Nikki Carder - MLIS Portfolio
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Collaboration was the most important aspect of my work at the iSchool, and I almost didn't recognize it. It was there, every quarter, in every project; it was the umbrella over everything I did. Maybe that's what took me so long to see it - I didn't look up until the end.

Here’s something I did thirty years ago that demonstrates just how important collaborating has been to me, not just at the iSchool, but throughout my life. I wish I’d done it last year so that I could use it as a portfolio project. My children went to elementary school in Fife. At that time Fife had no public library, and no local county library – the only libraries were those in the schools. It occurred to me one Spring that it was a total waste to have good libraries sitting unused for the entire summer, while local kids went without easy access to books. I was active in the parent-school organization, so I proposed that we find a way to keep the elementary school library open for the summer. I’ll spare all the details, but we were successful. Making it happen was a group effort that required working with the school district and school administrators, the Fife City Council, parents, teachers and kids. It was advantageous for everyone involved.

Fast-forward thirty years. My children are adults and I'm in the final quarters of my MLIS program, beginning to think about my portfolio. I am struggling with how to make diverse topics, experiences, and interests cohesive. Every thread leads back to the value of my group experiences, and that just seems too obvious an observation. Then I attend a Portfolio Session. I finally look up and everything comes into focus. Collaboration is the key for me, and has been throughout my life.

The fortunate thing for me is that collaboration is a cornerstone of Library and Information Science, and the iSchool as well. From cataloging, where fundamental tools like the MARC record and AACR2  have evolved from intensely collaborative efforts, to collection development, which necessitates user/collector understanding and dialog, to overtly cooperative library consortia, to the reference interview, and the development of technical information requirements based on user needs; each of these very diverse areas of information science is grounded in a fundamental relationship between individuals.

That simple concept has been the vital thread to emerge from my iSchool experience. Working with information is very collaborative. I found this to be the case in every course and project I undertook. Group projects became object lessons. They validated the importance of working cooperatively, demonstrated the inherent challenges, and enhanced my ability to work in partnership with others. Almost every class I took at the iSchool required some level of group participation. Those groups, though sometimes frustrating, and occasionally disappointing, were always interesting and educational, and ultimately, very satisfying.

My portfolio reflects my efforts and individual growth over the last three years, but it also represents the efforts of many other individuals. As I learned subject content, I also forged friendships, developed working partnerships, and gained the skills to become a more valuable and well-rounded information professional. Moving forward, beyond the iSchool, I see that Library and Information Science offers an appealing future - intellectual challenges, the chance to examine other perspectives and viewpoints, a reason to investigate unknown fields, and opportunities to work with and for others. I am where I was meant to be.

The work I’ve selected for inclusion here was chosen to demonstrate a couple of things. First I wanted to present items that I thought represented some of my best efforts. But secondly, I wanted to select things that highlighted the valuable collaborative work I’ve done. A book group, a data warehouse team, consortiums, and an online photo album are some of the examples I’ve included. I hope they are as interesting to read as they were to experience.

 

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