Totally excited about starting library school next month online at University of Wisconsin-Milwuakee, but I’m the cliched, down-on-her-luck broke student. After some proofreading, what you see below is most likely the statement I’ll be sending out to scholarship committees. I think it says it all.

During my Shakespeare studies at Oxford, I didn’t particularly like the famed main library, the Bodleian’s, ostentatious quadrangle and excessive rules. To gain access, you must swear an oath not to, “kindle therein, any fire or flame,” among other things that sound like precursors to the no cell phone policy. I preferred my cozier college library, Brasenose, next door to the Bod. The library had everything the modern student needed, but the walls of Brasenose’s study areas retained Baroque details from the library’s opening in 1664. I fondly remember cherubs on the ceiling looking down at the OPAC computers and students’ iPods. Recalling that makes me optimistic for libraries’ permanence, despite constant threats of their demise. Libraries have and must always adapt to patrons, even if the building is over 300 years old.

A misconception of support staff is that we’re not leaders of change. During my first year at […] library, I streamlined the interlibrary loans process, which tripled the number of requests filled. I also eliminated decades-old paper filing systems in favor of electronic systems, decreasing printing while increasing efficiency. Recently, I started an information sharing initiative specifically geared towards […] staff. Using online tools to compose weekly informational emails, the goal is to incite discussion, create awareness, and act as a platform for […] library services. Staying relevant is a problem for all libraries, and this project addresses relevancy while supplementing expensive print resources with no-cost web resources.

Rather than accepting, “this the way we’ve always done it” as an excuse, I prefer to create smart, simple solutions for dysfunctional practices. I have big, in other words expensive, plans for library school. I hope to take my leadership skills to the next level by conducting serious research, interacting with faculty, and making new contacts. Having the resources to make the most out of my time in graduate school will prepare me for a leadership role in the profession that I love. Thank you for considering my application.

Would you give me money?