About Me

Short Version:

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I am a librarian with over 14 years experience, as well as a Ph.D. student in Learning Technologies at the University of North Texas. My research focuses on ethical considerations in educational technology adoption and curriculum design. I am currently a research assistant developing curriculum for edge AI and is an ed-tech leader and library director at an independent school. I believe that librarians are information professionals uniquely suited to exploring the intersection of information, technology, and pedagogy.

Long version.

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There are three passions that have been consistent in my life: music, libraries, and technology.

“I like buttons and knobs.”

I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, and technology was infused throughout my middle and high school years. It wasn’t central though - it was also technology to do something. Technology to connect, technology to create. While that change was happening, I was also developing an enduring love of libraries. The opaque projector in middle school, using the public library to navigate the early internet in high school, a welcoming, public space in college. The librarians were always eager to help, to share their hidden gems to read, and the space to be when I didn’t feel like I fit anywhere else.

I picked my college major based on the idea that I liked technology. I literally said “I like buttons and knobs” and then worked to combine that with one of my other passions - music. I was a senior in college in 2004, taking a class called synthesizer techniques. Do you know what was initially released in 2004? GarageBand.

A fundamental shift in the ability to produce and edit music launched my senior year of college. I was thrilled, but I also knew that it meant the likelihood of my being a music producer professionally was even lower. However, I loved the idea that it democratized the ability to create and share music. Music is for everyone.

By the end of college, I knew I wanted to be a librarian - but not know the path there. I went into the world. Over the next 8 years, I honed my customer service skills, the ability to learn complex ideas quickly in order to communicate them to a non-specialist audience, and discovered my desire to work in roles that allow me to be situated at the intersection of needs. I was not a person who wanted to be either tech support or user training - I worked with people who needed someone to be both. I did not want to be a person who was forced between the burgeoning information available on the internet (still capital I at that time) or libraries - I saw the importance of both.

Career Librarian

Eight years after graduating from college, I transitioned into libraries. There wasn’t a place I could see myself being happier. I applied to every kind of library I could think of and landed in the place I expected least—but the place I fit the most: an elementary school library. After 6 months, I knew that libraries - and school libraries specifically - were a wonderful fit. My personal statement for the University of Washington iSchool discussed how libraries aren’t gatekeepers of information - they are guides. This concept of being both an informational guide – and technical guide – is a core part of my identity as both a librarian and as a researcher. As a librarian, I help educators and students alike explore ways to discover, create, and share their knowledge. My students explore stories, learn about others through research, and use technology as one of the tools to support these experiences.

Life as a researcher

At the University of Washington, I studied library science, the role of libraries and librarians as technology leaders. I studied digital navigation skills in children, and information seeking behavior of all ages. My capstone project was about the healing power of stories, though. Technology is wonderful - but it is not everything. My Ed.S. thesis from the University of Central Missouri focused on whether site-based librarians’ professional development could impact elementary school teachers’ perceptions of their learning management system. Technology is simply a way we can access, create, and share information. These have always been key roles for libraries and I am excited to be part of that continued journey in this profession.

As a Ph.D. researcher, I have identified a joy in instructional design through my coursework and consistent reflection. In addition to diving into deeply understanding educational policy, I have explored librarians’ role in navigating emerging technology that has fundamentally shifted how we think about authorship, ideas, and the provenance of ideas, and how our frameworks for discussing and evaluating ed tech - learners or educators, K-12 policy development, and curriculum design.

Conclusion

I believe that we do best for ourselves as learners, educators, and humans when we remember that there are few bright lines in life. I talk about math, writing, social studies, science, technology, and sometimes we even get some movement in during my library lessons. My identity as both a practitioner and a researcher allows me to see how each field informs and supports the other - just like being tech support and a technology coach informs my work asa librarian.

And for those of you wondering – yes. I  am still a musician.