Additional Competencies
The following are other skills and knowledge bases I have honed during the MIS program.
Research & Evaluation:
My research and evaluation skills and knowledge come from both my courses and my co-op placements. One of the MIS required courses is ISI 5307 Research and Evaluation in Information Studies. I learned proper research methods and ethics and put those to use when writing a research proposal and literature review on the subject of how the Ottawa Public Library system acts on the principle of public libraries supporting and upholding democracy.
Furthermore, the MIS courses ISI 5705 Principes de gestion pour le professionel de l'information and ISI 5704 Reperage des ressources informationelles also provided opportunities for evaluation. For ISI 5704, I completed a Search Engine Evaluation of the medical database PubMed as well as conducted sample searches using various search engines based on provided scenarios. Similarly, in ISI 5705, I wrote a case study in which I evaluated a past summer job I had based on principles of management.
Concerning my co-op placements, my research and evaluation skills were used and honed on multiple occasions. At the Library of Parliament, I conducted a qualitative analysis on the relevance of night shifts in the library. This project required that I compile and analyze night shift reports from 2015-2018 as well as search the minutes of Library of Parliament Committee minutes dating back to the 1880s. I received very positive feedback from my supervisor, who planned to present my findings to the Library of Parliament board. Additionally, at Joule I reviewed blog posts published by the different departments at Joule to verify facts and evaluate sources. This was done to ensure overall accuracy for publications by Joule. My supervisor was particularly impressed with the work I completed in this domain.
Teamwork & Collaboration:
The teamwork and collaboration skills I have cultivated during my time at the University of Ottawa have come from many different places. To start, I am the Communications Officer and Web Master for the AESISSA student council. Myself, Genvieve Compain, Grace Clark, Sarah Potts, and Raphael Plamandon had to work as a team to organize events for first year students that were helpful and engaging. I plan to put these skills to use within the public library to provide the best services possible to library patrons.
Moreover, I also engaged in teamwork and collaboration during my co-op placement with Joule. There is a small, three-person team of librarians at Joule who work in close contact to respond to client requests and organize the company's information resources. While I was part of this team, I collaborated with the other librarians to respond to client requests as well as help launch and test Joule's new website. Working with colleagues to see a project to successful completion is an important skill that will benefit me in the public library when introducing new programs and services.
One of the MIS electives I took was ISI 6314 The Publishing Business Transformations and Opportunities. During this course, we worked to publish a book as a class. In addition to each being responsible for writing a chapter of the book, the class was divided into a marketing team, administration team, and illustration team. I was a member of the administration team, and part of our duties were to create a template for writing and organizing the chapters. Each team had to meet certain deadlines so that the other could begin their work. Completing projects on a schedule to enhance the performance of an entire group is a key skill that should serve me well within the public library. Below is the chapter I wrote for the class book.