Things have been a bit quiet since I completed the cpd23 programme, but I have been thinking about it, and have written the article below for our staff bulletin, in the hope of encouraging staff who may have an interest in cpd to have a go!
Web 2.0 – what does it mean to you??
Way back in June 2009 we ran a session for Bib Services staff on new things that were happening on the internet; we thought it might be useful for staff to at least know of the existence of things like facebook, yammer, twitter, blogs, and wikis etc., and then they could have a look and evaluate these services in relation to their work.
But, a lot has changed since the summer of 2009 and while some services have taken off beyond belief, some have fallen by the wayside and new ones have emerged. Keeping oneself up-to-date can be almost impossible! And that's where cpd23 comes in!
You may already have heard of it - you may already be doing it! But, if you haven't/aren't it's based on the 23 things programme of 2006, devised by staff in Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County which aimed to encourage staff to explore new technologies http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/ . This was followed in the UK by a 23 things programme devoted to public library staff, (review here: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue64/leech/ ), which, in turn, inspired the 23 things Cambridge in 2010 ( http://23thingscambridge.blogspot.com/ ), which was repeated in 2011 ( http://cam23things.blogspot.com/ ), and has now prompted a cpd23 programme for all library staff - http://cpd23.blogspot.com/ This is a brief history; I may not have got it exactly right and I may not have cited all the instances of the 23 things programme, but, you get the idea that it’s a tried and trusted training method!
Initially, when I enrolled on cpd23 in June 2011, there were about 200 people registered, but by the end of programme there were nearly 800 participants! I joined the programme partly because I wanted to be more up-to-date with what was available, and there was an advantage in being pointed in the right direction for potentially useful resources, in being able to follow the programme at my own pace, in being encouraged to blog and in being encouraged to learn by reflection about things.
Apart from learning about weird and wonderful whizzy webby things – jing, online calendars, file-sharing options, online networking, etc. - there were also things that covered topics like advocacy, conferences, qualifying as a librarian, and mentoring, as well as several opportunities to sit back and reflect – well, actually to write up my reflection in my blog.
Along the way, the cpd23 things were supplemented by cpd23 tweets, a cpd23 LinkedIn discussion board, several physical meet-ups for various geographical regions and a live twitter chat, #uklibchat. An added bonus, that I hadn’t anticipated before, was the benefit of contact with other folk who were following the programme; finding like-minded souls was quite an eye-opener for me (no, really, I didn’t respond to thing 2 by looking for blog titles that looked as though they might have been created by cataloguers!)
All-in-all, I found the cpd23 programme extremely helpful as it almost forced me to look at things that I’d heard of but never found the time to investigate, whilst at the same time showed me things I’d not heard of. I would encourage anyone who wants to try and keep up to give it a go!
cpd23 – now that’s the course for me!!
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Thing 23 - reflection
My reflection on the cpd23 programme
The cpd23 programme has filled a gap for me and made me sit down and devote time to my development and to looking into, evaluating and using services I may have heard of but not really investigated.
These days, the rate of change seems to be phenomenal, with new ways of doing things constantly appearing, and new software emerging. It is difficult to keep up. You get a feeling there is something you think you don’t know about but feel you ought to, but you don’t know what it is because you don’t know what there is to know! I think I put this into my annual development review at work in the very early days of the ADR, when computing power first started to change the way we worked.
So, being presented with a relatively easy way of finding out about lots of things that are available and having them presented in groups of similar things was fantastic! At work we tried to something like this a couple of years ago and had what we called a “new technologies day”, in which we had demonstrations of Twitter, facebook, Yammer, next generation OPACs etc; I know some people were glad of this, not just as a way of improving their understanding of what was going on but also so that they could use things like facebook to keep up with their distant friends and relatives!
I was very keen to do the cpd23 programme, recognising that for myself there would be a great benefit. Despite sharing my enthusiasm with many members of my team, I have been unable to convince them that the time spent on cpd23 is well worth it. Methinks, those who would be interested are already working hard on NVQs, ECDL or Accreditation so perhaps haven’t got the time to spare (and I recognise that one, having done all my cpd23 in my spare time at home!).
So, my next immediate action is to write a short article for our internal library staff bulletin that promotes cpd23 as the next best thing since sliced bread!
I have been in my current job for about 12 years, and have been a cataloguer since the beginning of my career, over 30 years ago. Of course there are gaps in my experience, but I am happy doing what I do and cannot see me doing anything else for a while. When the time comes to move on, or the job changes, I now have the courage and the support (in the form of thing23) to assess my skills and identify what I need to do or learn in order to secure that next position.
The reflection part of our ADR process at work is also good for this, although it sometimes reads as a long list of objectives! However, I do try to be honest about how well or badly I’ve done what I’ve done, and also to try and look forward to see what skills I might need as the job changes to suit the times.
Many years ago I did a similar sort of thing as a mind map – me in the centre with shoots coming out all over the place, representing me at work, me as a mother, me as a student, me as person etc., with all the things I wanted to achieve and how I could achieve them branching out. It was a very useful technique, although I never did learn Italian, but I did take those singing lessons!
The one “skill” I would like to get to grips with is confidence! Yes, I know it’s not a skill it’s a personality trait, so maybe I should think about how I acquire a skill that will let me objectively assess whether what I have done, am doing and will do has been, is and will be any good! One way of doing that is by getting out there and contributing to things, and I’ve put a toe in the water there, by taking part in this cpd23 challenge.
The other thing I find difficult is managing, but already I find I am getting better at delegating and not being afraid that if I delegate everything there won’t be anything left for me to do and my skills will become out-of-date. As I mentioned in my thing 21 post, as an INFJ I expect everything to be perfect which I think is what makes me want to do everything myself, at least that way if it’s not perfect I can only blame myself, thereby not subjecting anyone else to my exacting standards! Not sure that knowledge helps me any though.
So, here I am at the end of my post, fired up and enthusiastic about having taken part in cpd23, about “meeting” lots of other people like me, about learning lots of new stuff, about being empowered to go out and discover and try things out, and most of all about sharing the benefits of such a programme with others who haven’t as yet tried it out!
Many, many thanks to all who organised this incredible programme, and good luck to others who are following it, or are about to follow it!
The cpd23 programme has filled a gap for me and made me sit down and devote time to my development and to looking into, evaluating and using services I may have heard of but not really investigated.
These days, the rate of change seems to be phenomenal, with new ways of doing things constantly appearing, and new software emerging. It is difficult to keep up. You get a feeling there is something you think you don’t know about but feel you ought to, but you don’t know what it is because you don’t know what there is to know! I think I put this into my annual development review at work in the very early days of the ADR, when computing power first started to change the way we worked.
So, being presented with a relatively easy way of finding out about lots of things that are available and having them presented in groups of similar things was fantastic! At work we tried to something like this a couple of years ago and had what we called a “new technologies day”, in which we had demonstrations of Twitter, facebook, Yammer, next generation OPACs etc; I know some people were glad of this, not just as a way of improving their understanding of what was going on but also so that they could use things like facebook to keep up with their distant friends and relatives!
I was very keen to do the cpd23 programme, recognising that for myself there would be a great benefit. Despite sharing my enthusiasm with many members of my team, I have been unable to convince them that the time spent on cpd23 is well worth it. Methinks, those who would be interested are already working hard on NVQs, ECDL or Accreditation so perhaps haven’t got the time to spare (and I recognise that one, having done all my cpd23 in my spare time at home!).
So, my next immediate action is to write a short article for our internal library staff bulletin that promotes cpd23 as the next best thing since sliced bread!
I have been in my current job for about 12 years, and have been a cataloguer since the beginning of my career, over 30 years ago. Of course there are gaps in my experience, but I am happy doing what I do and cannot see me doing anything else for a while. When the time comes to move on, or the job changes, I now have the courage and the support (in the form of thing23) to assess my skills and identify what I need to do or learn in order to secure that next position.
The reflection part of our ADR process at work is also good for this, although it sometimes reads as a long list of objectives! However, I do try to be honest about how well or badly I’ve done what I’ve done, and also to try and look forward to see what skills I might need as the job changes to suit the times.
Many years ago I did a similar sort of thing as a mind map – me in the centre with shoots coming out all over the place, representing me at work, me as a mother, me as a student, me as person etc., with all the things I wanted to achieve and how I could achieve them branching out. It was a very useful technique, although I never did learn Italian, but I did take those singing lessons!
The one “skill” I would like to get to grips with is confidence! Yes, I know it’s not a skill it’s a personality trait, so maybe I should think about how I acquire a skill that will let me objectively assess whether what I have done, am doing and will do has been, is and will be any good! One way of doing that is by getting out there and contributing to things, and I’ve put a toe in the water there, by taking part in this cpd23 challenge.
The other thing I find difficult is managing, but already I find I am getting better at delegating and not being afraid that if I delegate everything there won’t be anything left for me to do and my skills will become out-of-date. As I mentioned in my thing 21 post, as an INFJ I expect everything to be perfect which I think is what makes me want to do everything myself, at least that way if it’s not perfect I can only blame myself, thereby not subjecting anyone else to my exacting standards! Not sure that knowledge helps me any though.
So, here I am at the end of my post, fired up and enthusiastic about having taken part in cpd23, about “meeting” lots of other people like me, about learning lots of new stuff, about being empowered to go out and discover and try things out, and most of all about sharing the benefits of such a programme with others who haven’t as yet tried it out!
Many, many thanks to all who organised this incredible programme, and good luck to others who are following it, or are about to follow it!
Thing 21 – promoting yourself in job applications and at interviews
Thing 21 – promoting yourself in job applications and at interviews
I have been working in the same institution for 25 years; part of the reason for this is I am hopeless at applying for jobs and interview extremely badly. There, said it.
I don’t quite get the idea that I have skills, that these are strengths and that they stem from my interests. This is my lack of self-confidence coming out, I suppose. The few times I have felt excited it’s been when I’ve been singing in a choir, but I rarely get that opportunity in the library!
About 18 months ago I started to look into revalidation and did actually make a list of what I considered to be my achievements. This was an interesting list and the things I seemed to be most proud of were things that I had done, let’s be honest about this, b.c., and while some of the things on the list sounded absolutely amazing and should have built up my confidence, they may not always have had the desired effect. So, knowing that I was first choice for two identical positions within an organisation and that the bosses had to fight over me is great, but I haven’t got a clue whether or not I lived up to expectations. Thus, this really tells me nothing.
But, there I go again, you see. In reality, since having children I have done some of the most exciting things; teaching myself html in 1995 and creating and maintaining my own webpages; creating a wiki and a blog in 2007 etc.. What is also telling is the wording that I used to list these achievements, for example, “finally being involved in a project”; until I read that, I had no idea that I hankered after being involved in any project!
So, as suggested in part 2, I looked at the list I created when trying to record everything I’ve done that demonstrates I’ve got skills (no matter whether or not they come from my interests). Skills equals strengths – right? And it’s here I get side-tracked. I don’t know what my strengths are, if indeed, I’ve even got any.
OH has just started a new job and some of his team were talking about the Myers-Briggs type indicators. I’d forgotten about all this, but while he was talking to me I remembered that I’d done the questionnaire before and had come out as an INFJ. A quick look at the profile reminded me of my characteristics and had me squealing – “yes, that’s me all over!”
Strengths are now looking easier to extract: obviously I’m not going to list them all here, but as an example, I think I’m good at cataloguing, because I’m fast, accurate and consistent, but I am also a perfectionist and nothing (including catalogue records) is ever perfect so I’m not that good at cataloguing or anything else really.
Then I got further side-tracked by remembering my Belbin scores. Now, this is absolute proof that I don’t have any particular strengths (ok, I know it doesn’t really refer to strengths more styles but …), as, instead of getting a range of scores from very low to very high, with lots in the middle, I got a strange set of results. My score of 2 x 12s, 2 x 11s, 1 x 8, 2 x 6s and 1 x 4 had me perplexed. What was my dominant style? Interestingly, I don’t seem to have one – I could almost equally be any of the Belbin types (except perhaps for the type that scored 4). Great – so I’m a Jack of All Trades, and master of none! Wow – I’m a wishy-washy, fickle type who flits from one type to another! On the flip side – I suppose I’m versatile.
But, back to the point! Although I haven’t applied for any jobs in a very long time, I do sit on the other side of the table and so recognise the importance of a good application that shows you meet the essentials, and preferably some, if not all of the desirables, but I also wholeheartedly agree that even if you don’t meet them all you have nothing to loose by applying for that job!
I was interested to note that CILIP offers two careers advice sessions a year to each member; I could have done with that a few years ago when I was looking into alternatives, and will bear it in mind for any future ideas.
I think I can probably make a decent stab at completing the application form, but the interview itself is another story. I find social situations almost unbearable, so interviews are just soul destroying! Being a perfectionist, I feel the need to talk to the right people in the right place at the right time about the right stuff, and since this rarely happens …
Anyway, it was useful to be given some pointers in the form of CARs, although I’m not sure I can be trusted not to ramble when I’m nervous, nor can I not be negative – it’s in-built!
So, when I next apply for a job, I shall be coming back to thing21 to remind me what I should be doing and how I should be going about it. Thanks for the references too!
I have been working in the same institution for 25 years; part of the reason for this is I am hopeless at applying for jobs and interview extremely badly. There, said it.
I don’t quite get the idea that I have skills, that these are strengths and that they stem from my interests. This is my lack of self-confidence coming out, I suppose. The few times I have felt excited it’s been when I’ve been singing in a choir, but I rarely get that opportunity in the library!
About 18 months ago I started to look into revalidation and did actually make a list of what I considered to be my achievements. This was an interesting list and the things I seemed to be most proud of were things that I had done, let’s be honest about this, b.c., and while some of the things on the list sounded absolutely amazing and should have built up my confidence, they may not always have had the desired effect. So, knowing that I was first choice for two identical positions within an organisation and that the bosses had to fight over me is great, but I haven’t got a clue whether or not I lived up to expectations. Thus, this really tells me nothing.
But, there I go again, you see. In reality, since having children I have done some of the most exciting things; teaching myself html in 1995 and creating and maintaining my own webpages; creating a wiki and a blog in 2007 etc.. What is also telling is the wording that I used to list these achievements, for example, “finally being involved in a project”; until I read that, I had no idea that I hankered after being involved in any project!
So, as suggested in part 2, I looked at the list I created when trying to record everything I’ve done that demonstrates I’ve got skills (no matter whether or not they come from my interests). Skills equals strengths – right? And it’s here I get side-tracked. I don’t know what my strengths are, if indeed, I’ve even got any.
OH has just started a new job and some of his team were talking about the Myers-Briggs type indicators. I’d forgotten about all this, but while he was talking to me I remembered that I’d done the questionnaire before and had come out as an INFJ. A quick look at the profile reminded me of my characteristics and had me squealing – “yes, that’s me all over!”
Strengths are now looking easier to extract: obviously I’m not going to list them all here, but as an example, I think I’m good at cataloguing, because I’m fast, accurate and consistent, but I am also a perfectionist and nothing (including catalogue records) is ever perfect so I’m not that good at cataloguing or anything else really.
Then I got further side-tracked by remembering my Belbin scores. Now, this is absolute proof that I don’t have any particular strengths (ok, I know it doesn’t really refer to strengths more styles but …), as, instead of getting a range of scores from very low to very high, with lots in the middle, I got a strange set of results. My score of 2 x 12s, 2 x 11s, 1 x 8, 2 x 6s and 1 x 4 had me perplexed. What was my dominant style? Interestingly, I don’t seem to have one – I could almost equally be any of the Belbin types (except perhaps for the type that scored 4). Great – so I’m a Jack of All Trades, and master of none! Wow – I’m a wishy-washy, fickle type who flits from one type to another! On the flip side – I suppose I’m versatile.
But, back to the point! Although I haven’t applied for any jobs in a very long time, I do sit on the other side of the table and so recognise the importance of a good application that shows you meet the essentials, and preferably some, if not all of the desirables, but I also wholeheartedly agree that even if you don’t meet them all you have nothing to loose by applying for that job!
I was interested to note that CILIP offers two careers advice sessions a year to each member; I could have done with that a few years ago when I was looking into alternatives, and will bear it in mind for any future ideas.
I think I can probably make a decent stab at completing the application form, but the interview itself is another story. I find social situations almost unbearable, so interviews are just soul destroying! Being a perfectionist, I feel the need to talk to the right people in the right place at the right time about the right stuff, and since this rarely happens …
Anyway, it was useful to be given some pointers in the form of CARs, although I’m not sure I can be trusted not to ramble when I’m nervous, nor can I not be negative – it’s in-built!
So, when I next apply for a job, I shall be coming back to thing21 to remind me what I should be doing and how I should be going about it. Thanks for the references too!
Thing 17 - the medium is the message - Prezi and slideshare
Thing 17 – Prezi and slideshare
Ok, so I knew I was going to struggle with this thing for several reasons:
· As well as sounding like an abbreviation of “presentation”, prezi also sounds to me like:
o Something you get on your birthday or at Christmas
o A nice Italian restaurant
o A salty snack
· I’ve looked at both Prezi and slideshare before and been wowed by the work people have produced. I could never produce stuff of that quality, and, actually, since I haven’t done a presentation in years, then I probably don’t need to know to learn the practicalities at the moment
· If I ever do want to produce a slideshow I would be soooo reluctant for anybody other than the intended audience to see it and since both P & S allow access for anyone to your work (unless you pay them) this is a definite no for me!
As I said above, I am really impressed with what these programmes offer, and even more impressed with the presentations that people have done on them, although some of the Prezi ones did make me feel a bit seasick!
When the time does come that I need to produce something along these lines, I will know where to look.
Ok, so I knew I was going to struggle with this thing for several reasons:
· As well as sounding like an abbreviation of “presentation”, prezi also sounds to me like:
o Something you get on your birthday or at Christmas
o A nice Italian restaurant
o A salty snack
· I’ve looked at both Prezi and slideshare before and been wowed by the work people have produced. I could never produce stuff of that quality, and, actually, since I haven’t done a presentation in years, then I probably don’t need to know to learn the practicalities at the moment
· If I ever do want to produce a slideshow I would be soooo reluctant for anybody other than the intended audience to see it and since both P & S allow access for anyone to your work (unless you pay them) this is a definite no for me!
As I said above, I am really impressed with what these programmes offer, and even more impressed with the presentations that people have done on them, although some of the Prezi ones did make me feel a bit seasick!
When the time does come that I need to produce something along these lines, I will know where to look.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Thing 22 - Volunteering
Thing 22 - Volunteering
Skipping thing 21 for the moment; I'm not in the job market and not really expecting to be, and I don't interview at all well, so I'll do the easy things first!
I have some experience of volunteering, although this is not at all current. As I mentioned in an earlier post I did some volunteer work on my way to a permanent job. Actually, now I've thought about it I've remembered more!
I studied librarianship at undergraduate level, rather than doing a subject-based degree and then a post-grad conversion course, and in the interests of pursuing my chosen career quickly I went straight to university from school. Thus, I had no experience of actually working in a library, never having had the financial need to get a Saturday job, and not realising that actually a small amount of work experience could have been quite useful!
So, it was a compulsory part of the course that those of us who had not worked in a library prior to coming to university had to undertake a 6-week placement during each of the summer vacations. Of course, in the late 1970s only about 4% of the population went to university, and most of us went straight from school. There was only one person I can remember who had worked for a year before the course, and it must have helped (that and the fact that she was brilliant!) as she got a first.
Anyway, my first experience was spent with public libraries in North Yorks. This was a fantastic time and they really looked after me and ensured that I got a huge variety of public library experience. I worked on a busy issue desk, I got involved in the 9-9.30 daily shelf-tidying, I processed new books, I went on the mobile library, I spent a couple of days working in York music library, a couple of days in Harrogate reference library, time in a large branch library, time in a very small branch library and had a visit to the N Yorks HQ at Northallerton. This was a brilliant introduction to work in the public library sector; I probably didn't realise this at the time and I probably didn't thank enough the people who looked after me.
In my second summer vacation I spent 6 weeks working at what was then Gwent College of Higher Education, based at the Caerleon site. This was fabulous! This was my home town! This was where my mother had studied for her teaching qualification for three years! This was the place we had been to from school to have a couple of lessons in their brand-new science labs! This was the beautiful building on the hill that you could see from miles around! Oops, back to the point!
Again, I gained huge experience here, but the difference was that I hope I gave something tangible back, as I classified a poster, drawing and newspaper cuttings collection for their teaching practice collection, that perhaps they wouldn't otherwise have had staff time to do. As well as this, I spent a week at the Allt-yr-yn site where I was lucky enough to work with the inspirational lady I regarded as the perfect role model .
Further periods of volunteering came after I had graduated and before my first professional post. For a couple of months I worked in the local Tourist Information Office, which was also a focal point for the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the Volunteer Bureau. This involved answering the phone and various other clerical duties, and again, I was lucky enough to learn much about office work and practice, phone technique, communication skills etc. all of which were a vital part of my learning and prepared me for my first paid job. I hope the centre got something out of my period with them!
I was also involved in a local public library initiative: the town had expanded somewhat during the late 1970s early 80s and the public library wanted to assess whether opening a small branch library on the other side of town from the main library was a viable proposition. So, we had a couple of shelves of public library books sent over to the local community college and opened up to members of the public at certain times during the week. So I spent a couple of months happily sorting and issuing popular novels and other books. I don't remember recording the number of loans, or counting the number of people who used the service, or anything like that, but I now know that is how the need for a library service would have been justified. Not sure what the eventual outcome of this was as I secured a paid job in the middle of the trial, although I'm pretty sure we haven't got a second library in town and I'm sure I've seen the mobile heading off that way.
To sum up, all those years ago I thought that by volunteering I was gaining some great skills to help me progress in my career, and this it true. Now, looking back, I can see that the places I volunteered at weren't just welcoming me out of the goodness of their hearts, but that I also contributed in some small way to their work, either through being available in holiday time and filling in when the regular staff were on holiday, through having the time to undertake a project that might otherwise have taken longer to do, and filling a gap in provision at a time when it was needed. This is the value of volunteering; a mutual exchange of need - a need to learn new skills and a need to have someone do something that might otherwise not get done.
The idea of volunteering has now seem to come into vogue again (can't think why!). However, some of this worries me; I think it's fine to equip up-and-coming librarians with skills they will find useful either to secure a paid job, or to further their careers, but I'm not so sure about the idea of using volunteers to staff libraries in place of trained library staff. Ok, so thinking ahead a bit, I might want to go full circle and end my career by volunteering in my local public library, but I think this should be a bonus to the existing library staff, not a replacement for them.
Skipping thing 21 for the moment; I'm not in the job market and not really expecting to be, and I don't interview at all well, so I'll do the easy things first!
I have some experience of volunteering, although this is not at all current. As I mentioned in an earlier post I did some volunteer work on my way to a permanent job. Actually, now I've thought about it I've remembered more!
I studied librarianship at undergraduate level, rather than doing a subject-based degree and then a post-grad conversion course, and in the interests of pursuing my chosen career quickly I went straight to university from school. Thus, I had no experience of actually working in a library, never having had the financial need to get a Saturday job, and not realising that actually a small amount of work experience could have been quite useful!
So, it was a compulsory part of the course that those of us who had not worked in a library prior to coming to university had to undertake a 6-week placement during each of the summer vacations. Of course, in the late 1970s only about 4% of the population went to university, and most of us went straight from school. There was only one person I can remember who had worked for a year before the course, and it must have helped (that and the fact that she was brilliant!) as she got a first.
Anyway, my first experience was spent with public libraries in North Yorks. This was a fantastic time and they really looked after me and ensured that I got a huge variety of public library experience. I worked on a busy issue desk, I got involved in the 9-9.30 daily shelf-tidying, I processed new books, I went on the mobile library, I spent a couple of days working in York music library, a couple of days in Harrogate reference library, time in a large branch library, time in a very small branch library and had a visit to the N Yorks HQ at Northallerton. This was a brilliant introduction to work in the public library sector; I probably didn't realise this at the time and I probably didn't thank enough the people who looked after me.
In my second summer vacation I spent 6 weeks working at what was then Gwent College of Higher Education, based at the Caerleon site. This was fabulous! This was my home town! This was where my mother had studied for her teaching qualification for three years! This was the place we had been to from school to have a couple of lessons in their brand-new science labs! This was the beautiful building on the hill that you could see from miles around! Oops, back to the point!
Again, I gained huge experience here, but the difference was that I hope I gave something tangible back, as I classified a poster, drawing and newspaper cuttings collection for their teaching practice collection, that perhaps they wouldn't otherwise have had staff time to do. As well as this, I spent a week at the Allt-yr-yn site where I was lucky enough to work with the inspirational lady I regarded as the perfect role model .
Further periods of volunteering came after I had graduated and before my first professional post. For a couple of months I worked in the local Tourist Information Office, which was also a focal point for the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the Volunteer Bureau. This involved answering the phone and various other clerical duties, and again, I was lucky enough to learn much about office work and practice, phone technique, communication skills etc. all of which were a vital part of my learning and prepared me for my first paid job. I hope the centre got something out of my period with them!
I was also involved in a local public library initiative: the town had expanded somewhat during the late 1970s early 80s and the public library wanted to assess whether opening a small branch library on the other side of town from the main library was a viable proposition. So, we had a couple of shelves of public library books sent over to the local community college and opened up to members of the public at certain times during the week. So I spent a couple of months happily sorting and issuing popular novels and other books. I don't remember recording the number of loans, or counting the number of people who used the service, or anything like that, but I now know that is how the need for a library service would have been justified. Not sure what the eventual outcome of this was as I secured a paid job in the middle of the trial, although I'm pretty sure we haven't got a second library in town and I'm sure I've seen the mobile heading off that way.
To sum up, all those years ago I thought that by volunteering I was gaining some great skills to help me progress in my career, and this it true. Now, looking back, I can see that the places I volunteered at weren't just welcoming me out of the goodness of their hearts, but that I also contributed in some small way to their work, either through being available in holiday time and filling in when the regular staff were on holiday, through having the time to undertake a project that might otherwise have taken longer to do, and filling a gap in provision at a time when it was needed. This is the value of volunteering; a mutual exchange of need - a need to learn new skills and a need to have someone do something that might otherwise not get done.
The idea of volunteering has now seem to come into vogue again (can't think why!). However, some of this worries me; I think it's fine to equip up-and-coming librarians with skills they will find useful either to secure a paid job, or to further their careers, but I'm not so sure about the idea of using volunteers to staff libraries in place of trained library staff. Ok, so thinking ahead a bit, I might want to go full circle and end my career by volunteering in my local public library, but I think this should be a bonus to the existing library staff, not a replacement for them.
Thing 20 - the Library Routes project
Thing 20 – the library routes project
I contributed my story to the library routes project before the cpd23 programme came along, so for this thing I am charged with reading other people’s routes and seeing if my route was typical or unusual. This is a hard one! Lots of the routes I read about had some similarities, but equally, lots were completely different from my own experience.
I think there may be several reasons for the differences:
· The routes project has contributors from several different countries, so the routes are almost certainly going to be different too.
· Certain routes seem to be characteristic of the age, so the journey in the 1980s is not the same as the one in the 1990s or 2000s.
· Lots of people seem to have come to librarianship by accident, or because they didn’t quite know what they wanted to do.
I remember going to a careers evening at school when I was in year 4 (that would be today’s year 10!) very shortly after starting O level classes. We had the chance to go to talks so I went to learn about what I could do if I followed a music career, what a career in languages might involve, how to become a journalist, how to become a librarian and what the civil service had to offer. Prior to these sessions I was obsessed with boats and music, so I thought I wanted to join the WRNS as a clarinettist, so I was most interested to hear what else I might do with the O level choices I’d made.
As I said in my original route post, once I’d got the idea of the WRNS out of my system (I was too short!), I decided I wanted to go to music college and I wanted to be a musician, but by the time I got to the sixth form I realised that I just wasn’t going to be good enough, so decided to go for the next best career: librarianship- seemed obvious once I’d realised that being a musician was a dream rather than a real career option. Next best makes it sound as though I was a reluctant librarian, but this just isn't the case! From an early age I had been interested in books (though not much reading!) and libraries, especially catalogue drawers, so this really was my obvious career choice. Combining this with music would have been perfect (I had a dream about becoming the librarian for WNO, but ...), but I am perfectly happy with the route I have taken.
So, on the advice of the school’s career officer I took the fastest route through university, I came out the other end with a BA (Hons) degree and, as a member of the Library Association as it was then, a professional librarian. Chartership took a couple of years, and I’ve been a chartered librarian ever since! Music is now a hobby, although I rarely play nowadays (varifocals do not help!), I do try and sing whenever time allows.
In many ways, the 1980s was a comparable time to today; when I was applying for jobs the Vacancies Supplement was a single side of A4 and jobs were scarce. I suppose the difference is that the early 80s was a time when libraries were looking at computerising their catalogue records and the government had several programmes to get people into work. This is how and why I got my first real job (after a period of volunteering), through the Manpower Services Commission, as retrospective cataloguing supervisor in a public library, which involved converting card catalogue records to computer-based ones that were produced on microfiche and checking classification numbers!
Looking back, that first job really did provide me with a huge set of skills that I was able to put into use in future jobs: cat/class knowledge, supervisory skills, time management and project management skills, communication skills and - commuting skills (wrap up warmly as train stations are cold at 6.30am, wear comfortable shoes as the walk to/from the station can be long, always anticipate a long queue at the ticket office on a Monday morning, don't fall asleep and miss your stop, don't leave your bike at the station when the monsters of rock is on because it will get pinched, and don't do it for more than 2 years because you will get tired ...)!
Luckily for me the next job was a mere 10 minute bike ride away! working in a pharmaceutical library introduced me to the concept of a divide between information professionals and librarians, a divide which has long since been dissolved. I was also lucky enough to be responsible for a whole range of library activities that I hadn't previously experienced: circulation, ordering, inter-library loans, journals, current awareness, reference work, marketing, liaison, UDC!
I have now been in my current workplace for 25 years! Not 5 minutes away, but not an hour's train journey either. Having stayed here for 25 years, I guess I must have found it rewarding and challenging enough!
Now the children are less dependent, I will have to see what work life now brings ...
I contributed my story to the library routes project before the cpd23 programme came along, so for this thing I am charged with reading other people’s routes and seeing if my route was typical or unusual. This is a hard one! Lots of the routes I read about had some similarities, but equally, lots were completely different from my own experience.
I think there may be several reasons for the differences:
· The routes project has contributors from several different countries, so the routes are almost certainly going to be different too.
· Certain routes seem to be characteristic of the age, so the journey in the 1980s is not the same as the one in the 1990s or 2000s.
· Lots of people seem to have come to librarianship by accident, or because they didn’t quite know what they wanted to do.
I remember going to a careers evening at school when I was in year 4 (that would be today’s year 10!) very shortly after starting O level classes. We had the chance to go to talks so I went to learn about what I could do if I followed a music career, what a career in languages might involve, how to become a journalist, how to become a librarian and what the civil service had to offer. Prior to these sessions I was obsessed with boats and music, so I thought I wanted to join the WRNS as a clarinettist, so I was most interested to hear what else I might do with the O level choices I’d made.
As I said in my original route post, once I’d got the idea of the WRNS out of my system (I was too short!), I decided I wanted to go to music college and I wanted to be a musician, but by the time I got to the sixth form I realised that I just wasn’t going to be good enough, so decided to go for the next best career: librarianship- seemed obvious once I’d realised that being a musician was a dream rather than a real career option. Next best makes it sound as though I was a reluctant librarian, but this just isn't the case! From an early age I had been interested in books (though not much reading!) and libraries, especially catalogue drawers, so this really was my obvious career choice. Combining this with music would have been perfect (I had a dream about becoming the librarian for WNO, but ...), but I am perfectly happy with the route I have taken.
So, on the advice of the school’s career officer I took the fastest route through university, I came out the other end with a BA (Hons) degree and, as a member of the Library Association as it was then, a professional librarian. Chartership took a couple of years, and I’ve been a chartered librarian ever since! Music is now a hobby, although I rarely play nowadays (varifocals do not help!), I do try and sing whenever time allows.
In many ways, the 1980s was a comparable time to today; when I was applying for jobs the Vacancies Supplement was a single side of A4 and jobs were scarce. I suppose the difference is that the early 80s was a time when libraries were looking at computerising their catalogue records and the government had several programmes to get people into work. This is how and why I got my first real job (after a period of volunteering), through the Manpower Services Commission, as retrospective cataloguing supervisor in a public library, which involved converting card catalogue records to computer-based ones that were produced on microfiche and checking classification numbers!
Looking back, that first job really did provide me with a huge set of skills that I was able to put into use in future jobs: cat/class knowledge, supervisory skills, time management and project management skills, communication skills and - commuting skills (wrap up warmly as train stations are cold at 6.30am, wear comfortable shoes as the walk to/from the station can be long, always anticipate a long queue at the ticket office on a Monday morning, don't fall asleep and miss your stop, don't leave your bike at the station when the monsters of rock is on because it will get pinched, and don't do it for more than 2 years because you will get tired ...)!
Luckily for me the next job was a mere 10 minute bike ride away! working in a pharmaceutical library introduced me to the concept of a divide between information professionals and librarians, a divide which has long since been dissolved. I was also lucky enough to be responsible for a whole range of library activities that I hadn't previously experienced: circulation, ordering, inter-library loans, journals, current awareness, reference work, marketing, liaison, UDC!
I have now been in my current workplace for 25 years! Not 5 minutes away, but not an hour's train journey either. Having stayed here for 25 years, I guess I must have found it rewarding and challenging enough!
Now the children are less dependent, I will have to see what work life now brings ...
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Thing 19 - reflection
So, where to start??
I started blogging a few years ago, and although my initial posts were rather sporadic I made a conscious effort about a year ago to post regularly about cataloguing and cataloguing-related issues. However, since I've been doing cpd23 I've had little time to devote to blogging about cataloguing and have written my last few posts on "things"!
All this has been at the expense of the cataloguers' wiki I maintain as well; this is now running about 3 months out-of-date and I am looking forward to blitzing this once I've finished the things, and desperately hoping that people who may have found it a useful resource haven't abandoned it.
I used twitter quite a lot before joining cpd23 but I've found since I've discovered, through cpd23, lots of people to follow, I am a bit time-challenged and instead of reading everything that looked interesting I am now missing a lot of stuff.
I enjoy reading the discussions on LinkedIn where I am a member of the CILIP group and the alumni association of Lufbra Uni. These provide me with a rich mixture of current awareness and nostalgia
One thing I have noticed is that as I work part-time I have spent a lot of time on cpd23 in my own time at home. I'm not sure what this has been at the expense of, but hopefully it was just the washing and cleaning, and not the welfare of the offspring! I think maybe it was them studying for AS and A levels that spurred me on to learn something for myself, that and the desire not to be put out to graze just yet!
Many of the things I've learned about have been interesting to look at but in reality I haven't found anything that I've thought to myself "how on earth have I lived without that", so I've already got strategies in place for dealing with things like wanting to look at work things at home, wanting to share things with people etc..
Another thing I've learned, or rather it's been confirmed in my mind, is that I love writing, am hopeless at socialising but not fazed by the idea of doing a bit of organising etc.. As I say, I think I already knew that, but this process of learning so far has confirmed this.
If I've missed anything out from this post, then I can only assume that it didn't have a big impact on me, but I've been very grateful that someone somewhere had the forethought, time, energy and knowledge enough to put this programme together for the benefit of me, and people like me. So, many, many thanks to all the contributors to the cpd23 programme!
Off to thing 20 - No! off to bed now!
Thing 18 - jing, screen capture and podcasts
Thing 18 is proving to be a bit of a challenge! Paradoxically, the easiest bit was downloading the free software, something which I've found to be quite a nightmare in previous things, and I am now the proud owner of a half-sun at the top of my screen! Strangely, where I'm struggling is trying to understand just what exactly jing can do and why I would want to use it! I've managed to make a screen capture and save it, but now I'm not sure what to do with it!!
So, moving swiftly on, I've used audacity before, understand perfectly how to use it, and can easily understand why I might want to use it - except I've not really got anything to say, unless it's in writing! Some of our subject librarians use podcasting in their work with students and our academics certainly do, so I feel happy to move on to ...
thing 19!
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Thing 16 - advocacy
I went to university and studied librarianship 31 years ago, and I'm sorry to say that during those years when I have met people who have asked what I do for a living, I rarely get past the point of dispelling the myth that librarians stamp books! I used to despair that people didn't know or understand just what exactly a librarian does, but now I can see that the fault lies within ourselves for not shouting loudly enough about what we do.
Now, of course, in these difficult times, I think you'd be hard pushed to find anybody who didn't know, at the very least, of the existence of public libraries, and to a certain extent have an opinion about their value.
In my own area of the profession, there has been concern and threats to our existence, as well as a lack of understanding from our colleagues about what we actually do and the value that this adds to the library service as a whole and to the user experience. Cataloguers have been re-examining their role and contribution to the profession for a number of years now, and more recently, the high visibility cataloguing blog has provided a platform for cataloguers to share their day-to-day roles, their hopes and aspirations, their visions for the future, with fellow cataloguers and other interested readers.
I've contributed a couple of pieces to this blog - on the role of the cataloguer and how to market your services to your fellow librarians - and while it could be considered a blog for cataloguers by cataloguers, the fact that many of the members are Twitter users and regularly tweet about updates, information on the site easily reaches places cataloguers cannot normally reach.
A whole issue of the CIG quarterly journal, Catalogue & Index (issue 162), was devoted to high visibility cataloguing, promoting the role of cataloguers in today's libraries, describing a role that no longer deserves the label "backroom" work. Hopefully, these targeted acts of advocacy will have fruitful results and libraries, librarians and cataloguers in particular will continue to contribute much to the quality of life in our society.
Now, of course, in these difficult times, I think you'd be hard pushed to find anybody who didn't know, at the very least, of the existence of public libraries, and to a certain extent have an opinion about their value.
In my own area of the profession, there has been concern and threats to our existence, as well as a lack of understanding from our colleagues about what we actually do and the value that this adds to the library service as a whole and to the user experience. Cataloguers have been re-examining their role and contribution to the profession for a number of years now, and more recently, the high visibility cataloguing blog has provided a platform for cataloguers to share their day-to-day roles, their hopes and aspirations, their visions for the future, with fellow cataloguers and other interested readers.
I've contributed a couple of pieces to this blog - on the role of the cataloguer and how to market your services to your fellow librarians - and while it could be considered a blog for cataloguers by cataloguers, the fact that many of the members are Twitter users and regularly tweet about updates, information on the site easily reaches places cataloguers cannot normally reach.
A whole issue of the CIG quarterly journal, Catalogue & Index (issue 162), was devoted to high visibility cataloguing, promoting the role of cataloguers in today's libraries, describing a role that no longer deserves the label "backroom" work. Hopefully, these targeted acts of advocacy will have fruitful results and libraries, librarians and cataloguers in particular will continue to contribute much to the quality of life in our society.
Thing 15 - seminars, conferences and other events
Ok, I have to put my hand up and say that I really don't like attending events! As the cpd23 post rightly suggests one of the main benefits of attending any kind of event, apart from the learning element, is the networking opportunities that are handed to you on a plate. I don't have a problem with the learning (although, hand up again, I do scribble away in my notebook, but mostly because my memory is just not what it used to be!) but I do struggle with the networking, being the shy, retiring type. That aside, however ...
Until recently I just haven't had time to go out and about. I work part-time and had a huge cataloguing backlog to contend with; hence, any time spent away from the office left me feeling guilty, and with loads of work to catch up with on return. So, I could reel off my attendances at events ever so easily - CIG annual conference 2000, Umbrella 2001, followed by one or two odd things, before more recently CIG annual conference 2010, CILIP Executive Briefing on RDA, April 2011, CILIP Executive Briefing on Dewey, September 2011 and CIG Re-classification event, September 2011. Hmmmm, looks like I'm getting out a bit more now; still working part-time, but the backlog has reduced to a more manageable amount! Also, Twitter has opened up doors, and helped me make those initial introductions to fellow professionals who share my interests in cataloguing.
The only events I've ever presented at are those that have been held internally - things like training sessions, exchange of experience sessions and other miscellaneous events like the mashdmu sessions. I always thought, being a bit shy, that I'd hate presenting, but actually, it's fine; I hope those listening enjoyed too!
I've never organised an event of any substance. Again, my experience is limited to in-house things, which have simply involved booking a room, booking refreshments and inviting people along. At this stage in my career I don't think I want to get bogged down in organising; I think my skills are better used in other areas.
Thing 16 beckons ...
Until recently I just haven't had time to go out and about. I work part-time and had a huge cataloguing backlog to contend with; hence, any time spent away from the office left me feeling guilty, and with loads of work to catch up with on return. So, I could reel off my attendances at events ever so easily - CIG annual conference 2000, Umbrella 2001, followed by one or two odd things, before more recently CIG annual conference 2010, CILIP Executive Briefing on RDA, April 2011, CILIP Executive Briefing on Dewey, September 2011 and CIG Re-classification event, September 2011. Hmmmm, looks like I'm getting out a bit more now; still working part-time, but the backlog has reduced to a more manageable amount! Also, Twitter has opened up doors, and helped me make those initial introductions to fellow professionals who share my interests in cataloguing.
The only events I've ever presented at are those that have been held internally - things like training sessions, exchange of experience sessions and other miscellaneous events like the mashdmu sessions. I always thought, being a bit shy, that I'd hate presenting, but actually, it's fine; I hope those listening enjoyed too!
I've never organised an event of any substance. Again, my experience is limited to in-house things, which have simply involved booking a room, booking refreshments and inviting people along. At this stage in my career I don't think I want to get bogged down in organising; I think my skills are better used in other areas.
Thing 16 beckons ...
Monday, 3 October 2011
Thing 14 - Zotero, Mendeley and citeulike
For this "challenge" I thought I'd have a look around something that doesn't require me to download anything or use an internet browser other than Explorer: That narrows it down a bit! citeulike it is then!
I work in a university library where we use Endnote, and, although I admit to having heard of these other services, I've never felt particularly inclined to investigate - and no-one has ever asked me while I've been on the enquiry desk how to use them! One of my colleagues has been recommending citeulike for quite a number of years, so I thought it was about time I sussed it out.
I was pleased to find that no downloading was required and once I'd registered I was straight into the site. A little bit of investigative work, and I was able to do a search for RDA (once a cataloguer, always a cataloguer!) and to exclude articles that were about the "recommended daily allowance"! This search yielded over 200 references, many of which looked as though they would be essential reading! However, I had a tendency to forget that citeulike is a way of automatically referencing material, and not a database of full-text articles! So, I really came away feeling like a child in a sweet shop without any money; lots of tasty morsels to devour, but no way of getting at them!
Still, this was a useful discovery session and has given me the push that I needed to go out and find some useful stuff in my areas of interest; whether or not I'll actually follow through and access them though remains to be seen. If I want to finish cpd23, I may well have to wait a while and come back later when I have more time.
Onto thing15 ...
I work in a university library where we use Endnote, and, although I admit to having heard of these other services, I've never felt particularly inclined to investigate - and no-one has ever asked me while I've been on the enquiry desk how to use them! One of my colleagues has been recommending citeulike for quite a number of years, so I thought it was about time I sussed it out.
I was pleased to find that no downloading was required and once I'd registered I was straight into the site. A little bit of investigative work, and I was able to do a search for RDA (once a cataloguer, always a cataloguer!) and to exclude articles that were about the "recommended daily allowance"! This search yielded over 200 references, many of which looked as though they would be essential reading! However, I had a tendency to forget that citeulike is a way of automatically referencing material, and not a database of full-text articles! So, I really came away feeling like a child in a sweet shop without any money; lots of tasty morsels to devour, but no way of getting at them!
Still, this was a useful discovery session and has given me the push that I needed to go out and find some useful stuff in my areas of interest; whether or not I'll actually follow through and access them though remains to be seen. If I want to finish cpd23, I may well have to wait a while and come back later when I have more time.
Onto thing15 ...
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