group
had to design a mission statement, goals, and objectives for a public
library. In the second half of the
final, each student had to independently write commentary on group dynamics and critique the two submissions.
ILS-604
Advanced Reference Materials and Services required a group-designed online service, but in this case, both the
groups and their chosen service were self-selected. I was part of a group of four that assessed
current services at the Naperville Public Library in
EDF-520 Child in American Culture included reading, research, and analysis that will assist me in good instructional design. It also gave me insight into the framework of graduate work in education so that I will more easily relate to educators in the future collaborations so essential to my goals of increasing knowledge and use of libraries.