Elective Coursework - Sample 1
Course: IS 243: Public Libraries
Justification:
In the fall of 2019, I took Robert Karatsu’s public library course in order to broaden my understanding and knowledge of libraries. I enjoyed the class as it allowed me to learn a broad category of topics about public librarianship but it also introduced me to a variety of people within the field that helped to shape my own ideas on what I wanted to pursue as a career as well as what I could potentially pursue that I wasn’t aware of prior to that class. Per the course syllabus, the final assignment wasn’t a traditional paper, but rather a case study about any public library of our choosing. I had chosen the Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch as my research topic. In addition to this project, we were also assigned a programing proposal for the library that we were researching. I ended up proposing an archives space for SMPL that was inspired by LAPL’s own archival space.
I felt it important to include this particular set of papers because of their distinction from the traditional academic text. These papers were designed to be more in line with what I would be producing if I were actually working within these environments so their importance within this portfolio is to express my professional capabilities in the production of work.
The full text of the case study and program are above.