According to Chao and Moon (2005) we are all comprised of different cultural tiles that are combined to make us who we are, and by understanding and identifying these tiles we can identify how we will fit into an organization. Chao and Moon then go on to divide these tiles into three groups. They believe that our different cultural tiles can be labeled as demographic, geographic or associative (p. 1129). In order to discover how I fit into the world of library science I began by studying my demographic tiles.
When it comes to ethnicity I am a typical American mutt. I am a mixture of Irish, French, German and Native American descent. While I realize I am lucky that I am aware of my heritage, I do not feel a strong connection with the traditions of any of these ethnic groups. Instead I feel that the most important demographic tile in my mosaic is my age. I am a member of Generation Y and I feel that I fit the stereotypes of this generation. I am very competitive, have high standards and am tech savvy. I feel that my generation has influenced me far more than my ethnicity because I am part of the majority and therefore my ethnicity was never issue. Also, because my ancestors have been in America so long, any cultural traditions my family may have had have been lost. While I do appreciate that America is a melting pot society, I do believe that one of the downfalls of this is that a lot of individual culture is lost in an effort to blend in. I wish that my family did have a stronger connection to our family history, and that we would have maintained some of our ethnic traditions.
While I may not have large tiles for my ethnic heritage, I do have a very prominent geographic tile. I can easily define myself as a Michigander. I have lived in Michigan all my life, and while I love to travel, I cannot see myself ever living anywhere else. I was born and raised in Michigan and I have attended three universities in Michigan, so I feel strong connections to several cities within the state. I love that living in Michigan gives me a chance to experience all four seasons, and that I am never very far from a lake. While many people are moving out of Michigan due to the economic crisis, I plan on staying and helping Michigan become great again. I feel that Michigan is filled with great people who have the potential to do amazing things with their lives if they receive the right opportunities to learn, and I think that it is important for educators and librarians to stay in Michigan so we can educate the next generation and help pull the state out of this economic crisis.
The last tiles I need to explore are my associative tiles. I believe that this set of tiles is the most important set in my mosaic. I have a very large extended family, and I define myself by my status as a daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece and aunt. I feel that these are the most important roles I fill, and the ones that define me the most. I am a member of my family first and foremost, and my place within my family is more important than my place within society as a whole.
I also feel that being Catholic is a large part of my mosaic. While I am a very liberal Catholic, and I take all organized religion with a grain a salt, I do identify with the traditions and practices of the Catholic Church. I have spent my life learning and practicing this religion, and I think that these traditions and beliefs will always be an important part of who I am. I may not agree with every word of the doctrine, but I do feel at home when I pray in a Catholic Church.
The last tiles in my mosaic are representations of my professions. I define myself as being both a teacher and a librarian, and I believe that I fill similar roles in both jobs. For me these jobs are different sides of the same coin. Both of these professions are about distributing knowledge and educating the population, and these are ideas that I value. I believe that being a member of Generation Y and being a native Michigander are two aspects of my identity that really help me to be successful in my chosen fields. Libraries and schools are both very dependent on technology, and because I am familiar with technology I am easily able to help my patrons and my students. I also believe that because I have spent so much time in my hometown I am very familiar with the problems my patrons and students have dealt with and I can understand where they are coming from. While I feel that there may be a few of my own cultural tiles I have not yet identified, I do believe that I have a good understanding of who I am and how I fit into the world of library science. I also believe that as I continue to work within the profession I will become more aware of how my culture affects my behavior as a librarian and the way I interact with others.
References
Chao, G. T., & Moon, H. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140.
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