Jori Dale, M.S.I.S  

Standardization is crucial to preserving and sharing information across institutions. By implementing a set mode, information becomes easier to find and access, especially across diverse institutions. For example, the Dewey Decimal System was introduced for non-fiction books in libraries which allows users to find specific materials with ease. Standards also provide better access and make collections equitable for all users. Additionally, databases used by information centers replicate each other, enabling users to seamlessly access and utilize the services provided. In the field of Information Science, standards such as those introduced by the American Psychological Association (APA) have been invaluable in reducing plagiarism. The APA standards are regularly updated to incorporate technological advancements, such as new ways to cite different types of resources, helping writers to adjust accordingly.

Metadata is an essential part of Big Data, as it involves information that defines other data. It enables us to describe, manage, and establish connections between materials in various ways. While interoperability is key for metadata, issues with access and sharing are a downside. It's worth noting that metadata defines the data itself, but not the content such as text or images. Instead, it provides details such as the author, title, and publisher of a book. The attributes of metadata including what, who, why, how, where, and when the data was created and stored, make it critical for understanding a database's overall attributes.

The cloud is a new and growing phenomenon in today's technological revolution. Cloud sharing has allowed companies to store big data and share across platforms. Cloud storage was first widely implemented by Google with Google Drive. There were also earlier cloud-sharing sites that made an impact, such as Dropbox. Cloud storage is the beginning of a revolutionary era, but like anything it comes with its challenges. There is becoming an issue of persevering and pretext of data of various data and material on the cloud. Although companies can save money by storing all their data in one place, there is a security risk because as technology grows in sharing capabilities, so do malware and hackers. 

Raster is a type of imaging. Raster is the first format of online images before it is transformed into a vector for better interoperability (Besser). When using spatial data, a raster image is supposed to be used, although this is not the only method to share images. The transfer of data from vectors to raster software is used so that users can have direct management of compressed and complex data. There are negative impacts as well as positive when dealing with raster data, for instance, the impact on memory consumption and running times (Silva-Coira). Raster is bigger data and takes a longer time to transfer from one place to another. There are limitations of the software, for example, when using a linear quadtree it can only use black and white, which does not make it ideal for real-world applications (Silva-Coira). Raster was the first image, but it can no longer compete in the world today of digital technology. 

Interoperability is the word of the century for library science and information technology. Access and sharing are the main focus right now on data and collection sharing in the 21st century. Interoperability means that an item is capable of being shared with another institution on a platform. Interoperability is not possible without standardization. Due to standards, interoperability is possible because it allows for one format to be compatible with other databases, so that information can be shared. Without Interoperability and standards, information centers would not be able to share their digital collections. This new way of sharing is very important to user access and equitable access for all users and institutions. Interoperability is a mainstream concept in today’s digital age because of cloud-sharing data and usage. 

Knowledge organization is very important to information services. Collection management drives every relationship-building strategy with librarians and their patrons. Knowing the user's needs allows the information center to adapt delete or procure items for user access and education. Knowledge management is a difficult but necessary requirement for information centers. Management of various library materials requires time and assessment of both the collections and users. Management is important because improper management can affect the libraries’ overall budget and quality of user access to materials. Management is not just about the physical collections but also the online collections. For optimal information access, management must also aid with access to online services, and additional services to help assist the user's needs. 

Career Development is always a tricky topic when talking about information science. Information Science is an umbrella with many categories underneath, for example, cataloging, archiving, curation, data analytics, preservation, and research all fall under the category of a career with information. Developing a career means working in different realms of the umbrella testing what fits and what does not. Also, experience is everything in the information world. I have switched my development path numerous times and am still trying to figure out exactly what I would like to do. Right now, I have switched from library careers to more technological, such as data analytics and development. I have also been thinking about privacy and security because it is a growing field with the spread of Cloud Storage and the usage of Metadata.          

To make something accessible, is one of the foundations of The American Library Association, along with equal access. Accessibility is important for both online and physical collections. Not all access is equitable due to funding, resources, and location. Sometimes poor government and local funding tend to make accessibility harder to manage and maintain because of a lack of money to create necessary programs and services for users. Resources such as books, computers, and other materials are very important to the structure of the library and the library as a place. With ample resources, the library would be at a disadvantage given a community with knowledge and access to that knowledge. Finally, location can be a primary issue for accessibility because not all patrons will have access to transportation to reach the library to access materials and collections. Accessibility is an ongoing issue because people have different ways of accessing the materials, but not all users may know how to access them as well. 

Digitization is the way of the world. It is something that has to be done in every information center to make materials accessible. With the formation of online databases, materials can come from any region around the world, or be accessed in remote locations. Digitization is taking a physical copy of something and making it available for online access. With the growing field of cloud storage due to the interoperability of metadata, digitization has played a main role I’m the emergence of the cloud-based era. My first experience in digitization was at Cushing Library in the archives. I was digitizing old newspapers into a scan using a Xeroxing machine. Digitization comes in all different types of ways and can be accessed digitally online. 

Assessing the needs of users is one of the signal most important aspects of collection management and accessibility. A needs assessment can be conducted through both qualitative and quantitative reasoning. The assessment needs to have direct questions so that the users understand just what is being asked. Other than surveying users, the information center can survey user data and presences to make collection management better and easier for all users. A needs assessment also assists management in budgeting throughout the library. Based on what users need, the library will allocate funds for those areas of need. It is important to do a needs assessment every few years as the community diversity changes so will the needs assessed.

Professional Philosophy can be the grounds for everything that a professional stands for. This ideology drives the information specialist to do the job to the best of their ability from what they understand it should be. The philosophy of a professional is created through the values of the American Library Association (ALA) for information professionals. The values of information professionals reflect the values adapted from learning ideologies in the graduate studies coursework. The main consideration in my Professional Philosophy is user equity. A Professional should always think of their users and the quality of access each user will have based on the data collected. A professional needs to understand the aspects of and goals of their professional philosophy to be effective to their users. By knowing where I stand on the core principles, I can build relationships, conduct research, and provide equitable access to knowledge. 

Makerspaces are amazing creative tools to enrich learning. Makerspaces can be used in many different settings for all levels and age groups while using various materials. Makerspaces can be used for many different subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and math to produce the STEAM model learning. These spaces allow individuals to use and demonstrate the knowledge firsthand. The spaces can be used to not only enrich learning but also incorporate the learning for any subject. The UTEC model is for using, tinkering, experimenting, and creating to foster the users of the Makerspace to explore and create. Something as simple as playing a game or working on building a Lego model can help individuals benefit from maker spaces. 

Services for users can help encourage individuals to use library resources and staff for knowledge. The services provided for a user can empower or discourage users if not implemented correctly. Services must be planned and introduced based on a needs-based assessment within the information center. For instance, if users were having a problem with using library databases for research, the library should conduct a tutorial to help users have better access for all patrons. If a tool introduced to the library is not benefiting the users, then based on the needs assessment the library should eliminate the program to make room in the budget for another. Services are an important tool for librarians to connect with the public and the users they serve. One of the most important tools in an information professional arsenal is relationship building.

 

A scope was so hard for me to define at first. A scope is essentially a bibliography about the company or entity that an individual is doing a deliverable for. A scope can be either a narrow or a broad view of the scope of a company. The scope talks about a company in the present time. The scope entails the company’s position as a financial power that they might have. The scope can have many details and any deliverable must be complete. A scope was very difficult for me to figure out but it lays the groundwork for all essential plans for any information professional to start their work. All scopes are knowledge-based and do not base the information on assumptions. A scope will allow the company to see itself on paper as the proposal is pitched. 

A budget and a schedule are the optimal deliverables for any project proposal. Then the budget allows the company to know how much needs to be spent for the company’s goals to be reached. The needs assessment can play into the budget by funding anything that is needed based on an organization and user preference. The schedule helps to organize business and project events so that the company can not only allocate the budget but also notify users.  A budget must have detailed accounts of each item purchased, detailing the operation or earring expenses. The budget is very important because without one projects can not fund business operations and provide the necessary equipment needed. The budget is the most influential document in a proposal because if a person is over budget it needs or becomes scrapped. It is always best to stay within or below budget to help with the management of a project or collection

There are several technical languages to know about data science. The language SQL is used for the Standard Query Language in data technology today. The introduction to this language changed my idea of information technology and data science. Library science is for end users and focuses on user access and interoperability of metadata, while information science and data science can serve both end and technical users. The SQL language is based on logic and is fairly simple when breaking down the search for a statement provided. The query starts with a select clause where the columns that the query will pull from are selected. The from clause is strictly tabled only. This is where all the information is pulled from in the highlighted table. Then after these clauses, the information can be manipulated by the where, order by, and group by clauses to deliver the information in the requested format. The language in the beginning was a challenge because the logic needed to be understood. The ERD visuals helped me learn how data was set up and the relational ratios to each table. 

A story can be any account told from an individual’s perspective to one’s self or another person. A story can be delivered both orally, written, and recorded. Stories are shared every day in common conversation. For instance, a woman on a bus telling another person about their day is considered as a storytelling moment. Another instance could be the story of the Texas Alamo, the story is a historical tale that tells about the death of Texans and the Spanish. Both tales are stories and both are different types of stories delivered in two different ways. Through the storytelling courses, I have learned about how stories can relate to one another or the cultural adaptations of stories used through time to create folklore. From my folklore classes as in undergraduate to my storytelling in graduate school, I have seen stories primarily concentrated in folklore, preserving history, and now we are in an age of written word with literature. 

An attribute is any field that may have a proper name or identifier item. Attributes fall into categories that would help you find a certain item if you were cataloging. For instance, Directors, Authors, Publisher, Title call mom, and ISBNs are all considered attributes of a certain item. The attributes of an item do not consider the proper names but are the category in which the proper name belongs. For example, if a user was looking for the Aeneid written by Virgil, that means that the attributes for this item would be title and author. The title is Aeneid and the author is Virgil. Attributes are very important aspects of cataloging because these are the keywords and factors to find any book, title, article, and other materials. Attributes of an item are very important to understand and be able to identify for both users and technical users to develop a beneficial database for both types of users. Without attributes a database cannot work, and it will be very difficult to organize the information in such a way that even a beginner user can use the system.

End users and technical users are two different types of users, but they can both use the same database just in different ways. End users are the front-end patrons. They are the users who use the information in a database to build and acquire knowledge. Technical users are the backend patrons. They are the users that maintain and import data into the information databases. For example, an end user would be a university student trying to research the library database, and the technical user would be the university’s IT department. Librarians are tricky and can fall into both categories because you have to research librarians, look for material in the database,  and catalog librarians, import material into the database.

The organization of information is very important to any information center. Information organization can be done in many different ways depending on the information center's approach, for instance, you can have a user-centered approach or an information center approach. The user-centered approach is based on what users need for information and access to that information. The information approach is what information we have, where do we have it, and how do we present this information. The organization of information entails all kinds of digital metadata, materials, services, and other needs to distribute the information to users. The organization of information is done with standards delegated by the American Library Association. The standards allow for information to be accessed in different ways that most users can use, such as call numbers and genre or subject.