As a newly minted Librarian,

I was asked — nay, required! — to create this website to talk about my experiences getting a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. I returned to school after a long hiatus and 15 years of working as a web developer here in Chicago. I was looking to reorient my professional life into something different – I wasn’t sure exactly what – and library school seemed to fit the bill. I like libraries as places, libraries as concepts, and as a computer programmer libraries are a fundamental tool of the trade.I bashed my through the program pretty quickly, taking a full course load for fall, spring, summer, and another fall semester, and now here I am at the end.

This has been an odd and different year and a half for everyone in the world, of course, not just me. Everyone involved in my educational odyssey has been learning as they go along, just like me, and it’s hard not to ponder how different things would be if we were back in “normal” times, and what else could have. But time’s arrow only goes in one direction, and “normal” is just a setting on the dryer.

If you want to skip ahead to the good parts of this site, I’ve listed my favorites amongst this collection of educational artifacts below. If you want to hire me, maybe, there’s a resume for your perusal. If you just want to talk about life, or browse some obscure list pages on Wikipedia, I’m there for you.

Public Papers of the Presidents

A digital humanities project that uses text analysis to explore American history as found in the communication styles of Presidential administrations.

A Voyant Graph used in the PPP project

Book review: “Enlightenment Now!” by Steven Pinker

Data-driven evidence is the benchmark of intelligent decision-making; but narrative is an inherently subjective thing.

Enlightenment scholars gather to discuss philosophy

Data visualizations – a comparison of tools

The viz is the thing. Using intelligible, information-rich graphics is one of the most powerful tools for getting information to people in our media-saturated age.

A data visualization about covid closings across states.

Omeka.net Collection

A project to learn to use the digital collection platform Omeka, by digitizing and cataloging my personal art collection.

Community Libraries and Computers

A brief report on computer usage patterns in my local public library, for Community Informatics

This ePortfolio has five sections that reflect the learning goals and outcomes of the Master of Library and Information Science Program. For more information, see https://www.dom.edu/academics/majors-programs/master-library-and-information-science/learning-goals-and-outcomes .

The five major goals are:

  1. Develop a professional identity and philosophy within the library and information professions.
  2. Understand the essential nature of information and its relevance to our diverse society.
  3. Navigate, curate and create information across the spectrum of human records.
  4. Synthesize theory and practice within a dynamic, evolving, and diverse information environment.
  5. Effectively communicate and collaborate to deliver, market, and advocate for library and information services.

Each goal has three “outcomes”; each outcome is represented by an educational artifact, a textual and/or visual representation of the complicated group of interrelated signifiers that we call a “lesson”.

Jason Grey, MLIS