Our May Instructor Spotlight is S. Michele Echols. Michele will be teaching the webinar, Charting Your Career Path: Building a Personalized Professional Development Plan, on Tuesday, May 20, from 2 - 3:30 p.m.
S. Michele Echols, MLS, MS, is a thought-leader librarian with experience working in public, academic and school libraries. Echols owns the company Curated Collections by SME, where she creates libraries for personal or professional use using principles of bibliotherapy. As a dedicated professor and mentor, she is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and applying artificial intelligence in education. Echols has held various leadership positions for the New York Black Librarians Caucus and Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and served as the Councilor at Large for the New York Librarians Association, representing academic libraries. She received a five-year appointment (2021–2026) to the New York State Regents Advisory Council representing libraries.
We recently chatted with Michele as part of our Instructor Spotlight Series to learn more about the upcoming session.
Can you let attendees know a little bit about what to expect from the session?
SME: The topic for the session is one that I genuinely have embraced as a thought-leader librarian. I have used the professional development plan at each juncture of my career after participating in training for leaders while employed at Queens Public Library. Documenting my personal and professional goals and experiences benefitted my career trajectory immensely, and I've come to realize that training experiences play a significant role in shaping leadership, empowering us to be capable leaders in our field.
Before attending the session, is there anything attendees should prepare or reflect upon in regards to their professional development journeys so far?
SME: Yes, attendees should think about their journey from library school to their current position and their core values and strengths, both personally and professionally. This way, when they receive the workbook, it will be easy for them to follow along.
How did you come to be interested in the professional development side of librarianship?
SME: I am a career changer. I began my career at a time when libraries still had in-house T&D (training and development) departments. Also, my former positions working in government and non-profit industries laid the foundation for me to truly understand the power of professional development. As a lifelong learner, having this understanding is paramount for career satisfaction first and then growth. You can not grow in an environment that you are not satisfied with.
Your company, Curated Collections by SME, uses principles of bibliotherapy. That’s a very fascinating area. Can you tell us a little more about that?
SME: I was previously enrolled in the PhD program and decided to leave after realizing that I could research on my own time. I would love to finish the program one day, but for now, I am happily writing articles and presenting at conferences. While attending the program, I began researching self-help books for individuals to use between therapy sessions. Many people do not know this about me, but I have worked through some tumultuous times in my personal life where my mental health began to wither. I also participated in a women's mental health program where we did a lot of poetry reading and journaling, and this is one form of Bibliotherapy. It is very personal for me. Through my research, I discovered Sadie Peterson Delaney, the first black librarian Bibliotherapist, and I researched and developed an affinity for her work during World I and II at the Tuskegee Hospital. Her legacy is phenomenal, and she inspired me to continue the work personally and spread information to everyone. A quote from her: "Whatever impedes a man/woman, if it does not stop him/her, aids in his/her progress." Bibliotherapy is widely accepted in the UK, and at one time, it had a very strong presence here in the United States. I am happy to say that I had an opportunity to write a chapter in the ALA forthcoming book, The Legacy of Black Women in Librarianship: When They Dared to Be Powerful, and my chapter is entitled: "Resurgence of a Bibliotherapist: Exploring the Life and Times of Sadie 'Sara' Marie Peterson Delaney."
Finally, we like to ask our instructors to share anything interesting that they are currently reading, watching or listening to.
SME: I am currently reading Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I have enjoyed her writings since Purple Hibiscus. I am a procedural television watcher. I enjoy watching the FBI franchise and Tracker, which is part of CBS. As I have strong faith, I am listening to Still Karen, one of the contemporary Gospel artists of the famous Clark Sisters family.