Hello all! My name is Anita, and I go by they/she pronouns. I am based in the San Jose area, and my professional background is in education, graphic/UX design, and bookselling. I am currently a volunteer for the Organization for Transformative Works. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing video games, hoarding craft materials, and writing fanfiction.
Though my chosen career pathways have more to do with information and data, I am a firm believer that libraries are centers of not just knowledge but connection. As someone who grew up in multiple countries and speaking different languages, I have particular interest in how we empathize with those beyond our immediate social and cultural groups.
I am also interested in how technology has shaped our relationship with information—my CYOA-style discussion posts in prior courses such as Reference/Information Services, Information Literacy, and Information Architecture tended to focus on how Google, other major tech companies, and LLMs have influenced our information behaviors. I look forward to exploring this topic further in this course!
Currently reading: Babel, by R. F. Kuang
Currently playing: Pokopia
A selfie taken while showing my partner around Taipei last Thanksgiving:
Hi Anita @anitayjc! I also see libraries as places for people to connect, not just access information; but also as places for people to connect to others through connection, across space and time, to learn from the knowledge of others and share their own. Technology absolutely shapes how we interact with information and how information is used in our lives. I love to think about what we could change about our technologies to build better and kinder futueres.
Hey Yadir, thank you for your comment! I do think that connection is an important through-line in library work, and as the readings point out, it’s possible to better reach non-patrons using technology, whether it’s through electronic formats or other services. But libraries do still seem to have a specific reputation for being quiet bookstacks or an alternative to bookstores, and I wonder how more people can understand that libraries offer so much more than books.
(By the way, I remember you from the IA course! Loved your group’s presentation on Ghost of the Doll. Looking forward to learning more alongside you!)
Hi Anita, I’m playing Pokopia as well. Currently attempting to decorate, rebuild, and make my towns look pretty. I don’t know if you get overwhelmed with the amount of “work” required in certain towns. I’ve been staying away from Rocky Ridges.
Hey Karla! It’s so fun seeing how differently everyone plays sandbox games. Though I do have a design background, for some reason I’m just not as interested in designing towns in my video games? I’m just trying to fill my dex and collect all the human records, similar to how my ACNH playthrough was focused on completing the museum haha. That said, I can totally see how Rocky Ridges is intimidating! I’m just (very) slowly clearing it out to see if anything cool is buried/preserved under all the ash—I know the answer exists on the Internet but I don’t want to spoil the surprise (or lack thereof) LOL
It took me a VERY long time to complete my museum in ACNH but I had fun along the way.
As for Pokopia, I finished the main storyline and burned out a bit on all the quests. Which is why I started designing/decorated. Need to organize my inventory, that alone is “stressful”.
Haha, ditto (pun intended) on that last point—inventory management in this game can be quite the headache!
@anitayjc I am thrilled you have done CYOA posts in other classes. This class offers similar! I appreciate your words on connection. Welcome to #hyperlib!
Thank you for the welcome! Very excited to be in this course.