Laura Cuellar

Dominican 2022

Reflective Essay
Prior to my admittance to Dominican University, I was an elementary school teacher. I

graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Early Childhood Education. After

five years in the classroom teaching 3rd-5th grade, I decided to get my Masters in Library

Information Science.

Dominican’s curriculum is well organized and structured in a way that I was able to

complete my coursework in two years as a fulltime student. The core classes offer an incredible

foundation for any career path taken in the LIS field. The professors and students that I’ve gotten

to know and work with over these last four semesters reflected the need for problem-solving and

perseverance when teaching and learning during the covid-19 pandemic. I value each and every

one for their perspective while navigating through this program.

My e-portfolio is a compilation of artifacts that I take pride in having accomplished as a

part of my coursework. While some classes and professors assigned more tasks that aligned with

the learning goals and outcomes, each class offered a unique insight into my future as an

elementary school librarian.

My Goal1: Develop a professional identity and philosophy within the library and

information professions artifacts start with a reflective essay assigned in LIS702 by professor

Mansfield. In this class, I discovered the importance of becoming a culturally responsive teacher-

librarian, validating and appreciating the diversity and backgrounds of each individual. The

assignment allowed for me to describe the evolving nature of the core values and ethics within

diverse information environments. The next artifact is my philosophy statement, while this was

originally assigned in each of my core classes, it continued to be assigned in later courses as

Laura Cuellar
Dominican 2022

well. With knowledge from each class and new learning experiences, my philosophy has

changed over time to reflect my education, experiences, and the evolving need of my current

community. This assignment gave me the opportunity to demonstrate how a philosophy of an

information professional guides practice in diverse settings. My last artifact for this goal is my

professional twitter account. In LIS 724 with professor Siegert, we were assigned to create a

separate, professional account, from our personal accounts to participate in professional activities

on social media. A professional Twitter account allows for growing a Professional Learning

Network while also being present and visible virtually.

My Goal 2: Understand the essential nature of information and its relevance to our

diverse society artifacts start with a second reflection paper, also from LIS702 with Mansfield. In

this paper however, we were to identify, define, and reflect on what diversity and inclusion

means in libraries. The concept of diversity and inclusion is one of the most important to me and

is a common theme in many of my artifacts within this goal. In this paper I described various

definitions from authoritative associations in the information field. My second artifact is a

research paper assigned in LIS 701 by DelNegro. As I am looking to become an elementary

school librarian, I focused on Intellectual Freedom and Censorship in elementary school settings.

During this research, I was able to learn and explain the impact of information policies on

intellectual freedom and access. The last artifact for this goal is an annotated bibliography of 25

resources assigned in MAYL811 with professor Thomas. Again, I used this assignment as an

opportunity to make selections for Reader’s Advisory and lesson planning for diverse

representation in picture books in the following areas: gender identity, family structures,

intellectual ability, and physical ability. This assignment allowed me to develop an appropriate

response to assessed information needs within diverse communities.

Laura Cuellar
Dominican 2022

The artifacts presented in Goal 3: Navigate, curate and create information across the

spectrum of human records start with a pathfinder created in LIS 724 with professor Siegert. It

was developed using Sutori. The purpose of this pathfinder was to apply curation skills to lead

students in a scaffolded inquiry-based journey on a given topic - Women Behind the

Montgomery Bus Boycotts. By completing this assignment, I gained experience using

technology to design resources or tools that facilitate access to information. My second artifact is

the use of Wakelet. Wakelet is a curation platform that is used to organize a plethora of resources

types including URLs, files, text, images, videos, and audio recordings. I was introduced to

Wakelet by professor Siegert in LIS724. This is my favorite curation tool for managing

information as it is easy to use and organize. The last learning outcome for this goal is to

evaluate resources or tools that manage and facilitate access to information. I selected a paper for

this artifact in which I was to design a research question, establish key search terms, and perform

a search using three different information retrieval systems. The purpose of the paper which was

assigned in LIS702 by professor Mansfield was to summarize, critique, and evaluate each IR

system.

For Goal 4, we were to present artifacts that reflect synthesizing theory and practice

within a dynamic, evolving, and diverse information environment. The first artifact that I offer is

the hands-on research project assigned in LIS708 by professor Swanson. The goal of this project

was to work with classmates to develop a research instrument to gather data and then use data

analysis techniques to interpret the data. This was a very eye-opening assignment as research and

data analytics will be heavily relied on in my future library for decision making. This assignment

provided the foundation and experience necessary for me to apply in my future library. This

project allowed me to apply library and information science theories, principles, and research to
Laura Cuellar
Dominican 2022

professional practice. The next artifact is a paper assigned in LIS724 by professor Siegert. The

paper was used to compare and evaluate three different curation sites: Wakelet, Lislty, and

Sqworl. Each of these sites are a form of emerging technology of information capture as a

curation tool to populate resources to meet information needs of diverse communities. The last

artifact for this goal is a lesson plan developed in LIS725 assigned by professor Marks. By

developing a lesson plan using Illinois Standards Aligned Instruction for Libraries, I was able to

demonstrate teaching and learning principles in relation to professional practice.

The last goal in my portfolio is Goal 5: Effectively communicate and collaborate to

deliver, market, and advocate for library and information services. My first artifact for this goal

is a list of advocacy statements assigned in LIS723 by professor Santori. The four statements are

for myself as a librarian, a school library as a whole, a teen department in a public library or a

middle/high school library, and librarianship to youth and teens as a whole. Through each of

these statements I am able to effectively communicate to deliver, market, and advocate for

library and information services. The next artifact is a handout that I developed for a professional

development round table presentation and discission. This was assigned in LIS725 by professor

Marks. Though the presentation was not recorded to demonstrate effective professional

communication to achieve common understanding as an individual or in group settings, I do

provide an additional artifact of a Padlet in which participants of the professional development

provided feedback on the presentation. The last artifact for this goal is a scripted interview with a

library branch manger assigned in LIS707 by professor Crowley. During this interview, the

interviewee was able to demonstrate leadership principles in a community context in which I will

continue to reference as a model for my future library.

Laura Cuellar
Dominican 2022

While each assignment is in response to one of the learning outcomes, I’d like to

acknowledge the most significant learning experiences from each class. In LIS701, the research I

conducted on Intellectual Freedom and Censorship in elementary school settings gave me insight

on what to expect if working as an elementary teacher librarian and the importance of policy and

reform. In LIS702, the reflective essay on the entirety of the course which mentions aspects of

reference, reader’s advisory, information literacy instruction, curating a collection, creating tools

and guides, and the countless programs that can be implemented to support the community in

addition to being culturally responsive and always reflecting and thinking on how to improve for

next time. While I did not list an artifact from LIS703, I have internalized the significance of

data and metadata in respects to a collection and its catalog.

In LIS707, the midterm assignment to interview a branch manager as a means of thinking

about librarian leaders has given me a model to look to as a guide when thinking about myself as

an information professional. In LIS708, both the hands-on research project (which was presented

as an artifact) and the evaluation assignment which provided the foundation of how to properly

evaluate a multitude of services the library provides as a means for decision making.

To receive my certificate in Youth Services, LIS721 taught me how to use resources for

reviews as well as how to evaluate materials for children both literary and illustrative. In LIS722,

majority of the coursework revolves around reading which has added a plethora of materials to

my teacher toolbox for reader’s advisory and lesson planning for a range of diverse issues and

audiences. In LIS723, I was given the practice to lesson plan and execute library programs and

services for children and young adults in addition to advocating for myself and the profession as

a whole.
Laura Cuellar
Dominican 2022

LIS724 introduced me to several technology tools and resources and how to integrate

them into information services. This may have the highest number artifacts presented in my

portfolio from this course. In LIS725, not only the practice of lesson planning, but also preparing

for and presenting professional developments to other educators on campus.

Lastly LIS804 and MAYL811, in each of these courses I was given the opportunity to

practice curating resources in response to diverse needs. The annotated bibliographies I create in

both of these classes are something I am incredibly proud of and looking forward to sharing with

students and teachers in my future school communities. We were also assigned to write our own

collection development policy, and while I did not use this as an artifact in my portfolio, it is an

assignment I will look back to for guidance when applying my knowledge and skills as an

information professional in the future.

My original perspective of information organizations were that they solely provided

access to information, but as societal needs change it looks that a more important role for todays

users are that of providing access to content creation, whether it be a research report, job

application, or marketing ad. It is up to us as librarians to teach the multitude of literacies,

information and digital, to support learners from all walks of life to produce the content to meet

their needs.

At this point in time, with my lived experiences as a classroom educators and new

knowledge on information professionals, the direction I see my career taking at this point in time

is that of an elementary school teacher librarian. I hope to be a resource not only to the students

but also for the teachers, staff, and caretakers of the school community.