Thing 13 - Online collaborating and file-sharing

Thing 13 looks at tools to assist with sharing files and working collaboratively, such as Google Docs, Dropbbox and Wikis.
I was interested to learn from reading some of the other posts about Google Docs that it can be a useful alternative to Microsoft Office on a home computer.  I’ve recently been thinking about whether to purchase Office for mine, so I think I’ll give Docs a try first and see how it works out.  I also discovered that the Android Google Docs app allows me, in addition to the regular features, to take a photo of a document, sign, or other text on my phone and use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert it to text that can be edited.

I'm not sure that I will find Dropbox so useful.  It probably would have been very handy when I was doing my library course as I tended to work on both my work and home computers equally, and was always transferring documents to and fro with a USB stick.  Nowadays I don't find I need to transfer documents to more than one computer to the same extent so it may not be something I would get as much use from.

I don't really have much experience of working on joint documents, primarily the only times I've done that have been with colleagues at work.  We already have a number of shared drives at work which people use to share documents so the idea of using an internet based program to do it doesn't seem necessary.

However, I'm soon to be collaborating on a project with people I don't work with, and this is where I think services like Dropbox will be most useful.

My only experience of wikis is when I took part in the Library Day in the Life project back in July, although I believe we cover the Library Routes website as a later ‘thing’ so no doubt I’ll take part in that also.  I think wikis are a great idea, particularly for organising events between large groups of people.

Thing 12 - Social media as a networking tool

This week is all about looking at social media as a networking tool.  Advantages of which, as set out by the CPD23 team, include;
• social networking can lead to better communication between individuals who may or may not have the chance to meet otherwise
• it creates a more collaborative working space as people are encouraged to share ideas
• it aids in building online communities, which can then turn into real-life communities.
• social networking can provide easy access to other fields of the profession.

So this week we are being asked to consider the following;
Are there any other advantages to social networking in the context of professional development than those already outlined above?  Promotion, promotion, promotion!  You can use your involvement in social networking sites as evidence that you are engaging with the library sector, and that you are willing to join in the conversation.  It's possible to pursue aspects of your career that are of interest, but not necessarily part of your day to day job or get involved with online campaigns.  A blog can be used to showcase your knowledge or skills in a particular area, which in turn could lead to opportunities that may not otherwise have come your way.

Can you think of any disadvantages? A lot of people have pointed out how difficult it can be to gauge a person when only corresponding online, and I think this is true.  Because I’m still relatively new to social media I spend a lot of time looking over what I’ve written before posting, worrying about whether it sounds they way I want it to, and whether it could be misconstrued.  Words on a screen can’t always convey meaning the way we intended.  Without the ability to show my facial expressions, body language or hear the tone of my voice I find it more nerve-racking trying to express myself.

Has CPD23 helped you to make contact with others that you would not have had contact with normally? Yes, it’s been fantastic how CPD23 has been taken up by people in so many different library spheres and different countries.  It would be highly unlikely I would have contact with many of them if it wasn’t for taking part in this course.  Conversely, it’s also helped me get in contact with people I should have already been in touch with but for some reason had so far failed to make proper connections with.

Did you already use social media for your career development before starting CPD23? To be honest I was only just starting to look at social media as a method of career development when CPD23 began.  I’d joined LISNPN and was making my first attempts at networking on my own initiative, so it felt like perfect timing when I heard about the course.

Will you keep using it after the programme has finished? This is the point that I feel is most pertinent.  I will be interested to see if there will be a drop off in social media networking by new converts (such as myself) once the CPD23 things have been finished.    

In your opinion does social networking really help to foster a sense of community?  Yes definitely, I've found the general vibe amongst library folk on Twitter etc. to be very supportive, if you are just starting out in your profession, it can be very nice to know people are out there rooting for you.

Thing 11 - Mentoring

Although I’ve never had a mentor I realised after reading the cpd23 blog post for this thing, and seeing the list of mentor qualities, that my current line managers could qualify as unofficial mentors.

We work as part of a small team so I see them all the time, my line manager has her desk on the opposite side of the office from me and we often talk across the room (although not when there are visitors there, heaven forbid!).  I've always felt able to discuss aspects of career development with her in this informal manner, and she has been able to help me with advice or information on many an occasion. 

And, it’s exactly the same with the head librarian, his office is accessed by walking through ours, so I see him coming and going all the time and often flag him down with questions.  His door is usually open so if there is anything I need to discuss I know I can pop right in.

As well as being very approachable, both my line managers are very good at encouraging us to take part in things.  It was due to their suggestions that I enrolled on my MSc in Librarianship, and they always took an active interest in how my studies were progressing.  Likewise, now I'm considering chartership they have been very supportive of the idea.

Thing 10

The brief for thing 10 is to blog about our experiences as a librarian so far, to tell people about how and why we joined the profession, where we are at and where we hope to be headed.

I used to always say that I fell into librarianship by accident.  Whilst doing some temping after graduating from a ceramics course I got sent to work in a library and enjoyed it so much that I ended up applying for a permanent position.  Actually the truth is I went into the temping agency (who I wasn’t signed up with) specifically because they had a library assistant job advertised in the window, and I was so adamant that I was the perfect person for the role that the (rather bemused) agent sent me up for an interview. 

I loved my job there and it helped me to realise that librarianship was the path for me.  I started to think seriously about a career plan (I even made a five year plan, they work!) and realised that because of my art background working in a museum or art gallery library was where I really wanted to be.  Which led me to my current job. 

I was hunting around on the internet trying to research how to move across to that sector (I was working in an academic library at the time) when I stumbled across a vacancy for a library assistant at the museum where I live.  You know that feeling of ‘this is fate’, well that’s what I had.  Here right on my doorstep was the very job that was the first rung on the career ladder I wanted to pursue.  I started to feel ‘this is my job’ and ‘we were meant for each other’.  Then of course came the application and interview process, in which the usual doubts and fears set in.  Thankfully they hired me and I’ve been here ever since, and much as I loved my old job it has been the best move I could have made careerwise.

Four years ago I decided I wanted to become a qualified librarian.  It honestly never occurred to me to do a graduate traineeship programme.  By this time I’d been working in libraries at an assistant level for a few years so I felt I had enough experience to apply without doing the traineeship first.  Perhaps in hindsight I’ll regret not having done one, they certainly look like a lot of fun.  However, my employers offered to support me in my studies so I enrolled on the distance-learning Msc at Aberystwyth, which meant that I could fit my course around my job. 

I graduated last year, and it already feels like ages ago.  I’m starting to look now at what the future holds for me.  One of the things I’m considering is chartership.  I’ve only just joined CILIP so it will be a while before I’ll be eligible, but I am interested to hear from anyone who is doing or has done chartership, or considered it at some point, and what their thoughts are.  I’ve looked at blogs by Bethan and Shannon (amongst others)who both put forward very interesting viewpoints on chartership.

But at the moment I am just contenting myself with doing the cpd23 course and working on more informal ways to boost my career and professional development.

Thing 9 - Evernote

Evernote is a service for notetaking and archiving digital items including web pages, photographs, and audio recordings.  You can then add comments and edit your items before tagging them which allows you to group them together and search for them by tag later.

I like the idea of having a tool to let me organize what I’m looking at online.  Sometimes I feel that there is so much out there that you could almost drown under all the information, so anything that helps you keep (the illusion!) of control is a good thing.

Unfortunately, Evernote is yet another thing that I've downloaded but just not had the time to really play about with.  I've downloaded it to my phone and had a go at sending photos taken with the phone straight to Evernote, which was very successful.  However, I know that is only scratching the surface of what Evernote can do, so I guess I'll have to make the time to explore it more fully. 

Thing 8 - Google Calendar

The theme of thing 8 is organising yourself, so it's ironic that it's taken me weeks to get round to posting about it.

I told myself it was because I really wanted a chance to play about with Google Calendar before I passed judgement.  But the truth is I haven't really been all that motivated to try it out, on first glance it just hasn't really grabbed me.

I already use a calendar in Microsoft Outlook to record work appointments, deadlines, and meetings.  However, I don't tend to use it to record non-work related appointments.  Also, I only work three days a week at the library, the other two days of the working week I have another job which doesn’t involve using a computer at all.  So, I use a diary to record appointments and to write reminders as I can carry it around with me in my bag. 

I had been thinking for a while that perhaps a diary that combined everything, personal and both jobs, would be of benefit, because at the moment it’s a bit like I change heads depending on which job I'm at.  But it would need to be something I could use on the go, so I downloaded Google Calendar to my phone and I fully intend to start playing about with it.

Library Day in the Life #7 part 3

I started writing this post on Friday to record my final day of the Library Day in the Life project, but for one reason or another I never got round to posting it.  Even though the project has finished now (for this round) I thought I might as well go ahead and post it any way.

Today I manage to get in relatively early, as it’s just gone 8.30 when I arrive.  I bring the morning’s papers up to the library with me, and sit down and go through the local ones for any mention of the museum.  We cut out and paste into scrapbooks every newspaper cutting we find from the local papers regarding the museum.  Our scrapbooks go right back to the formation of the museum, and make for fascinating reading, although some of the early ones are practically falling to pieces these days.

After that I set about weeding the main library new books and journals displays.  All new books and journals are displayed for a period in the main library, and for many staff they are the first place they head to when they visit us.  I tend to weed the books once the shelves get full, so how often I do that tends to depend on how much new stock we have coming in.  Occasionally we make exceptions for books that we think lots of people are going to want to see, and they get to stay on longer.

I nip down to the main hall coffee shop to grab a takeaway coffee, I don’t really have time to take a full break this morning.  When I get back up I start going through the morning’s post.  This is not one of my regular jobs, but rather something I do when my colleague is away.  I end up getting side-tracked by Plastiquarian, the journal of the Plastics Historical Society (more interesting than it sounds), and in particular by a photo of Ekco’s Novaware by David Harman Powell, tableware that was designed in the 1960s.

Also amongst the post were a few journals for the Cambrian Archaeological Association.   In addition to our own library collections we also house the libraries of the Cambrian Archaeological Association and the Cardiff Naturalists Society.

After lunch I package up some museum publications to send to the copyright libraries.  The museum is obliged to send out copies of all its publications to the 6 legal deposit libraries; the British Library, the Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Library of Trinity College, Dublin and the National Library of Wales.  The publication I am sending out today is the new companion guide to the Museum's art galleries, in both English and Welsh.

The end of the day comes around before I know it, and it's a mad rush to get things finished off before I'm back in again next week.