# data[].attributes.body
My highest assessments were Cultivate Relationships, Create a Learning Environment, Develop Individuals, and Sustain a Healthy Workplace. My lowest was Navigate Municipal & Community Connectedness. Knowing what I know about myself, this makes a lot of sense. I spend a lot of time thinking about leadership and morale and the workplace environment, but have little experience navigating the municipal environment. Add in that I don't live in the same community that I work in, and it makes even more sense.

I have been thinking a lot about the timing of this assessment, as I think my answers have changed from what they would have been a few months ago, before switching roles at my library. Where I was in a role in previous years that lent itself to enthusiasm and sharing new, exciting products with staff, my new role does not have that sparkle, and I'm finding that it is challenging to find my voice in the same way. So while I know what this assessment says I am capable of, I'm not sure that I have found a way to live up to it in my new role yet. I am hopeful that time, and APLL, will help with that.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Purpose and Enduring Value of the Public Library

# data[].attributes.subject
The Purpose and Enduring Value of the Public Library

# data[].attributes.body
The core purpose and endearing value of the public library is to provide access to the public. Access to information, technology, literacy, skills, space, community, connection. All of the things that are so vital to human mental health and well being, and which can be challenging to find at all, let alone for free, in our current political environment.

# data[].attributes.body
I have been immersed in thinking about leadership recently, as I have moved to a position outside of my library's union that supervises a group of about twenty people, and am seen as a leader now in ways that are different from the ways I was seen as a leader in my previous role in Collections. I am now not just 'leading from any position' - I am in a leadership position formally now. I loved taking a look around at the various websites and articles dedicated to leadership, and was particularly drawn to the idea of servant leadership. This being said, my leadership style in its ideal mode would be based on Brene Brown's new book, Dare to Lead, which I am nearly finished reading. It talks about the key foundation of daring leadership - vulnerability.

Honestly - for the longest time, talking about leadership made me feel icky. It felt correlated with hegemonic power structures and highly corporate to me, which is kind of the antithesis of the public library ethic I have carried for my whole life. But what I have been trying to do recently is re-jig what leadership means to me. As Brene Brown writes, "Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential."

# data[].attributes.body
My ideal mentor works in and strongly believes in the value of public libraries for the public good. My ideal mentor has skills and experience that I wish to learn from, experience that I wish to move towards in my own career, and perhaps an understanding of combining library leadership with work-life balance and self-care. My ideal mentor is a librarian at heart, even if they have moved outside of delivering traditional library service. My ideal mentor is the kind of manager or executive that can easily step onto the public service floor and deliver excellent service alongside their colleagues. My ideal mentor makes policy decisions that increase access to vulnerable populations.

# data[].attributes.body
When I think about learning style, I think about what it means to absorb information and know how to apply it. Only once I am able to carry myself through a situation with that knowledge and practice do I feel that I have truly learned - and even at that point, it is always a process of growth. When I am reading, I tend to highlight and then revisit. When I am listening, I tend to take notes of prescient thoughts. I return to highlights and notes often as a way of maintaining knowledge - I think that my true learning style, though, is an active one. The more I do something, the more comfortable I become. Having the background knowledge certainly helps, but having the opportunity to try new things hands-on (or brain-on) is the only way I truly learn.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm Emily Burns. I have worked at Oakville Public Library since 2012, and am in the middle of transitioning out of my position as Collections & Content Librarian into the position of Central Branch Supervisor.

# data[].attributes.body
I have a little family that I love spending time with, including my husband Elamin and my daughter Amna.

# data[].attributes.body
I have a cat named Henry.

# data[].attributes.headline
I love reading and tweeting about all things libraries, social justice, public transit, and city life. You can find me at @emilymelissabee. 

# data[].attributes.subject
I love reading and tweeting about all things libraries, social justice, public transit, and city life. You can find me at @emilymelissabee. 

# data[].attributes.body
I'm a big fan of using social media to break down social barriers and stigma, particularly regarding mental illness.

# data[].attributes.body
I've been involved in the OLA Super Conference since 2013, most recently as the Co-Chair. The conference planning team is an incredible group, and I have learned so much from them.

# data[].attributes.body
I completed my MLIS at Western in 2010 and my MA in Gender Studies at Queen's in 2012, which focused on the CBC's Canada Reads program. I love to learn and am so excited to seize this opportunity to learn with you all!