Things 6 & 7 - real-life & virtual networks

I’m cheating and combining two things this week, but I feel it’s justified because lately many of my online connections have developed into real-life ones, and much of my real-life connections are supplemented by my online presence.

When I took part in CPD23 last year I was only just starting to get involved with professional bodies (formal and informal) and I was often a rather passive participant. With the impetus of CPD23 behind me I am becoming more proactive, and I do feel it has been beneficial, not just in terms of what I have learnt and the professional development opportunities it’s created, but just in terms of boosting my confidence. It can be a little intimidating as a (relative) newbie to the profession, but it’s surprisingly easy to get involved, and once you are you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!

The list of organisations you can become a part of on the CPD23 blog is really impressive, I thought I’d just add a little about my own experiences of some of them.

Online Networks

LinkedIn – last year I set up my account, but didn’t really do anything with it. I’ve been planning on updating it ever since, it’s still not happened!

LISNPN – I joined a while ago, and have been on a few of the meet ups (see my post on the latest one here). I think of LISNPN as a really great springboard to help you get acquainted with your fellow library folk. The resources section is full of useful information, from LIS course reviews, to guides to making presentations, and interviews tips. They also post job vacancies on the site, and share them via their Twitter account, @LISNPN.

Pinterest – I’ve just joined and so far I’ve not done much with it, but I’m looking forward to catching the ‘pinning bug’

Real-life networks

CILIP – I joined a year ago, and so far I’m finding it is worth it. I attended the CILIP New Professionals Day this year, which was really great and I’ve taken part in some CIG online forum discussions (little bit intimidating) and I’ve just heard that the Rare Books Group is planning on running some events in Wales (hooray!). I’m also heading up to the CDG/New Professional conference this July, as (along with Karen Pierce) I will be doing one of the presentations (scary!).

SLA (Special Libraries Association) – the SLA has a Museums group, so it was an obvious choice to join. I’m looking forward to exploring more of what my membership will offer; I’ve heard good things about them.
ARLIS – Although I use our institutional membership, rather than have a personal one, I still try to get involved; the email lists are great for keeping up to date with what’s happening in the art libraries world. I just wish I could make it to the regular visits they hold, which are too far away for me, they always look amazing.

MLAG (Museum Librarians and Archivists Group) – they used to be the London Museum Librarians and Archivists Group, but have since opened up their membership UK wide. It’s free to join, and is open to anyone working in museum libraries or archives. It can be difficult to make connections with other museum librarians (we are a rare breed!), so it’s great to find an organisation dedicated to it.

But, probably the organisation I get the most out of is CLIC (Cardiff Libraries in Co-operation), who provide free training and events for anyone working in libraries in Cardiff and the surrounding area (I blogged about the most recent event here). CLIC was set up in 2005 with the help of CyMAL ( Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales) and is free to join. I’m currently a member of the Web Development Team and at the beginning of this year I also joined the Staff Development Group.

This year CLIC has decided to try and organise regular meet ups for people doing CPD23, we held our most recent one in May. So, if you live near Cardiff, or just fancy a visit, then let me know and I’ll make sure you get added to the invite list for the next one!

CLIC Social Media Event: Using social media at Glamorgan Business School

"How I use social media for networking, current awareness and marketing: supporting staff and students in Glamorgan Business School"

The second of the 30 minute presentations was from Emma Harrison (@glambuslib) about how social media helps her connect with and meet the needs of students at Glamorgan Business School, and included a live Twitter feed (very brave, it is usually during presentations that technology decides to no longer cooperate)

She started with an introduction in to using Twitter for professional reasons.  She pointed out that Twitter helped her with her new job (she's been in the role 15 months) filling in gaps in her knowledge and boosting current awareness.  This was well illustrated as tweets started popping up in her timeline reporting the result of the #savelibraries High Court Appeal.

“What you get out of twitter is who you follow"

She described how she follows over 1,000 people on Twitter, including, librarians, news sites and staff and students at the University of Glamorgan.  As well as creating personal lists, such as a Welsh librarians list and one featuring members of the Business Librarians Association, she also created lists relevant to the subjects taught in Glamorgan Business School, such as marketing or management.

Emma recommends Twitter as a great way to share what you are doing as well as to keep up with what others are doing.

Whilst doing the CPD23 course (discussed later by Karen) she began to think of how she was coming across on Twitter. Her decision was to try to keep it professional and related to business, but also to show she is a human being.  This included looking at the language she used and the style, no text speak, staying professional, and not swearing.  The photo used for her Twitter avatar was taken by a professional photographer (all the librarians at Glamorgan had them done) and is used consistently in any promotional material produced by the University.

She decided to her username would be @glambuslib rather than something more personal so that if she moves on her replacement can keep the account.  This provides consistency for the students.

Emma also discussed how Twitter can be used to help create feelings of community, for example the #latenightlibrarian hashtag is used by librarians working on late night shifts when talking to each other.

She then went on to discuss the other social media tools she uses for work, including;
LinkedIn

Netvibes

Blog

She also pointed out that although she has a Facebook account she prefers to keep that solely for personal use.

She has a Twitter feed on her LinkedIn account as it makes it seem like she's busier on it than she actually is.

She can use LinkedIn to connect with staff not on Twitter about what she's been doing for the Business School. 

“Reaching far more staff than if sitting in the library waiting for them to ask questions”
The blog allows Emma to post information, rather than emailing it all to staff , instead she can just email them a link to the relevant post and if they are interested they can click the link to learn more but if not just delete it, which saves having to read through long emails that are not of interest.  The blog can also be used as a knowledge bank.  It's a great time saver, for example in dealing with repeat queries, it's possible to send a link to a previous blog post rather than have to write it out again.  Her Twitter feed is also linked to the blog.

Net vibes is used as a repository for subject guides for students with links to resources and information.  They are subject specific, for example, HR management.  They retain the consistency of design, used in other social media tools, professional picture etc. with links to Twitter feed and blog.  Emma uses lists to createTwitter feeds that are subject specific.

She believes that all these social media tools can help with breaking out of the echo chamber.

"Librarians suffer from people not really knowing what we do – using stuff like this (social media) can show what we do".

It can also be helpful to share and connect with the library community, you can compare and share best practice etc

Some of the questions that came up were concerns about having to follow loads of people but Emma pointed out that you don’t have to follow all the ‘list’ people.

The other main concern was how to find the time to fit in all the social media activity.  Emma pointed out that Twitter activity didn't take very long.  It is true that setting everything up can take a while, but once it is up and running it tends to take care of itself.

Thing 19 - Reflection

I think this 'Thing' was originally intended as a way to give people a chance for a bit of a breather and catch up.  I'm so far behind now that I'm starting to fear I won't be done in time to get the certificate (and I really want that certificate!), so I'm only going to do a brief reflection now.  I think I'll save doing a fuller evaluation of the whole course once I'm finished, and preferably after a little time has passed.  I think a little distance, and breathing space, is often required to see the true value of what you have been learning.

Some of the changes that have occurred since doing CPD23, either as a direct result, or because it confirmed what I'd already been considering, include;
Having a blog, a Twitter and a LinkedIn account
Considering setting up a library blog and Twitter account at work
Joining CILIP, and plan on joining ARLIS and the SLA (Special Library Association) in the New Year
Going to networking events, including Library Camp 2011 in Birmingham
Getting re-involved with CLIC (Cardiff Libraries in Co-operation)
Taking part in a couple of #uklibchat discussions, Library Day in the Life and the Library Routes project
Offering to do a guest post on LISNPN in the future

So far one of the things I've found most useful has been Twitter, which really surprised me.  I never used it before CPD, and had a rather negative impression of it, but once I got into it I realised how incredibly useful it is a professional tool.

But I think overall, looking at the list of things I've done I'm struck by the fact that it has all worked to raise, both my profile as a library professional and that of my place of work to the wider world.

Thing 6 - online networks

I'm still quite new to the idea of networking as it is something I don't really feel that comfortable doing.  However, online networking seems to be a great way to introduce yourself to it in a (relatively) pain free way.

LinkedIn
I've had a look at LinkedIn, and it is definitely something I plan on joining, although I haven't got round to doing so yet.  I think it might well take me a while to fill in my profile.  I haven't been good at keeping my CV up to date, and it's been quite a long time since I last had to fill in a job application, so putting together a decent profile will need more thought than I have time for right now.  But it is something I plan to work on before the end of summer.

Facebook
I've been on Facebook for a number of years now.  I only joined because so many of my friends were on it and it seemed such a convenient way to stay in touch with the ones that lived far away.  I don't go on it that much, and to be honest I really don't think I like the idea of using it for work purposes.  I would much rather keep my professional and personal life separate.

LISNPN
I joined the LIS New Professionals network about a year ago (I think) and so far have found it really useful.  In fact it was through LISNPN that I first heard about CPD23 and decided to take part.  I also went to the first face-to-face networking event I'd been to in ages through LISNPN when I attended the Bristol meet-up back in June.  It's been great seeing how many more people have been joining it as a result of doing the CPD23.