ALA Core Competency Number 7: Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning.
7A. The necessity of continuing professional development of practitioners in libraries
and other information agencies.
7B. The role of the library in the lifelong learning of patrons, including an
understanding of lifelong learning in the provision of quality service and the use of
lifelong learning in the promotion of library services.
7C. Learning theories, instructional methods, and achievement measures; and their
application in libraries and other information agencies.
7D. The principles related to the teaching and learning of concepts, processes and
skills used in seeking, evaluating, and using recorded knowledge and information.
1) INFO 5420, Children's and Young Adult Literature Blog
This blog is my compendium of book reviews for contemporary children's and young adult literature. This blog has over 40 unique entries and was started in the Fall of 2020 and continues today as part of my own personal professional development (7B).I've provided an example of a piece of young adult literature below as a sample of my work. A children's literature blog aligns with ALA's core competency on "Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning" by promoting ongoing education for both the librarian and their community (7A). Such a platform fosters a culture of reading, exploration, and continuous learning, emphasizing the librarian's role in nurturing lifelong learners (7B). I also specifically focused on addressing diverse needs. Children's literature is becoming increasingly diverse, addressing various cultural, social, and personal themes. My blog focuses on these kinds of literature, highlighting diverse books, promoting inclusivity endeavoring to help librarians serve diverse communities better.
In this piece, I composed targeted questions for my mentor to answer about our school library. My interview with my UNT mentor falls under the purview of "Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning" as a knowledge transfer (7A) which promotes reflection and fosters a culture of lifelong learning with ongoing professional growth and development (7C, 7D). Interviewing a mentor can be an invaluable experience, where the mentee gains insights from the career and life of the mentor. Through this vicarious learning, I can glean insight into my mentor’s experiences, mistakes, and successes. In addition to the specificity of the questions asked and answered, interviews address the development of soft skills like leadership, conflict resolution, and communication (7C). Lastly, interviews can provide valuable constructive feedback on a mentee’s current plans or plans for the future in a career of librarianship.