Section 1
Articulate the importance of designing programs and services supportive of diversity, inclusion, and equity for clientele and employees.

Section 1A: Competency Description and Scope
Public libraries exist to serve their communities. Designing programs and services supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is fundamental in reaching that goal, and, although the terms are often used together, it is important to understand the differences between them.

Diversity
Diversity is "the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different," and it is important to recognize that there are many types of diversity (ALA, n.d.). A few types of diversity include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, culture, language, religion, and neurodiversity. Race and ethnicity are some of the most visible types of diversity, and the US is increasingly a racially and ethnically diverse country (US Census Bureau, 2020). In addition to greater numbers of different races, there are also more people with two or more races. Some types of diversity are "invisible," meaning that they are not immediately apparent to others (ALA, n.d.).

Equity
To strive for equity is to strive to ameliorate the historic and current disadvantages of certain groups. Certain groups are (and have been) underrepresented or marginalized in many organizations and institutions; equity is an effort to rectify underrepresentation, marginalization, and the negative effects that are caused by these systemic wrongs (ALA, 2017). Equity and equality are not equal. A pair of images that are often used to illustrate the concept of equity features three individuals of different heights attempting to look over a fence. Under an equal system, the three all get one crate to stand on to boost their height. Under an equitable system, the shortest individual has two crates, whereas the tallest individual needs none.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






Archives
Archives are specially trained in the acquisition, preservation, and cataloging of materials. Archives can range from very small to very large institutions, and they can sometimes be attached to other organizations or even other libraries (Hunter, 2020, pp. 4-6). Because the type and size of archive vary greatly, there are equally large differences in funding sources and types of clientele. Government archives receive government funding and may be accessible to citizens, politicians, or journalists. Private or corporate archives may be funded exclusively by the institution they are attached to and only available in-house. Many other archives are funded through grants and donations and are available to researchers or the public by appointment.

Section 1B: Importance to the Profession
Understanding different organizational settings helps information professionals to appropriately develop their knowledge and skills. For example, public librarians, academic librarians, and archivists may all work at a reference desk, but the type and depth of reference may be quite different. In a public library, reference questions may include requests for popular fiction recommendations, local directions, or technology assistance (Tyckoson, 2018). Academic librarians and archivists may offer more specialized reference interviews in their specific fields. Increasingly, users look for virtual reference services, including through email and chat (Tunon, 2018). Part of the reference services offered by archivists includes finding aids, written guides that describe archival collections. Understanding how to create and read a finding aid is an important tool for information professionals working in archives.

Knowing the differences between types of information organizations is also important because it affects funding for professionals in the field. Knowing that public library funding comes primarily from city and county budgets provides a financial incentive for public librarians to perform greater outreach and services to their community, as keeping a community happy can lead to greater or continued funding for the library. Many public libraries are also supported by their local Friends of the Public Library Organization, who may engage in fundraising to assist with programs or collection development. On the other hand, archivists and academic librarians may need to learn grant writing skills or practice networking with donors in order to achieve their desired budget (Gonzalez, 2010). Understanding these differences is key to the success of information professionals.

Section 2
Here I will provide three evidentiary items for Competency B.

Section 2A: Preparation
To prepare for this competency, I learned about different types of information professions and organizations in classes, work, and internships. In INFO 204: Information Professions with Dr. Deborah Hicks, I studied the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) in-depth for a semester-long group project. My group and I created an environmental scan of SFPL that assessed the political, economic, technological, environmental, and social landscape of the community that the library serves. We also created a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis for the library. We researched, wrote, and edited the sections as a group, so I had a hand in every part of the final paper. However, the part that I worked on the most was the environmental analysis, in which we discussed the effects of climate change and other environmental factors on SFPL.

For INFO 248: Introduction to Cataloging with Professor Khosrowpour, I researched and analyzed the websites of two academic libraries, the University Library at Santa Clara and the Copley Library at the University of San Diego. Specifically, I was interested in seeing how cataloging jobs were listed and categorized within their library organizations. This project gave me the opportunity to compare academic job descriptions and duties.

I have had the opportunity to intern with the San Francisco History Center (SFHC), which contains the city archives and archival material relevant to the San Francisco Bay Area. SFHC is connected to the San Francisco Public Library and operates similarly to a branch in that it receives funding from SFPL but also maintains its own budget. In this internship, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the duties of an archivist. I have processed collections under the guidance of my supervisor and created a finding aid that is available on the Online Archive of California (OAC).

Section 2B: Evidence

Evidentiary Object 1: INFO 204 Environmental Scan of the San Francisco Public Library

In my role writing the environmental trends analysis section of this group project, I researched and wrote about the impact of climate change, natural disaster, and other environmental concerns faced by a public library. In this section, I discuss the need for SFPL to serve as a place of refuge from smoke and high temperatures during California's wildfire season and during heatwaves.

This piece of evidence demonstrates my understanding of the wide scope of the public library's mission to support and sustain its community members, even in times of crisis. It demonstrates my understanding that the role of the twenty-first century public library is to be many things at once: a place that opens doors to information and resource, a community center, and a future-oriented member of the community. When I describe the ways in which SFPL should align with the City of San Francisco's Climate Action Plan, I show my understanding that the public library of today, as a public building, must lead the way forward.

Evidentiary Object 2: INFO 248 Academic Library Website Analysis

For this paper, I researched and analyzed the websites of two different academic websites' job descriptions and department hierarchies. I looked for roles that asked for cataloging skills and/or supervisory duties and found that several jobs asked for both skills.

This piece of evidence demonstrates my understanding of the role of academic librarians, a job that often requires multiple skill sets. My description of my search process for cataloging roles on the academic library websites demonstrates my understanding of how similar information jobs may use different titles. I had to search for multiple words such a metadata and cataloging to find the jobs that I was looking for.

Evidentiary Object 3: INFO 294 Internship at the San Francisco History Center

As an intern at the San Francisco History Center, I processed collections and created finding aids with the guidance of an experienced archivist. This status report includes the goals that I made for the internship and analyzes my progress toward reaching those goals.

Here I demonstrate the development of my real world understanding of what archival work entails, from acquisitions to reference to processing. I discuss the programs that I am using, such as ArchivesSpace, which shows that I am getting real world experience creating finding aids. This assignment also shows the way in which I deepened my understanding of the archival profession through a better understanding of terminology. My discussion of the chain-of-custody and provenance issues demonstrates my knowledge of one of the tasks that archivists engage in, which is documenting the origin of materials.

Section 3: Conclusion
Information professionals have many career options when heading into the workforce. From archives to public libraries, each type of information organizations has unique needs and requirements. Although all information services need funding, serve others, and provide reference (to use the term quite broadly), there are myriad variations between the roles within different settings. Understanding the differences between information organizations allows professionals to find the jobs to which they are best suited and to develop helpful skills.

 
References
California State Library. (n.d.). Strategies for dealing with opioid issues. https://www.library.ca.gov/services/to-libraries/opioid/

Every Library. (2023, June 28). Where does public library funding come from? https://action.everylibrary.org/where_does_public_library_funding_come_from

Gilman, T. (2018). Learning and research institutions. In S. Hirash (Ed.), Information services today (pp. 81-93). Rowman & Littlefield.

Gonzalez, L. (2010). Major gifts funding for academic libraries, 2003 to 2007. Library leadership and management, 24(3), pp. 64-69. http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/scholarly-journals/major-gifts-funding-academic-libraries-2003-2007/docview/520406051/se-2

Hunter, G. S. (2020). Developing and maintaining practical archives: A how-to-do it manual. Neal-Schuman.

Smith, P. (2018). Community anchors for lifelong learning. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today (2nd ed., pp. 94-105). Rowman & Littlefield.

Tunon, J. (2018). Information intermediation and reference services. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today (2nd ed., pp. 129-141). Rowman & Littlefield.

Tyckoson, D. A. (2018). Reference service: The personal side of librarianship. In K. Haycock and M.-J. Romaniuk (Eds.) The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts (2nd ed., pp. 199-221). Libraries Unlimited.