Module 13: Final Post

Sadly, this is my last week of my internship, I really enjoyed my time interning for an academic library and learned so much during this internship. First and foremost I learned about the roles academic libraries can play in service-learning, and how their support is necessary for all the stakeholders. Service-learning should be part of any major, because it provides differing perspectives and chance to think outside of the box, and perhaps be out of your comfort zone. 

I believe libraries play an essential role in civic engagement and democracy, and every time our library branch closes, and budgets are cuts, because some believe we are no longer needed or relevant, we lose a piece of our democracy, this applies to our public education system as well. Libraries in general are supported by taxes, but when a governmental agency, news agencies, corporations, or political parties believe that access to our public libraries and schools should be leaner and meaner and ran like a business then they are taking citizen’s personal freedoms away, by denying access to knowledge. Every inch that is taken away from both libraries and education which provides opportunities for all our citizens we lose a mile of democracy and civic engagement. Service-learning and civic engagement are firmly entrenched in public libraries, and now academic libraries are beginning to implement service-learning as part of the services and partnerships they offer to their students, faculty, staff, administrators, and communities.

I really enjoyed our instructor Professor Franks, who is simply awesome and you know she is fully invested in her profession, and working with my intern supervisor (which I will keep private) and all the experience I have gained from working with both of them, thank you.