The Instruction and Outreach Department has hired two new MLIS interns to help create a series of online learning objects focusing on foundational research skills and social justice, using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and critical pedagogy principles.
Rae Johnson (they/them):
What is your name? Hi there, my name is Rae Johnson.
What school do you attend? This is my second semester in the MLIS program at San Jose State University.
What are your hobbies? I rock climb indoors and outside when I can, cooking, and playing games on pc or switch!
What are you looking forward to in this internship? In general, learning about the processes of an academic library. There’s so much I don’t know specific to libraries that almost everything I learn is new to me. I’m excited to make these videos but very excited to be making things in LibWizard as well. I have never used any of the Springshare apps so I’m grateful to have access to ones like LibAnswers, that gives me insight to what our audience is asking for. Or LibGuides, the most popular application for libraries, that experience and ability to make things with these apps is going to be invaluable to me moving forward. I’m excited to see all the different types of roles that I could possibly fit in at a library to continue work I believe in. I’m also really interested in finding all the differences in beliefs regarding teaching and learning on the library side. It’s something that feels innate to me, but the readings have been instrumental for me to verbalize how instruction changes in a library.
Why do you want to be a librarian? I don’t know if I necessarily want to be a librarian as much as I want to support the mission of libraries. I believe in open access, freedom to pursue knowledge, and effective information delivery, and I’m still learning what being a librarian means. In this day and age, the stakes feel very high and I want to also be on the forefront of fighting book bans, supporting intellectual freedom, and fostering an inclusive community center. I love teaching though, so I would be an instructional librarian given the opportunity! Mainly, I want to share knowledge and embody accessibility in my practice.
Fun Fact about You: I love to travel, so every year for my birthday I go somewhere new to celebrate and my non-negotiable stops are usually: a library, botanical gardens if they have them, and the planetarium!
Favorite Book: This is a hard one, but Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is so heartwarming and lives in my head rent-free.
Mariann Lactaoen (any pronouns):
What is your name? Hello! My name is Mariann Lactaoen.
What school do you attend? I am in my second year of pursuing an MLIS at UCLA.
What are your hobbies? I enjoy sewing, talking incessantly about Disneyland, reading gothic books about Halloween monsters, and hanging out with my black cat, Donovan.
What are you looking forward to in this internship? I looked into this internship with the hope of learning more about library instruction, but I am specifically interested in the way that critical pedagogy can unsettle hegemonic systems in academia. I am very excited to work with this team, and I know that the instructional material that we produce will be reflective of our diverse personal, professional, and educational experiences.
Why do you want to be a librarian? I like to joke that I don’t have an origin story, because I don’t remember why I decided to pursue librarianship… but I absolutely love it so far! Coming from a social science and humanities background, I see the library as the center of community building in academia: the constantly shifting tides of the library space indicates that it is the platform to uplift and amplify the voices of the youth as we call for a transformed, equitable world.
Fun Fact About You: I am a huge musical theatre nerd and had the pleasure of seeing Hadestown and Cabaret on Broadway this year!
Favorite Book: My favorite book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.