A Look At My Professional Learning Network (PLN)

I am fairly new to the professional world in which I intend to work. I began my Master of Library and Information Science in January 2023 because I was having trouble finding a position in a library. I thought beginning this degree might open doors for me that had previously been shut. It took a few months, but I eventually was hired at Dominican's Rebecca Crown Library a little over a year ago. Since then, I have taken every opportunity to expand my network.  

I am fortunate to work and learn at the same institution. I find that this environment has helped me grow into a confident professional by offering the space to learn through both observing and creating relationships with professional librarians. This experience would not be half as valuable, however, if I did not have my professional peers to learn alongside. I was fortunate enough to find peers in similar positions who I am lucky to call friends. Working through class work and discussing the various libraries we have expanded to both bring my network closer together and provides valueable information about the field that we would otherwise be without. 

Through my network I was able to get an interview with my other library and have begun to expand my professional learning network there. Occasionally I have brought friends’ questions to my supervisor if I think that she will have a better answer. I love to connect people within my PLN to each other if I feel like they would benefit from an introduction. What I love most about librarianship is that it is very collaborative; it's about using the resources you have at your disposal to get an answer to your question so that you can help, directly or indirectly, the patrons of your library.  

Personality Test Results

To look for areas where I can improve my PLN, I decided to take three personality tests to find some areas where I can grow and be a better member of my network. I took the FiveThirtyEight, the Five-Factor, and the Personality Type Indicator tests. My results are below: 

Image source: personal screenshot 
For the Personality Type Indicator Tests my result was ESFP (Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving) or the “Fun Lovers.” And I do love fun! I love to have fun at work and with my colleagues. For years I thought I was an introvert, and I still think drawing a hard line there is a mistake, it is very much a spectrum, and I am not extroverted all the time, but after reading the breakdown of this personality type I think it does align with what I bring to the table and that is laughter and help. A few areas of weakness that this overview noted were organization, long-term planning, and aversion to conflict, which I admit sounds a bit like me.  

Image source: personal screenshot

My FiveThirtyEight test yielded this graphic and how I compare to the national average. My score for Conscientiousness was the lowest and initially I disagreed with that implication. After looking into it more I found that a low score on that does not, like I thought, mean that I am thoughtless, but just a little bit of a procrastinator, which I am. That is something I have been trying to work on for years and I am still on that journey. The other aspects of this test I felt were mostly accurate. 

The last test I did resulted in a slightly messy collage of screenshots. The Five Factor test scored me high on conscientiousness and low on agreeableness and I am now realizing the value of taking multiple tests at the same time. Perhaps it was test fatigue, but this test decided to slander me and say I am not agreeable! It is not quite a low score at 46% but I disagree with this result, I am a pretty flexible person who enjoys supporting people emotionally and I think I would not have such a high score in openness to experience if that were not true.  

Image source: personal screenshots

Action Plan

My main takeaway from these tests is that I need to work on long-term planning. I want to give as much to my network as my PLN offers to me and that means more than short-term networking. I am currently on the board for the Information Science Student Association (ISSA) for Dominican. This is an extracurricular but one that is essential for building a PLN for anyone who wants to be a part of it. I hope to use this association to work towards this goal;  

1. I will complete my newsletter on-time and communicate if I need help planning it out,  
  • Decide what will go on the cover page 
  • Write up my normal portion ahead of time 
  • Figure out third page content 
2. I will work with my contact to set up a tour of the Northwestern University Library and figure out field trip details,  
  • Email contact to figure out a day 
  • Communicate day and time in the newsletter when available 
3. I will use LinkedIn both to promote the club as well as my work within it 
  • Post once a month on LinkedIn (newsletter or other content) 
  • Log into ISSA LinkedIn and broaden that network 

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