Mapping My Digital Spaces & Reflecting on My PLN

Introduction

 The Internet is woven into nearly every part of my professional and personal life. The tools I use for work as a library director and educator help me maintain staff connections and partner communication and support my ongoing professional development. The current assignment required me to stop and think about my online activities and my most used digital resources and their impact on my educational process. The David White Visitors vs. Residents model provided me with a framework to see how my online activities change based on my particular objectives.

 

My Digital Space Map 

Source from Canva: Author

 

 

I conduct most of my work visits through functional and task-oriented methods because I use Paylocity to check timesheets and LibraryIQ to examine circulation statistics and search for LEU opportunities on the Indiana State Library website. These are low-social, goal-oriented interactions.

I build lasting connections and stay connected with my professional residents by using my resident management tools. I engage in professional discussions by using LinkedIn and ALA Connect and multiple library-focused Facebook groups. I participate in webinars and forums from IFLA and ALA because these platforms create a community network that goes beyond their core capabilities. 

I dedicate my leisure time to Instagram and Discord because these platforms let me stay in touch with my friends and other RPG community members. My visitor-mode personal tools include YouTube and Zillow, where I search for information without leaving a significant digital footprint.

 

Surprises & Insights 

One surprise was just how many of my “first screen” apps on my phone are professional tools — email, Teams, Slack, and LinkedIn. My work duties force me to maintain constant proximity to my colleagues in the present workplace. My daily routine reveals that I become more active in personal spaces through gaming, Discord, and Instagram Reels during evening hours. However, I transform into a task-oriented worker who finishes tasks quickly before leaving work. 

The mapping exercise revealed that students learn at various sites that extend beyond conventional educational environments. I learn important strategies through LinkedIn posts from other directors and YouTube webinars and X (formerly Twitter) thought leaders. The library staff utilizes these informal learning experiences to develop new policy recommendations and programming concepts for the Hammond Public Library. 

My Professional Learning Network (PLN)

 

The process of mapping my PLN allowed me to identify which individuals fulfill each of the roles. 

 

• The library system colleagues, along with MLIS program classmates, provide me with encouragement for my new projects.

• The people who oppose me include the directors and board members who test my proposal development through challenging inquiries.

• The organization relies on local supporters, including City Council members and representatives from the School City of Hammond, who endorse library programs and provide financial backing. 

• The technical advisors who assist us include our IT personnel, LibraryIQ trainers, and members of online communities who specialize in fixing technical problems. 

 

I realized that I would benefit from strengthening the “Challenger” side of my PLN — joining more director roundtables and professional forums where tough policy questions are debated would push my thinking further.

 

Conclusion

 

The process of creating this digital map, together with my PLN reflection experience, proved to be highly educational. My digital activities follow specific patterns that demonstrate how I distribute time between professional responsibilities, educational pursuits, and social interactions. The knowledge I gain will enable me to choose meaningful online activities that help me establish professional relationships, which in turn drive my career development. I will start by joining an ALA Connect group and using webinars and library leadership networks to build my PLN.