Introduction

This e-portfolio is the culminating document representing my knowledge and skills related to the fourteen competencies required for a Digital Information Age information professional. It is a curated collection and discussion of the coursework and related professional work that I  created during my two and a half years as a student in the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program at San José State University’s School of Information.  

The e-portfolio is organized into four sections including this introduction, fourteen individual competency statements, a conclusion, and an affirmation. This introduction acts as an overview of my process as I crafted the e-portfolio. Competencies may be accessed via the Areas of Competency link in the portfolio’s index. These evidence-based competency statements (A-I and K-O) are the heart of the portfolio and, as such, each designated page includes the following four sections: introduction and explication; evidence; conclusion; and references. The portfolio’s Conclusion and Affirmation are also accessible from the index. The Conclusion summarizes my academic experience as an MLIS student and offers insight into my emergence as a professional in the field of library and information science. The Affirmation confirms that all introductory, reflective, and evidentiary work in the portfolio is mine alone, excepting any identified group projects. Further, it affirms that I have protected the privacy on the portfolio by sharing the URL with my e-portfolio advisor only, and assures that, before I choose to make it publicly accessible, I will remove all personally identifiable information belonging to other parties. 

I began preparing for the creation of this e-portfolio in my first semester in the MLIS program,  by saving all of my coursework including discussion posts, assignments, and co-curricular activities in designated local and cloud-based storage services including my laptop, an external thumb drive, Google Drive, and my iCloud drive. I continued this activity in each proceeding semester. Content was organized in folders by semester, course number, and module with tags used for quick topical collocation and retrieval.  Also included in these folders were course syllabi, assignment instructions, and discussion prompts. The student success planner provided by the iSchool functioned well as a tool for organizing the evidence of my competencies. As an emerging information professional, I am pleased that I was able to utilize my new knowledge and skills to organize this information in a way that I could quickly access, review, and employ my work. 

My approach to completing the competency statements was guided by the evidence that most appealed to me at the time. I used a reference manager to develop my reference lists in APA 7 style. The content for each competency was crafted and revised in Word, pasted into the correct competency module in Canvas, double checked for formatting and hyperlink accuracy, and submitted directly to my instructor for review and feedback. Both the e-portfolio handbook and my e-portfolio instructor’s Canvas course page, provided invaluable access to the resources required to complete this document. The competency rubrics and sample e-portfolios were critical to my success. I extend my hearty appreciation to those graduates who allowed me to reference their competency statements when developing my own.