Friday 26 August 2011

Thing 14: Zotero/Mendeley/citeulike

The tool I looked at for this thing was citeulike.

This tool would have been useful when I started my Chartership to keep an eye on all the reference I had created with my wider reading.  however I will start using it to keep a list of what I have been reading also looking back at what I have read for my Chartership so i can use it as an example of what I have read.

Working in a public library I cannot see what use these tools would be to users, however if staff are writing reports and need references these tools would be useful.

I will have to look more at how useful they are once I have started to use them more and see how the results turn out for my chartership.

Thing 13 Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

Playing catch-up again, I seriously do not know where the time is going.  I have now had chance to look at this thing here are my thoughts.

i have not previously used any of these tools for sharing my documents, due to the fact that if I create a document that needs to have more than one author I can put it in a certain drive on my computer and anyone in the library service can have access to it.  This means that they can make any changes to the document, the only downside is that you do not get notified when some one has changed it unless they email you.  This is a plus for Google Docs.  However at the moment I think that I will not be using Google Docs for work. 

I have not used Dropbox because I can not download it on to my computer and due to the facts that are mentioned above I do not think it would be too useful at the moment.

The library service is in the process of setting up a wiki for staff to use to share information to all quickly. At the moment there is a monthly newsletter but it tends to be saying what has happened over the last month.  The wiki will be used to create a more immediate place to share information, notes etc can be added daily and news should get passed on a lot quicker. 

Out of all the tools we have looked at in this thing, the one I will probably use the most would be the wiki.

Monday 8 August 2011

Thing 12 - Putting the Social into Social Media

Can you think of any disadvantages of social media?

The main disadvantage that I can think of is that people have to many accounts with the different sites and cannot keep up-to-date with the information available.  I think that the best thing would be to look at only one or two.  It may be that colleagues look at other sites then we all share the information we have found.

Has cpd23 helped you make contact with others that you would not have had contact with otherwise?

I have not made contact with that many people from cpd23, but that is my own fault because I have not had the time to look at things from other people is as much detail as I would like.  However I can see that it can be good because you can learn from anyone anywhere in the world.

Did you already use social media for your career development before starting cpd23?  Will you keep using it after the programme has finished?

The only social media I used for my career development before cpd23 was blogging.  I used blogging for charting my experience throughout the Chartership process.  I will continue to do this even after completing my Chartership to keep my development up to date.

Thing 11 - Mentoring

I do have a mentor at the moment due to the fact that I am completing my Chartership.  Loooking at what this post is saying about mentorship is good - that the relationship between the two people involoved in the process do need to have a good relationship.  Mentors are good at giving advice and help in what people need.

I have also got informal mentors with my work collogues, who offer help and advice when I am completing a new task.

However I do think that I need to delevop a better way of evaulating and gain informal mentorship.

Thing 10 - Graduate traineeships, Masters Degree, Chartership, Accreditation

Thing 10 is looking at Librarianship training and blogging about our own journey's, so here goes.

My route into librarianship.

My first experience into library work work through my Year 10 work experience placement.  I had no real desire to work in the library but had to go somewhere!!  Even so I really enjoyed my two weeks at Bridgnorth Library and due to this I started to look into how to become a librarian. 
While I was completing my 'A' Levels I had to complete some more work experience.  I knew someone who worked as a School Librarian at Idsall school in Shropshire.  I completed a weeks work there and again I knew that this was what I wanted to do.

So before I went to university I had had some experience in library work.  I went to university and completed my undergraduate degree in Religious and Theological Studies at Cardiff University.

When my course finished I applied for many library assistant jobs but did not get any of them.  This did not make me give up instead I approached Bridgnorth Library and asked if I could do some voluntary work there to gain experience before going to complete my Masters Degree.  They let me do voluntary work which gave me more insight into the kind of work that you do as a librarian.  While I was at Bridgnorth Library they gave me some casual hours which also helped out.  Doing the voluntary and casual work meant that I gained my experience for my Masters Degree.

I completed my Masters Degree at Aberystwyth University, completing all the usual courses on cataloguing and collection development, but also choosing to study Local History information and Children's librarianship.  I did not get my Masters, only my Postgraduate Diploma. 

Once I had finished the taught part of the course I gained a job as a School Librarian at the Lord Silkin School in Telford.  This was a joint use library so I was based in Stirchley Library and managed by a member of the library service.  In this job I learnt how to do presentations and class visits, also more information on teenage books and reading.  One area of this work I found very useful was the meetings that the School Library Service Shropshire arranged on a termly basis, because this gave us a chance of meeting with other school librarians and discussing the work.

I changed jobs August 2010 so my current post is as Team Librarian in Telford and Wrekin Libraries.  The librarians in Telford are split into three teams, Children and Young People, Adult Reading Development and Learning and Information Services.  I am part of the Learning and Information Services team and we have responsibility for the reference and community history stock throughout the whole of the borough.  Our team runs IT Tasters and Ancestry Taters and look after the online resources.  I have had responsibility for the reference stock, though now I have responsibility for the community history stock. 

I am also completing my Chartership, which is good and is helping me to look critically at my performance and what is happening in the library service.  I hope to hand my Chartership in around Christmas this year.

Friday 5 August 2011

Thing 9 Evernote

Reading the post for this tool makes me really want to try it out!!!
Reasons :-
  • I am always looking and websites and making notes then losing them
  • I will be able to keep all my notes in one place.
The only down side to this at the moment is that I can not access it at work as I have to download software. I will have to access it at home and see how I like it.

To be continued....

Thing 8 - Google Calander

I have used google calender in the past but I have just put things up and have not referred to them again.  Looking again at this I can see that I need to do more with it.  I have an iGoogle page so I have added the gadget to the page and have entered in the dates from my work diary for August.  This now means that when I am at home I can check what I am doing and which library I am at.  I have also shared it with my brother and I will see what he thinks of this, because I occasionally have to give him a lift to Telford and by looking at the calender he will know where I am.

Also I think that the calender will be a good idea for the library service because all the activities that are planned in the library could be added so that all staff know where things are happening.  This could be added to the wiki we are hoping to set up for staff so everybody will have access to it.  Planning events would be so much easier because you would only have to look at one calender instead of three or four.

Thursday 4 August 2011

Thing 7 Face-to-Face Networks and Professional Bodies

I have not got a lot of experience of professional organisations, maybe this is due to the fact that I am a relatively new professional.  I am a member of CILIP but I do not get actively involved, looking at what CILIP can do for me maybe this is the kick start I need to get involved. 

I having undertaking training with professional bodies for example I am currently working on my Chartership and I have attend a course run by the Schools Library Association.  I think that the best thing about professional bodies is that they can keep you from being to cut of from others in the same field and other fields as yourself, this is especially true for someone working as a School Librarian.

I need to get better at face-to-face networking and getting more out of professional bodies, instead of just relying on printed and online material.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Thing 6 Online Networks

Today I should be looking at Things 10 and 11 but work has been quite busy and i have fallen behind, so I am on Thing 6.  Good job next week is a catch up and reflection week!!!

I have had a look at the different online networks that have been suggested.  The only one I have used before is Facebook.  However I think that I would not have time to join everyone and I need to be selective.  For this I think that I will continue to use Facebook but for my personal interest only, I do remember to look at this often.  I have joined Linkedin and would use this for my professional development, this is because of how it is set up for professional networking.  I will have to learn to look at it each day to see what is happening and join in discussions, this could be done first thing in the morning between 8.30 and 9. 

I will have to see how this goes over the next few weeks because I have seen that I have signed up to Twitter but I have not looked at it for ages so again this could be something that I look at first thing in the morning.

Now onto Thing 7!