Introduction

Hi, everyone!

My name is Danielle, and I'm currently a graduate student at the University of Alabama enrolled in the Library and Information Studies program. I live in the Charlotte, NC region, and I work full time in the Union County Public Library system. While my job title is library assistant, like any library position, I wear many hats. When I am not at work or drowning in my studies, I enjoy hanging out with friends, reading non-fiction books, and traveling. I LOVE TRAVELING!
Sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
In fact, I am actually going to the U.K. this semester! If you don't know me already, I am a big Harry Potter fan, so this trip is going to be amazing. Outside of all of that, I am really into Myers-Briggs (MBTI), and I love learning about the personality types of others. If you are as well, I am an ISFJ so that should explain everything you need to know about me. Anyway, that's really all I have to say about myself; now, to the true reason for my blog's existence.

As a part of my 560 course on Information Technologies, I have been tasked with creating a blog that tracks my Information Technology (IT) fluency. While this isn't my first attempt at blogging, I have attempted many a blogs, it will be the first blog where I actually have to stick with it. Who knows, maybe this will be the blog that changes my "drop it like its hot" blogging style. 

When it comes to my IT fluency, I would like to say that I know a thing or two... but I am no genius--unless you count my custom Myspace layouts. Anyone who used Myspace should at least have some basic HTML coding under their belt.  Thank you early 00's. In all honesty, I can thank my job for my current advancements in IT fluency. 

As the lead of teen services at my library, I am tasked with creating programs that teens will actually attend. After speaking with teens about what interested them, I received the same answer... over and over again. CODING. That's all the teens in my area wanted; and when I first started this job, my proficiency for coding was Myspace level. Of course, I was jaded towards the whole coding experience after trying to learn--dare I say it--python. So naturally, I had no motivation to host coding programs, but I gave the teens what they wanted--a coding program. And they loved it. After seeing that this was "the thing" to program, I started teaching myself HTML, CSS, and Javascript so that I could form a coding club. Our first meeting is in February, and I am so excited to learn alongside these teens! 

Outside of being the teen services lead, I work at the reference desk where I encounter technology on a daily basis. Part of my job is being able to assist patrons in everything computer: from downloading applications on their tablets to troubleshooting how to reformat files. Every day I learn something new on the job, and my solution to problems is no longer "Well, I turned it off and turned it back on. I don't know what else to do." I am excited to learn more in this class, and I look forward to seeing how it will help me in my current job!

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