An Introduction

Here is a short piece I wrote for my Useable Library Class as an introduction of myself to my classmates. I think it captures my essence.

I am a mother of two and grandmother of four. Grandchildren are the frosting on the cake of life. I work for the City of Seattle as a finance analyst and have had no previous library work experience. This is a mid-life (well, just past mid-life, anyway) career change for me. I have always wanted to become a children’s librarian, so pass the word – it’s never too late!

I love reading, walking in the woods and down the beach. I love to bake bread and I’m still looking for the ultimate cinnamon bun recipe. I love to knit (Granny’s Zen Zone) and shopping in yarn and quilt shops. I have a fascination with “Ice Road Truckers”, “Ax Men” on the History Channel, and Masterpiece Theater on PBS.

What I have learned so far in this life: Don’t worry about the small stuff or about things you don’t have any control over; laughter is good exercise and good for the soul; everything in moderation (with the exception of ice cream); a glass of red wine every night; and understanding it’s a privilege to grow old.

Info Tech Project

Although there were many, many times I had to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my brain to divide and conquer the tasks and rigors of the IT coursework (LIS 541, and INFX 542). I was able to accomplish what I had previously thought of as “no way – I’ll let Lesley figure this out – my computer whiz daughter”. But I found I could actually do this on my own and be successful in completing these courses including the technological components of more than a few of the other coursework assignments. My daughter, at one point early on, said “Geez, Mom, you are way past me – you are on your own, and by the way, do you think you could help me with this computer program?” HA! Victory is mine!

Seriously though, I accomplished more in this area than I thought I was ever capable. After all, as you get older, and your brain cells just don’t stretch like they used to, I was proud to complete these classes with a sense of “Hey, I can do this!” Thanks to all the patience of my professors and Grace, I’ve pulled through.

For my Story Telling class, I was asked to create a recorded storytelling in front of an audience on a blog site. Attached is an example of one of the recorded stories. The story is based on the book, Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile, written by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert, and was illustrated by Julie Paschkis.

Intellectual Experience

Here is where I put my workshop outlines and workshop presentation

Practical Experience

This is where my DFW experience is placed

Leadership Experience

Here is where my RSJI library will be written or my DFW experience

Training Experience

Thanks to LIS 560 with Lorraine Bruce as instructor, I now know how to approach a learning and training assignment I might encounter during my new working career. I have not taught a class, but have instructed individuals in various tasks and computer program in my daily work world. Now with the instruction I received in this class, I understand how to plan, organize, execute, and evaluate a training program.

In the library environment, I hope to encounter opportunities for training or teaching workshops in various areas. For the class I created an outline for a workshop on Recording Personal Histories. I have not yet had to opportunity to use these materials in a real life experience, but I hope to since my goal is to work in a public library and this workshop may be of interest to library patrons.
Attached is the outline I created for the class and Lorraine’s comments of evaluation.