Mentorship and Shaping of Career Values

Julia Maxwell When beginning my contribution to the Library as Research Lab project, I had a fair idea of what I wanted my career path to look like: academic librarianship, with focuses on digital scholarship and undergraduate learning. After a semester working on the project, I have found that my career aspirations are now more … Continue reading Mentorship and Shaping of Career Values

Unpacking an Interdisciplinary Experience: Reflections from a Data Science Student

Elizabeth Hanley Not too long ago, we had project-wide midpoint check-ins where lab members came together in small groups to discuss our experiences so far in the Library as Research Lab project. Many of the topics had to do with how the skills learned in this project differ from - or augment - our experiences in the classroom at the School of Information. Being a project member who hails from the School of Information Data Science track, I had a lot of thoughts about the value of being an interdisciplinary student that I wanted to continue unpacking after the focus group. Not only has this program been deeply influential in shaping my academic trajectory at UMSI, but it has influenced how I think about my future career as well. More than just a research project, the Library as Research Lab program has helped me better articulate who I want to be as a data scientist.

Research in real life

Jackie Freeman Depending on where (and when) you attended library school, a research methods class was probably a requirement. These types of courses are designed to provide students with theoretical knowledge of research methods – and if they are particularly fortunate – students may have an opportunity to work with a library practitioner on some aspect of that librarians’ research. Due to the length of most library school programs, these opportunities when offered are necessarily brief and often do not allow for sustained engagement with a project from inception to completion and dissemination.

The Library Student Journey: Finding What Fits

Tori Culler As part of the Library as Research Lab Fellowship (LaRL), I have had the opportunity to explore many different careers in librarianship while honing a new set of research skills. While I had some experience working as a research assistant in various contexts prior to this program, LaRL has privileged me insight into what it means to conduct research in an academic library setting. As part of the Student Learning lab group, I have been able to be directly involved in the design and implementation of an original research study concerning the nature of student learning in in-person instruction sessions.