Tag: self-determination

Virtual Symposium: From Surviving to Thriving

As I reflected upon this semester I found a couple of themes that really stood out to me. One major theme was this dual purpose and pathway of supporting members of our community From Surviving to Thriving. Libraries serve as a place of safety and refuge. I see this often in my own community in how my libraries serve my unhoused neighbors, providing them with space, resources, and a place for them to relax in dignity. Libraries also serve as places to create and explore: STEAM activities for kids, conversation and social activities for adults, makerspaces for people of all ages. It provides users the opportunity to expand their understanding of the world, their skills, and even their sense of self. It is a place of dreaming and a space of possibility.

While all of us need things like shelter, food and water, safety, connection, and fulfillment, every community will have different specific obstacles and resources to actually meeting those needs. Our job is to be curious and flexible. We must understand what our community lacks, and also what strengths it has. If our community lacks public transportation but has many families with mini-vans, could we coordinate carpooling efforts for community events or voting to expand access? If we have a large immigrant population, can we build programs of mutual culture and language sharing? If we have a large population of seniors can we create programming where they can share their stories, get help digitizing their memories (oral histories, photographs, etc.) and contribute to our local historical archives for future generations?

There are so many opportunities to collaborate with our library users and local groups and organizations to benefit many in our community. I think we have to look beyond traditional problem-solving and service providers to see just what our users themselves can do.

This has been such a wonderful journey. Through this class I feel like my mind is bursting with ideas and possibilities. More than ever I want to dive in and help build these kinds of collaborations in my community.

Thank you all for your generous sharing and ideas this semester!

Welcome and Hello

Welcome to The Linked Knode! 

My name is Yadir. I am a disability advocate and information nerd.

I’ve been thinking about the ways groups and communities create and use knowledge for several years. “Knode” is a word I coined and use on my personal digital garden site at https://yknode.link. Here is the definition I use for it:

knode noun  (knowledge + node)
A point of intersection and perspective containing a unique collection of information, wisdom, and connections.

For work I support people with developmental disabilities in California advocate for themselves and coordinate support services that are personalized, rooted in community, and effective at meeting their needs. The Medicaid program that I work within is complex — has rules at the federal, state, and regional levels that need to be navigated –, involves many different players, and is constantly changing. It is my dream to create a centralized community platform to house and exchange information about the program, what people in the community are experiencing, successes and obstacles, and solutions. I imagine this might look like the combination of a forum and wiki.

Creating this living information hub and others like it is the kind of work I want to do. I can see myself doing this work directly in community settings and with community organizations, or through public libraries. I’m also really interested in growing my skills in organizing information to be most easily accessible, digestible, and useful to the people who use it.

Central to how I see my work as an informational professional are principles of:

    • participation
    • collective knowledge
    • stewardship
    • community empowerment

I want communities to participate in the creation and stewardship of knowledge, and to feel empowered to make use of the knowledge that already exists in their communities to solve problems.

I have been looking forward to taking the Hyperlinked Library course since I first applied to the SJSU MLIS program because I think it aligns so well with my values and goals. I am looking forward to getting to know and learn from all my fellow students.

In my free time, I love to read, watch, play, and listen to fiction — particularly sci-fi and fantasy. I recently enjoyed the latest novella in The Murderbot Diaries series, Platform Decay by Martha Wells; and the second novel in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty. I also really enjoy Japanese manga and anime Haikyuu!! and Dr. Stone are two of my all-time favorites. I’m currently playing Sea of Stars on Playstation 4 and loving it, it’s got a retro feel and full of so much heart. And last but not least, I love listening to the Friends at the Table podcast, they tell such incredible, powerful stories.

I can’t help but think a lot about how we work with information and how we might be able to work with information in the future when I am listening to The Murderbot Diaries.