My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

Reflective Essay
Welcome to my electronic portfolio. My name is Elena Stuart. I am a Russian librarian
and linguist and I love both occupations. In my childhood I spent a lot of time in the bookstore
where my Mom was a director. At that time we lived in a small town. Every day after school I
ran to the bookstore where I did my homework and then helped my Mom around the store.
There I learned to love books. I knew that I wanted to be a librarian since I was in the fifth
grade. When I graduated from high school I came to Moscow State University Library and told
them how I loved libraries and that I wanted to be a librarian. They hired me and I started my
career in librarianship. Since then a lot of time passed. I received two degrees: in Library
Science and in Linguistics learning English and French. Now I have fourteen years of
professional experience working at several prestigious and well-respected Russian institutions. I
love being a librarian and was committed to continuing as a librarian in America when I came in
May 2012 and started my studies at Dominican University in August of the same year.
Now when I am very close to the graduation I confess that its extremely hard to do
studies in a foreign language. Besides, in my first semester I realized how library theory and
practice have changed since I received my first degree in Library Science. Sometimes I felt like I
was not learning Library Science, but some other Science so it was different from my first
experience at Moscow State Institute of Culture. For example, such classes as LIS753 (Internet
Fundamentals & Design) or LIS884 (Competitive Intelligence and Big Data) did not have any
analogue in my previous curriculum. Its a fact that Library Science has totally changed in the
age of technology and especially with the advent of the Internet. As with many other LIS
schools around the country and probably around the world the Library Science program at

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

Dominican is now called Library and Information Science which implicitly means that libraries
and technologies go together.
During my studies at Dominican I actively used different technologies in all my classes.
In the LIS704 (Reference and Online Services) class in order to create a Ready Reference
Instructional Presentation for ThomasNet.com (artifact 3b) I used Microsoft PowerPoint and
the SlideShare tool to upload it online and make it available for everybody. I feel proud of this
particular presentation and its success that has been measured by thousands of views. This
outcome made me understand the crucial importance of good technology skills. In LIS753 I was
very dedicated learning HTML and CSS because the ability to create websites would give me a
certain freedom of self-expression, communication, collaboration as well as the energy of
creation of something new that can be also used as an advocacy arena for library and
information science. I consider the process of learning website creation from scratch as well as
understanding how to make uploads and updates of my website using a providers software to
be one of my most significant achievements (artifacts 3d). In LIS884 I was very committed to
learn different Google technologies. Such tools as Google Fusion Tables or Google Maps
allowed me to aggregate a large amount of data, and then cleanse, structure, analyze, and
manipulate it using useful visualization tools that Google provides (artifacts 2c). Thus, I got a
practical understanding as to why implementing, utilizing, and designing technology is now one
of the professional core competencies. In spite of the fact that I considered LIS753 and LIS884
to be extremely challenging classes I was very committed to this core competency and many
artifacts in my portfolio demonstrate my abilities.

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

The first cataloging class, LIS703 (Organization of Knowledge), I took as a requirement.
At the very beginning of my studies I was thinking of specializing in copyright. This class made
me change my initial goal. The professor was so committed and enthusiastic about this area of
Library Science that I fell in love with it. I realized that I enjoyed creating records using RDA, the
new cataloging standard. To my great surprise I understood that the technical part of library
science was very appealing to me. I learned how to create bibliographic records and authority
records, how to deal with monographs, serials, or DVDs and I did it with a great deal of
enthusiasm. It has been fortunate and a great pleasure to meet dedicated people and to learn
from them.
My next cataloging class was LIS882 (Metadata for Digital Resources). I loved this class. I
gained a good understanding of what metadata is (artifact 2a). I learned what metadata
schemes existed, how they were different, and what purposes they served. In this class as in all
other cataloging classes we did a lot of exercises (artifact 3a), different kinds of practical
assignments, and projects. In the Final Project I worked in a group creating metadata for digital
images of physical objects using three different schemes: Dublin Core, Qualified Dublin Core,
and VRA. We worked as a team creating the Metadata Application Profile (MAP), the document
that regulated our local best practices. It was a very interesting and exciting project that gave
me an idea of actual practice. At the same time, this project made me think of possible
challenges. For example, how to assign subject headings for a digital image that is not supplied
with a title or any other accompanying information. A title is very important as it gives us a
direction for thinking and it supplies us with information that might be critical. Images can be of
and about something. For example an image of a man and a lion may be about pride. I learned

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

that in the situation when there is no title a cataloger should assign a supplied title. This process
demands subject analysis. The first thing to do is to make a visual analysis and to identify the
major focus of the image. The second thing to do is to turn the result of this visual analysis into
concrete subject terms. I realized that I really liked creating metadata for digital resources,
dealing with controlled vocabularies, and assigning subject headings.
My closer acquaintance with the subject headings realm occurred in the LIS731 (Subject
Analysis) class. I learned that subject analysis is one of the most challenging cataloging activities
as it depends on the subjectivity of a cataloger, his/her knowledge of the subject, and any kind
of possible biases. There is no specific place to look on an item that provides the necessary
information about its subject. As a result, each cataloger struggles with this task of inventing a
personal approach as a support to the fundamental principles of subject analysis that state that
the heading should be current and commonly used. The second principle declares that it should
be as specific as the topic. For example, the specific term Canaries will make the users task
easier than assigning broader terms such as Cagebirds or Singing birds.
The Final Group Project in this class (artifacts 5c_f) was incredibly creative by its nature.
I enjoyed this work enormously. I like creating things and being on the cutting edge. We had to
create a subject guide for the Ellin Greene Storytelling Collection which is an amazing collection
of fairy tales, fables and mythology from all over the world that would be of great interest to
folklorists, anthropologists and storytellers. Our guide had to provide direction when cataloging
the Ellin Greene Storytelling collection including instructions on assigning Library of Congress
Subject Headings and Classification numbers, as well as motif and tale type numbers as
assigned in MacDonalds Storytellers Sourcebook. We had to figure out in what MARC field to

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

incorporate the MacDonald motif numbers and make them searchable. We also had to figure
out what part of LCC would work best for our purpose. The approach to the latter key point
seemed evident as almost all originally downloaded records from OPAC were classified in PZ
(which is generally meant for Fiction and juvenile belles lettres) or in PZ8.1 (which is specifically
meant for Fiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettresAmerican and EnglishFolklore,
legends, romance). Several books from those we had to catalog were not fairy tales and that is

why they did not fit this area of LCC. Besides, our guide was supposed to serve the research
purposes of folklorists and storytellers. Taking into consideration the above reasons we chose
the GR area of LCC which stands for Folklore and for our purpose it worked better. I definitely
feel more confident about understanding the kind of issues that can arise in the course of a
similar professional task. This is the area where the more you practice the more confident you
feel. I like analysis and this assignment provided such an opportunity.
The speed of dissemination of information has definitely become important as never
before. It relates to absolutely everything including how fast we collect, structure, and organize
data, how fast we analyze and disseminate it, or provide access to information. The role of
indexers and abstractors in these circumstances is hard to overestimate in the matter of
designing information systems and creating indexes. Indexes are like smart road maps to known
and unknown knowledge that provide access to information, either through structured records,
such as books and databases, or random stores of information, such as information found with
Internet search engines. The LIS732 (Indexing and Abstracting) class also involved analysis of
material for its conceptual content. During this class I accomplished four very different
assignments: Index Creation (artifact 4b), Abstract Evaluation (artifact 4d), Thesaurus Creation,

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

and Evaluation of a Secondary Product (artifact 3c). Two of them dealt with the creation
process and I enjoyed them enormously. Two others required analytical skills and I enjoyed
them also because I like analysis too. Working in this class I realized that I gained the additional
skill of index and thesaurus creation and I highly value this experience.
The LIS799 (Practicum) class (artifact 5g) in my last semester became the capstone of
the entire Library Science program. I was lucky to accomplish it in the African, Latin American &
Western European Division (ALAWE), Africa Section of the Library of Congress. The original
purpose of my practicum was to practice RDA cataloging. In reality my learning experience was
significantly broader and more diverse. I learned to work in the Voyager ILS where I created not
only ibc (Initial Bibliographic Control basic level cataloging) and cbc (Complete Bibliographic
Control full level cataloging) records using RDA, but also authority records. I dealt with
original and copy cataloging. I assigned call numbers and subject headings for my cbc records. I
enjoyed a unique opportunity to prepare three subject proposals and one class proposal while
working over my cbc records (artifact 4b). I later took part in the subject heading committee of
the Policy and Standards Division and received a personal overview in advance of the meeting.
It was a very informative experience that allowed me to see real people discussing the
proposed subject headings and to understand the problems they face in their everyday activity.
I respected their professionalism and commitment to the integrity of the process.
This practicum in the LC was incredible due to the number of different experiences and
opportunities I received within two months and was unforgettable because I met so many
impressive professionals, who are so dedicated and committed to their profession. During my
time in the Library I worked very hard. I wanted to learn from them as much as I could. The

My Calling: The Journey of a Russian Librarian 2014

records that I created are now in the LC Online Catalog and this is a point of personal pride. No
need to say how much I loved this experience. I documented and communicated it on my
website http://elenavstuartpages.weebly.com/practicum-journal that was specially created for
this purpose.
Overall, my learning experience at Dominican University was excellent. The GSLIS
curriculum is well-designed and gives a student maximum learning opportunities. During this
two-and-a-half year period I learned so much and accomplished so many interesting
assignments and projects. Now I feel well-prepared to continue my journey in a new
professional environment.
Bravo Dominican! Thank you very much.