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Carolyn L. Bowman UW MLIS Portfolio |
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Service In September 2004 I began volunteering three hours a week at the information desk at the UW's Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH). While such a position was a natural one for me, the relationships I developed with staff and students there continue to impact my MLIS experience. Thankfully, I am able to return the favor, due to two MLIS courses and a current project I am working on for UW's horticulture library, the Elisabeth C. Miller Library. The Miller Library and CUH Information Desk were housed in cramped quarters in 2004, as a new Center and Library were under construction. (Eco-terrorists burned down much of the Center for Urban Horticulture, and severely damaged the library collection, in 2001.) Acting Head Librarian, Brian Thompson, and other staff helped me become acquainted with the collection so that I could assist patrons. Usually, however, I answered gardening questions on the phone, often conducting research and returning calls later. A Master Gardener who volunteers in the library asked to use my PowerPoint presentation about pesticide-free gardening for a program she put together. My work on a Green Building Thesaurus (LIS 537) prepared me to provide librarian Tracy Mehlin with up-to-date links about sustainable building for the Center for Urban Horticulture website. This volunteer position gave me the time and space to become comfortable with new skills related to information science while contributing to an academic environment in which I am comfortable. My subject area knowledge freed me of anxiety and enabled me to concentrate on applying new skills. Library staff and other CUH staff were helpful and kind. In January 2006 I began an indexing project at the Miller Library. Former MLIS students created a database called the Knowledge Base (KB) and a controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing questions (and answers) that come into the library. I am beginning to populate the KB with questions and answers that come to the library through email, QuestionPoint, and on the phone. (Please test the KB by conducting a search for information on "lawns.") I edit and index the questions and answers. I will also develop a plan for long-term indexing (updating the procedures and outlining the process), as well as suggest and add new index terms. I am proud because I was recruited for this project; my subject area knowledge and newly acquired skills (LIS 536, Indexing and Abstracting, and LIS 537, Construction of Indexing Languages) will enhance my contributions to this exciting new tool. In April 2005, I began volunteering two hours a week as a computer tutor at FamilyWorks, a food bank and family resource center in Wallingford. I tutor people off the street, most of whom are unemployed and all of whom are facing challenges in numerous areas of their lives. This experience has meant more to me than almost any other in graduate school, exposing me to unfamiliar teaching opportunities and placing me in the role of a student as well as a teacher. How close we all are to being without jobs! Yet, those of us creating and reading portfolios like this one are steps ahead because we are privileged enough to have an education. I hope to continue working with people of all ages at FamilyWorks. Perhaps because I am a neophyte with respect to technology, I have found that I am particularly patient and understanding with people learning very basic computer skills—some of my students do not know how to use a mouse. <<back to Teaching<< >>go on to Technological Tools>>
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