This e-Portfolio is the culmination of three years of work toward a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree at the San José State University School of Information. My work here demonstrates my knowledge and understanding of fourteen competencies that are essential for information professionals in the twenty-first century.

The e-Portfolio is comprised of three sections: an introduction, the fourteen competencies, and a conclusion with an affirmation statement. For each competency, I have written an essay describing the competency and its importance to the profession, followed by pieces of my work that show my understanding and abilities. Each piece of evidence is accompanied by a statement that explicates and justifies its inclusion. Finally, I have written a conclusion for each of the competencies that points toward further professional development on the given subject.

During my three years at San José State University, I prepared for this e-Portfolio by saving my work at the end of each semester. I used Google Drive to organize my files by competency. I also kept a running document listing each competency, its rubric, and potential pieces of evidence that I might use. This was helpful in ensuring that I did not use the same piece of evidence multiple times.

When it came time to write the e-Portfolio, I began with Competency A and worked my way slowly to Competency O, the final competency. (It should be noted that there is no Competency I, as San José State combined Competencies I and J prior to my enrollment in the program.) Originally, I had thought that I would be able to work on the e-Portfolio in the same way that I had worked on much of my school assignments: during the 30 minutes or hour that I can often grab before or after work, or during longer breaks between my two jobs. However, this quickly proved impossible. Working on the e-Portfolio required two things: access to information that I could not carry to work with me (including multiple physical textbooks plus online journal articles and resources) and long stretches of time. Time was necessary not just for my writing process, but because logging into school websites and accessing the many documents of e-Portfolio guidelines required time to set up each time I worked on the e-Portfolio.

Fortunately, I was able to adjust some of my work hours and reconfigure my writing process to complete the e-Portfolio in time. Creating this e-Portfolio has been a difficult experience, but I am proud to have a place to demonstrate the competencies that I have worked for during the past three years.