This blog post examines how experiences requiring systematic and meticulous work—such as volunteering to organize rare books and records at a library—connect to the classification and management skills needed in Library and Information Science, and how they convincingly demonstrate suitability for the major.
Writing about academic experiences and reflections
“Three Learning Methods for Solving Non-Literary Questions”
While studying Korean, I struggled with non-literary passages. For other sections like literature and grammar, I felt my skills improved as I encountered and solved more questions. Especially in literature, I increased my accuracy by memorizing outlines of classical works and practicing question interpretation for modern literature. But non-literary passages consistently tripped me up, and I felt lost about how to study them.
To solve this learning problem, I devised three methods. I decided to abandon the old approach of just reading and solving as much as possible and adopt a new learning method. First, while reading non-literary passages, I established a notation system to mark important sentences and key words. I used underlines and circles for marking, and placed check marks on parts where I thought questions might be asked. Second, instead of reading the questions before the passage, I read the passage first and then connected the questions to the relevant paragraphs. While many advise reading questions first to grasp the main points, I found this approach led to incomplete understanding and only partial solutions.
So, after reading the passage, I read the questions and linked them to the relevant paragraphs. This often revealed connections between the passages I had marked and the questions. When analyzing the answer choices, I located their corresponding passages and marked them with small circles. This approach made it clear that any content not marked with a small circle was incorrect, allowing me to quickly identify wrong answers. The third method involved drawing diagrams. When two answer choices were confusing due to deceptively attractive wrong answers, it was often a complex 3-point question. To solve these, expressing my thoughts mentally through drawings or diagrams helped reduce errors. Practicing this problem-solving method boosted my confidence in non-literary passages.
Writing about major school activities and reflections
“Volunteer work organizing rare books and records in the library”
Our school boasted a large-scale library facility. Being a modern school, the library’s size greatly aided students’ studies and knowledge acquisition. However, as the library was newly built, its collection size was not particularly extensive. Therefore, to increase the collection, we conducted large-scale book donation drives and allocated the school’s own budget to purchase the latest books. This process required personnel to organize purchase lists and manage records. Consequently, volunteer students were recruited from within the school.
Becoming a library collection management volunteer offered several benefits. First, it provided school volunteer credit. Additionally, volunteers could borrow more books than regular students and enjoyed extended loan periods, making it ideal for book lovers. I read a lot and enjoyed organizing things systematically, so I thought I was well-suited for volunteering. After becoming a volunteer, I worked with friends who had also applied to organize records. When we first started volunteering, a large number of donated books arrived suddenly, so we visited the library almost daily to work. Filling the spacious library shelf by shelf, we felt a sense of accomplishment, building the new library with our own hands.
Inside the library, there were sections students frequently visited, like the latest books and study materials. Further inside, there was also a place storing rare books and archives. The rare books and archives section held out-of-print books, thesis materials, thick dictionaries, and old novels. Students couldn’t easily access this section; they needed a permit to view and copy desired materials. Among the library’s various sections, I was assigned to manage the rare books and historical documents corner. While organizing books in other sections was straightforward—quickly attaching labels and sliding books onto shelves—this corner was different.
The primary reason managing this section was challenging was its height. Shelves densely packed to the ceiling lined the room, meaning I often had to place books at heights I couldn’t easily reach. To handle this, I climbed ladders myself to place books or used long poles to remove reorganized books. Organizing these rare books required significant strength and was risky, so I worked cooperatively with my friend who shared responsibility for the section. Additionally, since rare materials are difficult to restore if damaged, maintaining them in pristine condition was challenging. These books couldn’t be loaned out to students; they were for reference only, and volunteers had to handle photocopying themselves, which was cumbersome. However, I didn’t find this role bothersome; I worked with a sense of responsibility toward my duties. Volunteering for over a year like this, I gained a lot of knowledge about organizing and managing old books and records, and I grew to love the library.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
“Computer Literacy Skills, OA Certification Acquisition”
In my sophomore year, I was assigned a task to obtain a certification in the Information Processing subject. While I had a Word certification, I lacked the Computer Literacy Skills certification. However, the subject taught in sophomore year was Excel, not Hangul, and the performance assessment task for the Excel subject was precisely to acquire the Computer Literacy Skills certification. Since obtaining even the lowest level would earn me the performance assessment points, I decided to take on this new challenge in an unfamiliar field.
But when I actually tried to get the Excel certification, I found the content wasn’t easy. Simply memorizing computer theory was enough to pass the written exam, but passing the practical exam required a lot of practice. Functions were especially my weak point. Entering data into cells, using tabs, simple sorting, and summing weren’t that difficult. But I definitely struggled with tasks requiring complex formulas or multiple layers of sorting. So, instead of struggling alone, I created a study group for the performance assessment.
Our group consisted of students aiming for Level 3, studying together for the certification. First, to quickly study computer theory, we each typed summaries of our assigned chapters and shared the materials. As a result, we all passed the written exam on the first try. For the challenging practical exam preparation, we went to the lab almost every day to practice completing assignments. Before practicing formula usage, we first organized past exam questions and discussed how to approach solving them. For instance, when counting cells meeting specific conditions using counters, we debated which counter formula would be most effective. After discussing the most efficient solution, each of us performed the task according to that answer. Sharing opinions like this gradually increased the efficiency of our practice, and we could see each other’s skills improving. Ultimately, everyone passed the practical exam and earned the performance evaluation points, which was very rewarding.
My Growth Journey and Motivation for Applying
“A Records Management Specialist, Essential in the Knowledge Information Society”
My future goal is to become a Records Management Specialist. Had I not considered Library and Information Science while thinking about becoming a librarian, I might never have learned about this new profession. This occupation, relatively unknown to the public, will gain greater attention in the future as the value of knowledge and information becomes increasingly important. As more companies and public institutions recognize the need to manage vast amounts of data and records, I applied to the Library and Information Science program to grow into an expert in this field.
Regarding records management, I actually had experience organizing and managing materials during high school. I volunteered as a library materials organizer, sorting new books and donated books. I specifically handled the rare books and records section, managing old books and important documents. I felt a sense of affection, as if organizing my own library, while labeling items in alphabetical order and with numerical codes, attaching them to the materials, and arranging them on the shelves. Furthermore, I didn’t just stop at placing books on the shelves; I organized which books with which codes belonged in which sections, building a database. It was simple work suitable for a high school student, but I remember carefully double-checking because mistakes were not allowed.
This volunteer work suited my temperament perfectly, as I was always a careful and meticulous student. During class, I always sat in the front row, taking systematic notes and organizing what I studied into reference materials. During breaks, I would always pack my textbook and notebook to prepare for the next class. If I forgot something, I would borrow it from a neighboring class to ensure I was always prepared. Teachers praised me as a meticulous and well-prepared student, frequently entrusting me with tasks requiring thoroughness within the class. For instance, organizing the classroom bookshelves and maintaining the daily class log were duties I consistently handled. Building on this disposition, my goal is to grow into a records management professional by pursuing a master’s degree in records management studies.
