Kelsa Bartley

Pursuing a 's at Florida State University is the next step on my path to continued learning, career, and personal development. My ideal librarian career would blend my interests in health care, art and design, teaching and community service. I see a career in librarianship as the perfect way for me to merge the creative abilities I have developed from my undergraduate career with more intellectual pursuits, as well as facilitating my passion for helping others. It was not a career choice I saw in my future at all, but it has turned out way better than I could have imagined!

I am originally from the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I moved to Miami to pursue a bachelor of fine art degree in photography at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. After graduating, I interviewed for a photography position at the Louis Calder Memorial Library at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine, but the library director at the time foresaw my future as a librarian. Thanks to her vision, I ended up working as a manager in the circulation department, thus beginning my journey in the library sciences, a career move I have not regretted a day since! I currently work as a manager of library services in the reference and education department. My main duties include performing reference services, teaching citation management, and assisting with promoting library services using traditional and online marketing tools. Being involved in creative activities at my current position has sparked my interest in library marketing and promotion. I created and currently manage Calder Library’s Facebook page, designing and creating content that promote the library’s services and resources as well as curating articles and topics of importance to our patrons and the medical campus. I also create flyers, posters and website graphics as well as post to the library’s blog. I believe this an excellent way for me to use my photography and design skills in a health library setting. I can see myself continuing to work in health library marketing and promotion or health library communications.

I could also see myself working in consumer health informatics, patient health education, and outreach services. I love teaching and I enjoy working with charitable organizations. I currently volunteer with two health-related organizations. I have done teaching for the Pablove Foundation, a Los Angeles–based nonprofit. The organization raises money for childhood cancer research and creates photography programs for children with cancer to express their creativity. I also donate photography services to the Miami-Dade County chapter of the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer organization. In my junior year in college, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a period of great uncertainty, and at the time, she did not have health insurance. Navigating the healthcare system was challenging for her, and she is nurse! I can only imagine what it must be like for people who do not have as much information as my mom did to make informed decisions about their healthcare needs. That experience has been a great motivator for me. Since then I have felt it is important for me to give back to the community in some way. It is my hope that I can use my creativity and work in libraries to make a difference in someone’s health, either indirectly by helping researchers locate resources or by directing a patient to the information they need.

Receiving scholarships for my graduate degree at FSU have been such a tremendous help financially and personally. I'm a recipient of the American Library Association Spectrum Scholarship and the Medical Library Association Scholarship for Minority Students. My spouse migrated to the United States just over a year ago and has had a difficult time finding sustainable employment. While I am working full time, managing our household on one salary would have made it extremely difficult to afford the MSI degree without financial assistance. Being free of the burden of paying for school has motivated me to continued success in my studies at FSU and daily work as a library para-professional. To further my career aspirations, I am currently completing coursework on health informatics topics and plan to continue on the health informatics track at FSU. I signed up for the health informatics technology certificate, and I plan on taking courses on the instructional role of librarians, social media management, and marketing and promotion in libraries. I am eager and excited about my future in health libraries; there are so many possibilities!

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