Personal Statement from the 2008 Sternheim Scholarship Winner

Personal statement by Brett VanBenschoten in support of his application for the 2008 Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship.

Editor's note: Brett was presented with the Scholarship at SLA Southern California's Spring Membership meeting and Awards Dinner (see entry from May 2008)

I want to be a librarian because I want to make a difference. I have always chosen jobs that would allow me to do so and believe that this field will give me the best opportunity to continue that effort. Libraries ensure access to information, without which learning is impossible. They are of vital importance in this increasingly digital world in which people must sift through an overload of information and try to understand what is and is not valuable to them. A career as a librarian would allow me to teach individuals to do just that. Achieving my Master's in Library and Information Science is vital to doing so.

In the past year, while working as the Library Associate at California Hospital Medical Center, I have discovered that this work can make an even more immediate difference than I realized. When I field an urgent patient care request for a woman with necrotizing fasciitis, I'm doing more than just provide information; I am helping to save someone's life. This level of involvement has made the importance of learning all I can about my field and earning my degree much more germane. My "discovery" of special libraries truly changed the way I look at this field and in the process showed me just how exciting and vibrant it can be.

Previously my experience was limited to the academic library. I worked as the Reference Assistant at the Occidental College Library, having been promoted from a student assistant and including a summer internship with the Mellon Foundation Grant Librarian Recruitment Program. Within these positions I first gained experience with reference, collection development, providing web-based services, and developing new service tools. These experiences also showed me how to put my technical skills to use in a library, introducing me to Systems Librarianship. Computers now comprise a major aspect of the library profession, and my knowledge of information technology, graphic and database design, and social informatics can easily be applied to information access, library marketing, and information services development.

Since starting my position here I have been exposed to budgets, administration, database and systems maintenance, marketing campaigns, and the joy of working as a solo "librarian" in the hospital. While I believe I have successfully taken on the challenge of this job, I am not so blind as to realize that there is much I still have to learn. The support of the Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship would be invaluable in ensuring that I have all of the knowledge and skills I need to provide complete, informed, and accurate information to the medical, nursing, and other staff of the hospital.

As a librarian, I can make a difference in the lives of others, and also a difference in my own. I will always be exposed to new ideas and opportunities for learning. Libraries are bastions of knowledge and sites of educational democracy, where anyone can learn the tools of personal growth. Working as a librarian allows me to continue my own growth while helping others to bring about their own. I can think of no better career to continue what has already become my life's work.