My first visit to the Library of Congress
I cannot predict the future. What I can do is plan. I see continuing to learn as a vital process. I mentioned in my community section that learning never really ends. A project may stop due to deadlines, but I can still learn from that community as I discovered in my community analysis project mentioned on another page.
I currently live near a community that allows for unlimited learning opportunities. Museums, history, monuments, and of course libraries of all shapes and sizes. Visiting these places allows me to learn about the community and about the nation, something easy to take advantage of.
Finding and taking classes will always be a vital part of moving forward. However there are many ways of taking classes now. The Internet is providing increasingly more ways of learning from free seminars to watching people on YouTube. Volunteering in a community will always provide opportunities for personal growth.
Library Science is a rapidly changing world. With technology always an important part of the profession, finding ways to keep up becomes important. MIT and other top universities offer free, online courses in many different technology subjects. As I transition from student to professional, these courses, especially programming and database courses, will me maintain and learn new abilities.
In order to keep up with the changing world of libraries directly, the ALA offers webinars. These courses include the latest subjects in the library world and public libraries are not left behind. Between learning from webinars and continuing to attend local, regional, and national conferences I can about new topics and keep up with changes in old ones.
Joining organizations is huge benefit as well. I helped create a website for the NAACP in St. Cloud Minnesota and learned a lot about the community I did not know. I was a member of Toastmasters and met people outside of my normal circle.
There are so many opportunities for learning in today’s world that it is almost overwhelming. I hope people come to me someday as a librarian and that I can help them find the prospects that enable them to meet their personal goals.