Title of Artifact
Description of Artifact
These are meeting minutes from the September 2013 ALA Student Chapter meeting. I served as co-secretary for ALA-SC during both years in library school (the first year learning, the second year as the ‘mentor’). I prepare agendas and minutes for the officer and general meetings.
SLIS Learning Outcomes Justification
Preparing agendas requires critically thinking about topics and events that might be relevant to the library school population. I had to think ahead and trying to consider all facets of a project before beginning, including the diversity of people involved in ALA-SC. The many people involved all have different information needs, which need to be considered when presenting different activities and options. I improved my teamwork skills by supporting and working with other officers in their roles and with various projects. Good oral and written communication skills are inherent in the secretary’s job of maintaining records of meetings and ensuring members have access and understand information. I had to maintain and present the minutes through an online student group management site, which required learning and mastering a new piece of technology.
Extracurriculars Justification
This was a great experience getting involved in a national organization on a granular level. I learned a little bit of how ALA functions on a national level, and gained some introductory leadership experience. It was also an excellent opportunity to think about the ethics and policies of ALA, and what that means for librarians nationwide. ALA-SC fostered some excellent discussions on the political work of librarians.