My letter of intent for Western (egad!)

In response to Jason Hammond's posting of his letter of intent for his Western application, I decided to post mine for interesting comparison. His is (obviously) much better written than mine, but I think it is interesting to see how two people approached the same problem in such different ways. I may even post some of my other (numorous) application materials later for reference (my successful SSHRC application may be of interest to some).

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I am applying to the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Western Ontario because it will complement my prior experience and knowledge and prepare me for a career as a research librarian or information specialist. I became interested in librarianship and information technology several years ago as a research assistant for Dr. Wendy Wickwire at the University of Victoria. I was responsible for organizing a digitization project for a large collection of ethnographic materials. I implemented a workflow, researched the appropriate technology and methodology, and performed the digitization and organization of images, manuscripts, and audio. Further, I researched bibliographic data on ethnography. A year later I was employed as a research assistant for Dr. Taneli Kukkonen at the University of Victoria and co-organized an international conference on the roots of Western philosophical anthropology. My secondary role was performing initial research into the University of Victoria's McPherson Library holdings in ancient and medieval philosophy, determining lacunae, and suggesting purchases to remedy the gaps that my research identified. This position enabled me to work with specialists and academics in a professional academic setting.

I am a suitable candidate for the MILS degree because I have experience with many of the tools used by information specialists and librarians. I have experience with web design (HTML, XHTML), scripting languages (Javascript, Ruby on Rails), and typesetting (LaTeX, InDesign CS2). As a research assistant I gained experience with academic book acquisitions, bibliographic research, digitization, and project management. My undergraduate degree (Honours Philosophy with Distinction, Minor Religious Studies) demonstrates that I am familiar with academic settings. Due to geopolitical currents, my studies in Islamic history of thought and philosophy is a growing and sought-after area specialization. My proficiency and on-going language studies in Greek, Arabic, Latin and French will allow me to conduct primary-text research on ancient and medieval philosophy and history of thought.

If my application for the MILS degree is successful I anticipate taking the Systems Librarianship and Technology Management cluster of courses as well as applying to the co-op program. In addition to further independent study of scripting languages and software programming, the MILS training will allow me to enter the job market in a desirable position. Since I predict that web-based applications will become increasingly important to academic research and authoring, I hope to emphasize this developing area in my study.

Comments

[Jason]

Hey there,

Wanted to drop you a line to say how much I like the new blog design. Here's to a more regular posting schedule!

J.

[Brad]

Needs more Hitler.

...First comment!