Vision Statement

For my vision statement, I want to focus on how I would respond as an information specialist to the subject of AI or Artificial Intelligence in the future of libraries, especially concerning AI taking human jobs, and the use of AI causing plagiarism. I also want to focus how libraries and technology can help those in poverty and the homeless. I think, in these cases, the professional role of the information professional would be to promote and write about the idea of humans and AI working together so that AI does not replace humans in the workforce, as it may very well be able to in the next few decades, and AI can still be used or worked with along-side humans in the library work-place; unless it is bringing about the issue of plagiarism. My Advocacy Plan under the Leadership and Management section, and my Technology Core Competency Assignment under the Technology section, especially focus on the subject of the future of AI in libraries and how information specialists, like myself, can respond.

Under my research proposal in the "research" section, I have a different specific focus on how libraries can help homeless adults find shelters, apartments, or homes of their own. There was a project, the first of its kind in the South East of the US, in Columbia, South Carolina, called "Rapid Re-Shelter Housing" which set up small pods to get homeless people off the street and into pod shelters so that they could sleep in a sheltered place as well as maintain hygiene and look for and find jobs and apartments or homes. At the time of writing this, it was working quite well. Also, at the time of writing, I did not make this connection, but the future use of AI to cover jobs humans now do, could lead to a higher level of homelessness, making the pods somewhat irrelevant as people would have shelter, but the goal of finding a job may not be as easy if AI have taken most jobs.

I wanted to focus on how libraries and AI can be used in higher education as a learning tools, but plagiarism, and AI, could be a major problem in higher education if not dealt with in the right way. This is specifically addressed under the tab "Professional Development and Lifelong Learning," and the link "philosophy statement." I believe the use of AI in higher education can be a step to finding reputable sources, as libraries and metadata search engines are (as I mentioned in "Information and its Organization and Access" under the Information and Organization tab) but that AI should never be used as a source in and of itself when creating references, and I believe physical libraries and metadata search engines should continue to exist both for their information-finding use as well as the myriad of social benefits libraries give to the public. 

As an information science professional, the knowledge I have gained throughout the MLIS program has been very rewarding for me and, hopefully, the professionals and patrons I work with now and in the future.

I intend to grow as a professional over the next five years by working as an archivist or academic librarian who has a good deal of knowledge about artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence concerning the workforce in libraries, as in archives or academia. I would also like to grow by possibly doing a PhD in Information Science, after working several years, so I could more greatly grow in knowledge and contribute knowledge to the field of information science regarding artificial intelligence, and how it should be used in the future of libraries, so that libraries stay open and keep jobs for human librarians. Not only is the subject of AI important because it will be growing in the future and could take over work done by librarians, but it relates back to how disadvantaged adults who are homeless or in poverty could use libraries, such as computer rooms to look for jobs, social work rooms to find work and housing as well as social benefit programs like food stamps. Also, such adults, after being educated, can work, and maybe even gain jobs in Libraries and Information Science and stable housing. 

On a final note, a few of my documents reference artists, as I was an undergraduate studio art major with college courses in art history, specifically in the case of the section, "Provision of Information Services," in which I mention how art history, looked up through library search engine can improve racial relations, in and out of libraries, such as the, "Black Lives Matter," movement by providing examples of successful black artists and their art's contents.            

In conclusion, my vision statement is to find ways AI can help, instead of hindering, libraries and humans using libraries, and, possibly, how library metadata search engines can be made aware to the public to use to find reputable sources, as opposed to using AI, as well as how the homeless can be helped by social workers and job-training in public libraries, and how the "Black Lives Matter," movement and similar social movements can be aided by libraries. When it comes to lifelong learning,

I plan to work in an archive or academic library and gain a PhD in Information Science so that I can conduct research on these areas.