Here is the link to my Virtual Symposium which explores my Top 10 Takeaways from The Hyperlinked Library Virtual Symposium

For the Context Book Review Assignment in INFO 200, I read the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari which provides insight on the current issues and struggles facing humanity living in this modern age. Some of the difficult topics include technology, community, politics, war, and religion. Harari also looks at education systems and their immediate need to be revamped. “Too many schools focus on cramming information into kids’ brains” (Harari, 2018, p. 264). Schools focus too much on making kids memorize dates and facts for tests instead of teaching important life concepts and foundations that will be useful when they are older. As technology changes…

For my inspiration report, I compiled the innovative services and features from six libraries across the world including: Dokk1 (Aarhus, Denmark), Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria, Egypt) Beijing Library (Beijing, China) Stuttgart City Library (Stuttgart, Germany) Green Square Library (Sydney, Australia) Storyhouse (Chester, UK) Click here for the full report

Last week I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Salt Lake City and remembered going through the Salt Lake City Strategic Roadmap from Module 6 Hyperlinked Environments and Issues. I knew I had to check it out to see their place in the community. The following is the Salt Lake City Public Library Mission Statement: The City Library is a dynamic civic resource that promotes free and open access to information, materials, and services to all members of the community to advance knowledge, foster creativity, encourage the exchange of ideas, build community, and enhance the quality of life. They also have a Culture Statement: We are The City…

According to the National Literacy Trust, “video games are a significant cultural and creative force, often involving a number of art forms, including narrative, design and audio composition” (2024). Video games are simply more than just games. They can educate and teach not only children and young adults but everyone. People can immerse themselves in the power of storytelling, use their brains to solve complex problems, learn about design, listen and experience music and sounds effects, and be creative when figuring out the best approach to a game. A 2021 study by the National Literacy Trust found that video games: Give young people a route into reading and writing Improve…

This Fall, I have an archival internship at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, the largest botanical library and archive in California. They have an impressive archive but these collections are mostly unprocessed. One thing I had hoped to accomplish this Fall was to help establish an online archive or digital repository. Because of time, I will not be able to achieve this but used this assignment to create a plan for the Arboretum to use going forward on establishing this repository. Plan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eyEtOx3tzu1abbSrlefuNLkKqr9Zrppf/view?usp=sharing I also used NotebookLM by Google Labs to create an AI Podcast based on the plan which returned impressive results Podcast: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GvVlSo075VXx3hKWYQJMJfANbC9F0jL0/view?usp=drive_link

Libraries today are becoming much different places than the book repositories of the past. They are becoming important links to help bridge the future of technology with the present. Many libraries are offering innovative services that reflect this changing climate. Here are a few examples of programs that can be added to ensure the world is becoming more connected and less divided. Television & Radio Memphis Public Libraries is the only library in the United States to offer a free public television and radio station. It is available to stream for anyone with an online connection and helps bring free streaming to the community. https://www.memphislibrary.org/wypl/ Cell Phone Lending This program…

I have been pondering libraries and their role in the community while going through the hyperlinked community readings. At the same time, I have been surveying my coworkers at work to see their views and usage of libraries in trying to tie together what I have read through real life opinions. “A recent survey shows 92 per cent of the people think of libraries as a safe place” (Hasan, 2022). Everyone I talked to said that they view libraries as an essential community service and feel that they are safe places where everyone belongs. Although many admitted they have not been to a library in quite a few years, they…

Introduction I spent this Summer in San Francisco for an archival internship. As a photographer, I try to explore and photograph my surroundings in an attempt to capture its beautiful landscapes and iconic landmarks. This time was a bit different for me as I made a conscious effort to talk with locals about the places most important to them to get ideas on where to go instead of just relying on online research. I had heard about the California Academy of Sciences but did not put it on my formal list of places to check out. Science museums are not usually on the top of my list since they are…

Hello everyone! My name is Kyle and live in Orange County, California. I am on the Archives & Preservation pathway for my MLIS and plan to finish in the Spring. For work, I am a photographer and also do photo restoration with a specialty in colorizing old black and white photos. I have done restorations for many museums and historical societies which inspired me to get my MLIS. I love photographing landscapes and historical places. My goal is to photograph all of California and am currently at about 700 places. I also love capturing sunsets, California wildflowers, the Mojave Desert, the Southwest, and National Parks. I just finished an internship…