Read my short essay on my core belief of creativity.

This I Believe Essay in PDF format: LEsquibel This I Believe

Creativity. This is what I believe. We were put on this planet to create things; ideas, art, beauty. The concept of creativity has guided me through my life and informed my decisions. How can I give something to the world instead of taking something away? What can I create? I’ve spent most of my life as a visual artist, creating art for the world to enjoy, and now I take my creativity towards my next step in life as an archivist and librarian. I still create art, but now I also create community and access to information and education. While creativity is not one of the core values of information professionals, I find creativity in access (ALA, 2024). I can use my creativity to help people access information. I find creativity in public good (ALA, 2024), in creating a supportive community. I find creativity in responsible stewardship (SAA, 2020) because I can be creative in imagining new solutions to archival issues.

I was raised to find my own answers to questions, to make things myself instead of buying something, to create, rather than consume. I think this ideology helped to lead me in the direction of librarianship because I was looking for a path that would allow me to continue solving problems and building lasting solutions. As a librarian and archivist, I am able to be creative in the ways I serve my community. The library is more than a place for books and I am more than a card catalog. Libraries are spaces for learning, crafting, and building relationships, and as a librarian, I can facilitate these interactions that create community.

Creativity is what guides me as I work as an artist and as a librarian. While I create different things in these two paths, one tangible and one not, both come from the same part of me that wishes to share my thoughts with the world and to make the world around me a better and more beautiful place.

References

ALA. (2024, January). Core Values of Librarianship. Retrieved from American Library Association: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues

SAA. (2020, August). SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics. Retrieved from Society of American Archivists: https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics