Welcome to the "Ferrante Guarantee" blog! The name comes from an inside joke with my friends about how I "guarantee" information that I cite in our discussions, which makes sense as I begin my journey in the MLIS program. My interest in the MLIS program started several years ago when I was a history teacher at my old high school in Southgate. One of my friends was working for the Henry Ford Museum and he asked me if I wanted to help create some booklets for their Civil War exhibit. I made booklets for several different grade levels, and they were well received by the museum. Soon after completing the booklets I found myself with a pink slip from my school district, and I had to begin looking for a new job.
I applied to jobs at the Henry Ford, but time after time I was told that I did not have the right degree for a job at the museum. I wanted to get the right degree, but find a new job was of more importance. I was also in the middle of finishing my master's degree in political science at this time, and so it seemed like a waste of time to start a different program. Though I was saddened that I could not pursue an MLIS degree at the time, I continued on with my master's in political science and my career as a teacher.
I spent the next few years at University Prep Science and Math and Lincoln Park High School, but I was never as happy teaching at the aforementioned schools, as I was when I was at Southgate. This led me to search for other career opportunities, and it was at this time that Wayne State was hiring many new academic advisors. I had done both my bachelor's and master's at Wayne State, and so I was excited for a chance to return as part of the faculty. I only became more interested in the job as I found out that the position was for the political science department. I applied, interviewed, and got the job! It was a perfect opportunity for me at that time in my life.
I have enjoyed my time as an advisor so far, and I can see myself doing the job for a long time. However, I still have this nagging sensation that there is something more that I could do with my life. It was then that the desire to work in a museum came to the forefront again. So I decided that I would join the MLIS program and continue my education at Wayne State. This time in hopes it would lead me to a dream job with the Henry Ford Museum or with the Gerald R. Ford Museum.
I joined the program with several assertions and assumptions about the field of LIS. The first being that I assume people trained in LIS are incredibly important to the history of a society. The reason "history" exist today is because there have always been people there to preserve and record what has passed. Writing has been the best form of preserving the past, and libraries are the most important aspect in collecting and keeping those records for the future. If it had not been for people in the past that thought to collect and store historical records, we might never know of the Egyptian pharaohs, the Roman emperors, Greek philosophers, Arabic science and mathematics, or Mayan calendars. It is because we record information, store it, and catalog it that can then use that information to think of the best possible way forward for our own current civilizations.
An important assertion that I have about the LIS program is that those involved in recording, storing, and cataloging that information, need to give free access to all for that information. It is pointless to take such great care of our historical resources, if we refuse to share that wealth of knowledge to better our society. The Renaissance and Enlightenment would never have occurred had it not been for various Arabic libraries that saved the old Greek and Roman ideals. Had the Renaissance and Enlightenment not occurred, the basic ideas that created the American philosophy of governance would never have come to fruition. If we do not continue this tradition, and freely share knowledge with everyone, then we are only hindering those in future from bettering their own societies. So it is imperative to make that information free for all.
The other assertion I have about those in the LIS field, that they themselves must be teachers and guides. One reason I was drawn to this field was that I would be able to continue teaching, but just on a much larger scale. Librarians are often portrayed as sheepish loners, but that is something that is not, and should not be true. Librarians, and others in the LIS field, have a duty to not only record and share their information, but as keymasters of knowledge, they have a duty to help people learn those histories as well. If those in LIS simply say tell people here it is, but do not help others understand how to navigate their systems or how to apply that knowledge, than their organization efforts will largely be in vain.
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