thingthing1CPI think the Dropbox is one I might suggest to our organisation - we're always having a problem with file sharing between people on different sites, often documents are too big to be sent by email, or they arrive & take ages to open. We do have a swap area on our hard drive, but more often than not the person who needs to have access to a shared document hasn't been given access permissions to the specific swap folders/documents so they have to go through the hassle of contacting IT to get them to change the settings, etc. The Dropbox could cut down on a lot of this & make joint projects a lot easier to oversee.
On the other hand, I'm not too sure about the wiki idea, probably partly because of wikipedia's complete open door editor policy - anyone can write change/update an entry even if their info is wrong & there's no real provenance for the "facts" on their, you just have to take things on trust & trust that people won't access your entries & write something completely horrific. As a result even without looking into the course links in too much detail I've kind of decided it's probably not for me. But I'm willing to have an open mind enough to at least look at the info on the CPD23 page & see if wiki's are possibly more secure & useful than I think.
mSuggestions for your Thing 13 blog postYou could write about your first impressions of any or all of these tools, or you could explore their potential uses within your library. If you are already using one or more of them, you could write about the kinds of projects for which they have been useful. If you wish, you could also compare and contrast the value of each of these different tools and consider how they could be used to further your own professional development.
Don’t forget to visit other CPD23 blogs and share your insights with other CPD23 participants!
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
Thing 15 - Events - attending, speaking, & organising
I've had some experience of public speaking mostly at university or in my previous role as a TEFL teacher (I think teaching is the most terrifying form of public speaking - standing up in a classroom full of teenagers, most of whom would rather be off doing something else especially in summer school!). Mostly though I've made presentations to other students either as part of assessed coursework projects or as part of student projects like Student Mentoring. For instance, while studying in America I had to summarise & present a series of ACLU law reviews to our American Civil Liberties class on a regular basis. I've also given assessed presentations on topics ranging from 'Native American schooling in the C18th & its cultural effect' to 'Thematic analysis in LIS research methods'. The discussion caused be the latter presentation was particularly helpful when it came time to create the research methods for my dissertation & arrange research events, including focus groups & market research surveys. Despite these scary, but ultimate good, experiences of speaking at & organising events I haven't had a lot of experience of actual 'professional' public speaking apart from a few talks given at forums such as the Oxford TeachMeet or the LGBT in Libraries launch which went off yesterday without a hitch, & with lots of interest. I have been involved in arranging various group visits at our library & talking to them about our collections & services but I am trying to gain more experience of arranging or speaking at professional events, in order to continue to expand my skills in advocacy & professional networking. As part of this I have been applying to attend various conferences & other events through bursary/grant applications, which not only give the opportunity to attend the conference but usually offer the opportunity to have an article published or give a talk about your conference experience. For instance, I applied for the recent CILIP Aspire Award as well as the last 2 SLA-ECCA conference awards, but so far I haven't had much luck. I am putting together a list of conferences, such as next year's Umbrella conference, & various workshops to investigate ways of finding support to attend them or saving up for them. I'm particularly interested in these areas:
Trade Literature
Marketing
Web Writing
Digitisation projects
Advocacy
National Policy
Diversity, Disability & LGBT
If anyone hears of any events in these areas please let me know so that I can investigate the possibility of attending.
One of the main issues I have found relating to attending events as a Swindonian or even setting them up is the affect of geography (we don't quite fall into any of the geographical categories of West, East, South or Central). Most professional events that are already in place are either in London or Bristol, or even further afield, & you have to factor in at least a couple of hours travel time. When it comes to setting up our own events the issue is finding like minded people, who are willing to travel all the way to Swindon. For instance, we launched our LGBT in Libraries project yesterday & in the run up we were trying to circulate information & invites to as wide a community group as possible - particularly as opportunities for networking with the LGBT Community in Swindon are slim, there is one club & one pub & that is about it, just one of the many reasons we've been trying to get groups like LGBT in Libraries off the ground. As part of the marketing we tried making contact with 'local'-ish community groups that are already in existence & while they were all happy to pass on details to their members on the day of the launch we were pretty much limited to interest from Swindon librarians & Swindon community members. Although the wider professional/social community might support a project in principle it can be incredibly difficult to actually get them to actually physically support it by attending events outside of their own geographical community. One of the areas we're currently looking at is linking our local events into national events/campaigns, such as the Green Carnation book award, not just to raise our profile but to hopefully forge links with other community groups across the country. As a result we will be looking at the possibility of setting up a new LGBT reading group in our local libraries to make use of our brand new collection. We're also looking at other ways we can get our local council or local equality coalition involved in supporting us to provide other community groups & services but there's a long way to go before we're anywhere close to arranging anything in that area.
As well as the LGBT community group work I'm also interested in looking at setting up a professional library network in Swindon & the surrounding area. I'm not sure what format it would take, whether it would just be a regular social meeting in a cafe or pub (perhaps even getting involved in regular events - pub quizzes, film nights, or anything else in the Swindon area) or a more structured series of events where we could invite guest speakers, or some combination of the two. At the moment I'm trying to find out whether there is anyone in the area who would be interested in anything like this but I've hit a bit of a brick wall in that as there is no existing networking group or local professional newsletter for the Swindon area it is very difficult to make information available or get feedback with colleagues from other sectors. I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the information out to more people on a local level, obviously I will at some point be making contact with CILIP's newsletter as a possible way of sending out information but there's no guarantees that all librarians in Swindon are members so I would like to find a way to make contact at the local level. Any advice at all on how to set up a local group, particularly making 1st contact with people would be very gratefully received.
For my part, the main piece of advice I would give to anyone who is planning on speaking at or organising an event may seem an obvious one given the topic - you must practise COMMUNICATING, with your team leader, line manager, colleagues, stakeholders & audience & anyone else you can think of. You can write the best speech of your life but if you've fall down when it comes to communicate with your audience & marketing your event nobody will be there to hear it. It's also very important that you don't assume that just because you wrote it or organised it it is automatically brilliant & doesn't need to be changed at all there is ALWAYS room for feedback & improvement.
The other thing that is helped by practising communicating, or even just proactising your presentation in front of your colleagues & getting their feedback, is your sense of self-confidence & your belief in the project which will be a massive boost when it comes time to actually get up & start talking particularly if you're trying to get other professionals to sign up to your project.
Trade Literature
Marketing
Web Writing
Digitisation projects
Advocacy
National Policy
Diversity, Disability & LGBT
If anyone hears of any events in these areas please let me know so that I can investigate the possibility of attending.
One of the main issues I have found relating to attending events as a Swindonian or even setting them up is the affect of geography (we don't quite fall into any of the geographical categories of West, East, South or Central). Most professional events that are already in place are either in London or Bristol, or even further afield, & you have to factor in at least a couple of hours travel time. When it comes to setting up our own events the issue is finding like minded people, who are willing to travel all the way to Swindon. For instance, we launched our LGBT in Libraries project yesterday & in the run up we were trying to circulate information & invites to as wide a community group as possible - particularly as opportunities for networking with the LGBT Community in Swindon are slim, there is one club & one pub & that is about it, just one of the many reasons we've been trying to get groups like LGBT in Libraries off the ground. As part of the marketing we tried making contact with 'local'-ish community groups that are already in existence & while they were all happy to pass on details to their members on the day of the launch we were pretty much limited to interest from Swindon librarians & Swindon community members. Although the wider professional/social community might support a project in principle it can be incredibly difficult to actually get them to actually physically support it by attending events outside of their own geographical community. One of the areas we're currently looking at is linking our local events into national events/campaigns, such as the Green Carnation book award, not just to raise our profile but to hopefully forge links with other community groups across the country. As a result we will be looking at the possibility of setting up a new LGBT reading group in our local libraries to make use of our brand new collection. We're also looking at other ways we can get our local council or local equality coalition involved in supporting us to provide other community groups & services but there's a long way to go before we're anywhere close to arranging anything in that area.
As well as the LGBT community group work I'm also interested in looking at setting up a professional library network in Swindon & the surrounding area. I'm not sure what format it would take, whether it would just be a regular social meeting in a cafe or pub (perhaps even getting involved in regular events - pub quizzes, film nights, or anything else in the Swindon area) or a more structured series of events where we could invite guest speakers, or some combination of the two. At the moment I'm trying to find out whether there is anyone in the area who would be interested in anything like this but I've hit a bit of a brick wall in that as there is no existing networking group or local professional newsletter for the Swindon area it is very difficult to make information available or get feedback with colleagues from other sectors. I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the information out to more people on a local level, obviously I will at some point be making contact with CILIP's newsletter as a possible way of sending out information but there's no guarantees that all librarians in Swindon are members so I would like to find a way to make contact at the local level. Any advice at all on how to set up a local group, particularly making 1st contact with people would be very gratefully received.
For my part, the main piece of advice I would give to anyone who is planning on speaking at or organising an event may seem an obvious one given the topic - you must practise COMMUNICATING, with your team leader, line manager, colleagues, stakeholders & audience & anyone else you can think of. You can write the best speech of your life but if you've fall down when it comes to communicate with your audience & marketing your event nobody will be there to hear it. It's also very important that you don't assume that just because you wrote it or organised it it is automatically brilliant & doesn't need to be changed at all there is ALWAYS room for feedback & improvement.
The other thing that is helped by practising communicating, or even just proactising your presentation in front of your colleagues & getting their feedback, is your sense of self-confidence & your belief in the project which will be a massive boost when it comes time to actually get up & start talking particularly if you're trying to get other professionals to sign up to your project.
Thing 14b - Mendeley
I had a bit of a problem getting either of these set up - kiosk software strikes again. I managed to download Mendeley to my home computer but as a lot of the research I'm doing is work-based I haven't been able to use it as much as I want. I think it is going to be a big help to me when it comes to organising my evidence, appendices & bibliography for my Chartership portfolio & also for future projects.
One of the things I like most about it is the "one-stop-shop" aspect - if I find an article or something online I can make notes on it straight away (& be able to access them later from a different computer WITHOUT cluttering up my email or trying not to lose fiddly little usb sticks), I can download the article itself, plus find the correct citation & other information without have to dig around even more.
I'm hoping that this tool will help me to create a more professional portfolio & to be able to illustrate the breadth of my professional knowledge on a wider scale. I'm also hoping that as I become more involved in specific research projects at work or as part of my studies it will help me to remain organised & better manage my time so that I can work more effectively & share my findings with my colleagues & the wider LIS audience.
In terms of actually directly supporting our library users however, I will be limited by the fact that it cannot be accessed on any of our work computers because of the Kiosk software settings. I can, however, use it as an illustrative example for students/academics who may need help in organising their research, referencing their work or sharing findings. I can also point them in the direction of other similar online tools & research management software. Our users tend to be split between the very academic & obscure research projects (Masters/PhD research/Professors/etc) & the general public working on specific research tasks, usually family history related - for many of the latter this can often be their first real 'research' project & the former may have experience of researching their very specific field but will need help in finding their way around the more general research options & tools available. I think that Mendeley would be a great way of signposting the research path for both groups.
One of the things I like most about it is the "one-stop-shop" aspect - if I find an article or something online I can make notes on it straight away (& be able to access them later from a different computer WITHOUT cluttering up my email or trying not to lose fiddly little usb sticks), I can download the article itself, plus find the correct citation & other information without have to dig around even more.
I'm hoping that this tool will help me to create a more professional portfolio & to be able to illustrate the breadth of my professional knowledge on a wider scale. I'm also hoping that as I become more involved in specific research projects at work or as part of my studies it will help me to remain organised & better manage my time so that I can work more effectively & share my findings with my colleagues & the wider LIS audience.
In terms of actually directly supporting our library users however, I will be limited by the fact that it cannot be accessed on any of our work computers because of the Kiosk software settings. I can, however, use it as an illustrative example for students/academics who may need help in organising their research, referencing their work or sharing findings. I can also point them in the direction of other similar online tools & research management software. Our users tend to be split between the very academic & obscure research projects (Masters/PhD research/Professors/etc) & the general public working on specific research tasks, usually family history related - for many of the latter this can often be their first real 'research' project & the former may have experience of researching their very specific field but will need help in finding their way around the more general research options & tools available. I think that Mendeley would be a great way of signposting the research path for both groups.
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.
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
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?
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