Articles

Why Lifelong Learning is Important

by Aingeal Stone, Head Editor, INALJ Northwest Territories

Why Lifelong Learning is Important

DSC00078We all have different reasons for pursuing, or not pursuing, continuing education in our fields.  In my post today I want to tell you about my personal educational journey and I have a few relevant links in support of personal development to those of us making careers in this information society.

Read Susanne Markgren’s post Lifelong Learning in Librarianship: Classes and Beyond at http://lisjobs.com/career_trends/?p=272.

I graduated from a two-year diploma program as a library technician in 1985. I was 20 years old and had had enough of formal education. I worked 19 years in a public library after graduation and it was one of the best experiences of my life; career wise I was fulfilled and content. I got married and had a family in that time but over the years, especially as my children grew to be independent, I felt I was ready for more challenge.

Read Guy Robertson’s article in Feliciter (54)2, p. 57, File under Tango: Lifelong Learning for Library Technicians at http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Vol_54_No_2&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5255.

In 2008 I was working in the library of a small community college. My supervisor encouraged me to pursue courses offered at the college since tuition was waived for employees. I began taking courses in leadership, and then I began taking courses in adult education. I found that my attitude toward post-secondary had changed since I graduated college in 1985. I enjoyed learning and my marks were better than they had ever been 20+ years ago!

Read Why you should be a Life-long Learner by Barrie Davenport at http://liveboldandbloom.com/01/self-improvement/why-you-should-be-a-life-long-learner. (I only recommend you read the article, not any product or service the author may be promoting.)

I explored my options and then enrolled in a baccalaureate program in 2010 that I could complete entirely via distance education. I am currently six courses away from completion. I also completed the Library Technician Post-diploma Certificate through the University of the Fraser Valley in 2012. This program is offered through online education. I now have three years of library education to my experience.

My goal is to complete at least one graduate degree. So far I am considering the Master of Information Management offered through Dalhousie University or the Master of Digital Education (or both) from the University of Edinburgh.  I will explore my reasons for exploring those specific programs in a future post.

 

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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