Originally written for my UNT MS-LS ePortfolio, Fall 2025.
Competency Fulfillment
The ALA Competency of Reference and User Services is key to aspiring librarians to master, particularly because it enables librarians to connect users to provisioned services. I am fortunate that my background has given me tacit experience in using reference sources and sharing information with users by completing the requirements of my B.S. Chemistry degree and my 9-year career as a front-line staff member motivated to provide excellent customer service. The undergraduate program I completed emphasized research in an effort to prepare students for flagship graduate programs, and I had practical experience searching for scholarly journal articles, writing papers on chemistry topics, and presenting information to groups. My customer service emphasis compelled me to explore my library and state library databases and resources, so I can share the information in an accessible manner to patrons.
My academic training in reference services began in my first semester in UNT’s MS-LS program, when I was enrolled in INFO 5600: Information Access and Knowledge Inquiry. Throughout the course, I was instilled with a framework to find, obtain, evaluate information from diverse sources, investigate the sources themselves, use problem-solving, understanding, methods and practices regarding information records for any user in any environment, and consider bias from these sources. My management coursework, INFO 5300, INFO 5302, and INFO 5303, provided knowledge and reinforcement in evaluating and addressing information needs of a community in a deliberate framework based on principles, concepts, techniques, and collaboration. Additionally, the management coursework thoroughly reinforced the skills to evaluate services and community partnerships, while importantly considering community input. Cultural humility was addressed in several courses, as it is indeed important to mitigate cultural bias in librarianship.
Exemplification of Competency
My mastery of Reference and User Services is highlighted in the INFO 5600 assignment, Reading Reflections of INFO 5600. Five key takeaways are noted in my submission. First, reference professionals help disseminate accurate and reliable information to inquiring users. Users could use prolific web search engines to find information, but professionals can discern information and provide a positive customer service encounter. Second, users deserve to feel comfortable seeking information from reference services, and professionals should approach all seekers with respect and dignity by offering multiple contact points and utilizing continuing education opportunities to overcome marginalizing aspects of a professional’s background. Third, reference services fundamentally have a critical need for ethics, which prompts an evaluation of information accuracy of sources, intellectual freedom, rising costs of resources, and is challenged by a lack of ethics. Fourth, information seekers are enabled to become experts when provided with a reference professional’s expertise and training in information literacy, enabling seekers to be better digital citizens and discern accurate information for their uses. A fifth takeaway discusses the role of library leadership setting a workplace culture conducive to better service, leading to better user outcomes. Each concept of the competency is emphasized within the submitted work.