I have a lot of things I want to work on this year. Many of them are education related: I’m designing my own university course. I’m trying to keep my grades up. I’m trying to write regular blog posts about my experiences as a student. I’m submitting an articles to get my first publication. I’m trying to build connections with my fellow students, professors, and other mentors in my field.
But I also want to work on things other than my LIS studies: I’m continuing my language studies (French, ASL), trying new recipes, learning new communication skills, making friends. I’m trying to be a good member of my local community by cycling instead of driving and advocating for positive change at the local level. Similarly for my online communities, looking for ways to connect people to resources and to other people. I’m working on reducing my digital dependence on Big Tech by finding independent, open-source self-hosted alternatives.
How do my LIS skills help with these non-LIS goals? That’s one of my goals: find practical application for what I’m learning both inside and outside of LIS.
When I started the peer support chat for my program, that was a way to build professional connections with my peers but also make friends. Being a leader in that space has given me an opportunity to practice my communication skills. Evaluating learning resources and methods applies to language studies even if it isn’t part of a university class. Skills like understanding the underlying need and how to map that to available resources are a core part of the reference interview, but can apply to many non-LIS conversations as well. Writing and publishing a paper in a journal helps me build professional skills and make mentorship connections, but the skills there apply when writing to the city council to request more investment in bicycle infrastructure. That request can be supported by evidence that I’m learning the skills to evaluate, summarize, and synthesize. I also have the skills to curate a collection of sources showing the benefits of bicycle infrastructure that other advocates could reference in their efforts. Libraries are often a hub for community activity and advocacy so learning about community services in libraries gives me a head start. Learning about ethics and privacy helps understand threat vectors posed by collaboration between fascist governments and big tech, helping me protect myself, and then generalize that protection to help others through writing zines and hosting workshops for practical skill-building in the community.
I am a whole person. There’s value in connecting the different areas of my life, and having balanced investment in different areas of my life. Doing the thing is doing the thing.