I had been contemplating studying for the MLIS for a few years before I finally took a deep breath and re-entered the world of academia. After a vocal injury changed my career trajectory from performance to arts administration, I started asking myself bigger questions about what was next. I kept thinking back to my undergrduate work study days at Carnegie Mellon's Hunt Library, and the day when my best friend, a costume design student, and I decided that librarianship might be an interesting career path if our respectives arts careers did not work out the way we had hoped. After six years working in fundraising in the Seattle area, I decided it was time to take the plunge into librarianship. Ten years from that fateful summer afternoon and we are both working towards our MLIS degrees and looking forward to getting involved in a very different aspect of the arts than we had imagined.

Even though the iSchool at the University of Washington does not have a specialization in music librarianship, I wanted to make sure that I found a program where I could explore all of the issues facing librarianship today. At the iSchool, I have been able to explore everything from management and systems to cataloging and reference, and I have alos had the freedom to build a curriculum for myself where I could explore these issues in the context of music librarianship. I always knew that I was fascinated by cataloging and classifcation, but I was not sure how my graduate school studies would influence how I saw those subjects align with my career goals. I realized as I continued through the program that two broad issues in librarianship are very imporant to me: providing the highest level of service possible to library users and providing the best access to materials possible. My coursework has focused largely on these issues in the context of knowledge organization, which has given me a different perspective on service and access than most reference librarians. I know that this will serve me well by giving me improving my reference skills and making me a better instructor as I pursue my career goals in music librarianship.

I have had some amazing experiences during my time at the iSchool that have also shaped me as a librarian. My independent study, fieldwork experiences at Cornish College of the Arts and the Odegaard Media Center have given me opportunitie to explore music librarianship outside of my formal classes. In the fall of 2006, I began my assistantship as the Grants and Funding Information Manager at Suzzallo Library, which has profoundly shaped my approach to instruction in an incredibly diverse community. I have also had the pleasure of holding the position of Secretary for the Association of Library and Information Science Students, which has given me an opportunity to apply my knowledge in a leadership position while serving my fellow students. I am looking forward to my first opportunity to explore these issues from a professional perspective; I know that I will draw on my experiences at the iSchool as I continue to explore these themes as I embark on my career.