School Library Portfolio 

Jen Van Ness

Looking towards my future as an information professional and school librarian, I believe strongly in treating all patrons with dignity and respect. I want my library to be an accessible, welcoming environment with a diverse collection representing a variety of identities. I want to help guide patrons on their information-seeking journey and also empower them to make choices along this path. 

After working in libraries in Shanghai, China, and now Kobe, Japan, I am excited to manifest my dream of becoming a school librarian in an international school. I love the diversity of the student population and I enjoy working with students and faculty. I believe that teaching goes beyond the classroom and that librarians can be mentors for teachers. I plan to lead professional development workshops for faculty in my role as a teacher librarian. I value liaising with teachers to develop lesson plans to advance student learning. I aspire to teach both in the library and in the classroom to find what best fits the needs for the teacher and the students. 

I value diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. I hope to lead my school in DEIJ initiatives, specifically diversity in children’s literature. As Dr. Bishop describes in her seminal article, “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors”, children should see themselves reflected in the literature they read. Books can be windows, where the reader can look through to see other worlds. Books are also sliding glass doors readers can walk through to join a fictionalized world. Children’s literature is transformative, and when children find themselves in the book they are reading, it acts to assert their presence. (Bishop, 1990, p. ix)

I believe librarianship is an act of service, and the manifestation of this service happens through open, positive, engaged, nonjudgemental interactions with patrons and students. I seek to serve my school, its students, and faculty by providing the highest level of service.

Resource:

Bishop R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 6(3), ix–xi.