Personal Goals

Some of my personal goals that I want to achieve with my MLIS are to further my understanding of my job, become more qualified for my job, become an accredited librarian and eligible for awards, to specialize more in my area of interest; working with young adults, and to earn a higher level degree.

Right now I work as the Head of Teen Services at the Benton Harbor Public Library (BHPL).  My boss is a woman who holds an MLIS and is in charge of the entire Junior Department.  Each library must have a certain number of degree holding librarians based on the number in the population the library serves.  From what I know, the BHPL has to have at least 2.5 librarians, and right now we have 3.  If I don't obtain my MLIS, when my boss retires, they will most likely hire someone who will become my new boss.  I don't want that to happen, and instead, I want to take over the entire Junior Department in a few years time.

I also want to understand my job better.  Most of what I know now is self taught.  I understand classification pretty well, and I "think like a librarian", but I want to have a deeper understanding of the history of my job, and an idea for what it will be like in the future.

Another thing I'd like to do as an MLIS holding librarian, is to be eligible for different awards.  YALSA, the MLA, and the ALA all give out awards to librarians for outstanding service.  I can not win any of these awards without holding my MLIS.  It's one of my dreams to be able to win an award for my job, because I am very proud of the work that I do and I'd love for it to be recognized.

Throughout my studies I'd like to focus on work with Young Adults.  Wayne State offers a certificate program for working with youth and once I get my MLIS I'd like to complete that certificate program as well.  I am also considering studiying more about urban libraries as well, because Benton Harbor may not be large, but it is a very urban population.

My last goal in obtaining my MLIS would be to have a higher level degree.  I love learning, and I grew up being a good student.  I'll be very proud to have been able to not just obtain a Bachelor's Degree, but also an even higher level degree.  Depending on the amount of work involved, and what my life is like, I am also considering getting a Phd later on, and I also would like to get a second Bachelor's Degree later in life, this time from the University of Michigan which was my dream school as a child.

Sources:
American Library Association. (2012). YALSA. http://www.ala.org/yalsa. retrieved Sept. 17, 2012.
American Library Association. (2012). ALA. http://www.ala.org. retrieved Sept. 17, 2012
Michigan Library Association. (2012). MLA. http://mla.lib.mi.us. retrieved Sept. 17, 2012