Competency 4: Technological Knowledge and Skills
4A. Information, communication, assistive, and related technologies as they affect the
resources, service delivery, and uses of libraries and other information agencies.
4B. The application of information, communication, assistive, and related technology
and tools consistent with professional ethics and prevailing service norms and
applications.
4C. The methods of assessing and evaluating the specifications, efficacy, and cost
efficiency of technology-based products and services.
4D. The principles and techniques necessary to identify and analyze emerging
technologies and innovations in order to recognize and implement relevant
technological improvements.
1) INFO 5200: Information Organization Project
April 20, 2021
The Information Organization Project, or IOP, is a long-term foundational project designed for the understanding and application of key concepts of information organization. For this project, I selected english manga books as my collection of information objects and I worked to develop a system of organizing them. After creating the organization system, I implemented it using a library management web app, Libib. An Information Organization Project (IOP) involves the classification, cataloging, and structuring of information resources. This kind of project encompasses tasks like developing a taxonomy or ontology for a digital collection, cataloging new acquisitions, and implementing a digital asset management system. Librarians need to be adept at using and troubleshooting these technologies to effectively organize information and the skills and knowledge required for these tasks are intrinsically tied to Competency 4: Technological Knowledge and Skills in the ALA Core Competencies of Librarianship.
2) INFO 5050: Data Analysis and Presentation
March 18, 2023
The project below relies upon data-driven decision making for the greatest impact in student learning. The data gathered here comes from MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing over the span of two years. These MAP data are derived from a computer adaptive test used to measure a student's academic growth and achievement in the areas of math, reading, and language usage. It is designed to assess what students know and are ready to learn, and to provide teachers with data to inform instruction. The focus here is on the Reading data because the school has a high EAL population. These are areas where students struggle overall the most based on these data. There is a prescient need to improve so students can access the curriculum quickly.
The ALA's core competency of "Technological Knowledge and Skills" is intrinsically linked to data-driven decision-making in the library setting. It equips librarians with the tools they need to gather, analyze, interpret, and act on data, ensuring that library services are responsive, effective, and relevant in the digital age.