Wednesday 14 September 2011

Thing 12 - social networking a blessing or a curse?

I've been using SWOT analysis to consider the question of social networking as a benefit or disadvantage in professional development & to consider new ways of utilising these online tools to maximimise their benefit. One of the main advantages that I've highlighted is that it is a remote system of development - anyone can join from anywhere without being restricted by geography, as a result it opens up even more opportunities for developing networks & professional knowledge. Unfortunately it's main advantage can also be it's main disadvantage as the fact that they're remote access online tools can mean that you're unable to continue to develop professional relationships into the 'human' world. However, I think the advantages & opportunities for social networking as a development tool far outweigh the advantages. For instance, if it wasn't for CPD23 I probably wouldn't have been able to make contact with such a wide range of specialist & public libraries or been able to get advice & support on such a wide range of topics. It has also meant that I've had the advantage of seeing topics & issues from wide range of different vantage points which has helped me to better understand the LIS professional knowledge base, as well as looking at operational & strategic tools from outside the LIS service as having the potential to support our projects & developments. Having a set CPD23 course to follow has also helped to foster a sense of community in other ways, for instance, ensuring that I remain in contact with the network & am keeping up to date with what's happening in different parts of the community as it can be all too easy to become wrapped up in your own specific projects & daily tasks, & to keep putting off the 'social' side of your professional development. With CPD23, on the other hand, there's a series of weekly/bi-weekly goals to achieve which reminds you that networking is just as important to your professional development as any formal training course & gives you the impetus to keep up with it.

Monday 5 September 2011

Professional reading

I've been flicking through various blogs & RSS feeds to see what everyone is up to & I'm feeling really bad that I'm not managing to fit in as much professional reading as everyone else. Obviously I read the CILIP updates & a couple of the archive/library organisations newsletters (our library has memberships with most of them so they get passed around at work), & I read articles/guidelines/policies associated with my specific tasks or with Chartership, & of course blogs. But I keep meaning to read all sorts of books on libraries, diversity, etc, etc - in fact I have a large list of "must read thar when I get the chance" books & articles but then I never seem to find time to get around to them. How does everyone else manage it? Is there a secret trick to reading while writing a report, answering an enquiry, cataloguing a collection, making dinner, & having something resembling a social life, or is it possible to read in your sleep?
Also does anyone have any books (preferrably short ones) they can suggest for me to add to the list - particularly anything relating to writing for the web, finding a mentor, trade literature collections, diversity in the library/archives, unions & library/archive services or leadership & management in libraries/archives.

Thing 11 - Mentoring

Finding a mentor can be a difficult & scary experience at times but it is well worth the effort. Not only do mentors provide practical support & advice but they can also be a useful tool when it comes to networking or act as a sounding board for ideas & issues. I've had some experience with mentors, particularly as part of my Chartership process & university dissertations. The main thing I've found when choosing mentors is that wherever possible you should choose one who not only is in the same field (libraries) but who has some specific knowledge of the area you work in or project your creating. For instance, I work in a special library, focused on science, engineering, technology & medicine so when I wad looking for a mentor I wanted to find someone in the same kind of field, luckily I found someone on the CILIP Chartership list who was based at Oxford University's Radcliffe Library. It made things a lot easier as he already understood a lot of the issues I was facing not just in general library terms, but also the specifics of dealing with rare books & of dealing with science based enquiries & handling/conservation of scientific material. The Chartership mentor register made it a lot easier & less scary to find someone & pluck up the courage to ask them to be my mentor, for a start it was guaranteed that they were willing to be a mentor or they wouldn't be on the list. You also have a lot of information on the list about their specific interests which makes it easier to decide whether they would be interested in your project. Choosing a mentor on your own, however, is not always so simple. You don't have a handy guide to hand to tell you what their interests are or whether they are even interested in mentoring. I've had to go through the process 3 times looking for dissertation supervisors with varying degrees of success. The first time I was researching Native American culture as part of my BA but I didn't really know how to choose a mentor, plus I was a bit scared of asking & getting turned down. As a result although my supervisor was as helpful as he could be his specific area of knowledge didn't cover my topic. Next time round I was more organised I made a list of the topics I was covering for my MRes & specific areas I might need support in then began googling relevant lecturers to find one who matched my criteria - most lecturers have some kind of internet profile that lists their research interests & involvement in organisations & groups. Tat worked out a lot better but I still have a slight problem with confidence when it comes to asking complete strangers for support. I'm currently looking for a professional mentor for informal support/advice on professional development, training opportunities, etc but I'm not sure how to go about asking someone who hasn't indicated an interest in mentoring (through CILIP registration or other), if anyone has any tips on how to make an approach & sell yourself as a mentee I'd be very grateful. Some of the areas if training I'm particularly interested in are writing for marketing/web content & mentiring/supervisor training. I had some very basic mentor training at university when I was a Student Mentor but now I would like to try & build on it. Partly in response to my role as operational volunteer supervisor & my involvement in our Diversity Panel, but also because I would be interested in acting as a Chartership mentor in the future.

CJ Crennell

Sunday 4 September 2011

Chartership portfolio advice

I've almost finished my Chartership portfolio. Just the bibliography, appendix & glossary to do. Unfortunately I've been struck by a case of word blindness & can't decide what needs to go in the gloss. Are we supposed to pretend the assessors (& any other readers) know absolutely nothing about libraries & list & explain every single acronym, library term & basically everything, or can we get away with just listing those terms that are specific to our individual situation?