Advocacy for any sector of the information profession is very important. The main reason for this is that the people around do not know all that libraries have to offer and if we do not tell them no-one will.
In my role I have to attend educational partnership meeting to tell them what the libraries are doing at the moment and how we could work together.
The most important think is for the information profession is to shine our light brightly!!!!
Friday, 2 September 2011
Thing 15: Attending, Presenting at and Organising Seminars, Confrences and Other Events
One professional event I have attended is a training day that was organised by the School Library Association (SLA). This was good because being a School Librarian can be a lonely job due to lone working. Even though the session was about e-resources it was good to talk to other delegates about all aspects of being a school librarian.
I have also attended termly meetings with the Schools Library Service in Shropshire. Again it was good to be able to talk to others that are in the same situation. we talked about areas of national topics and how we can use these campaigns in the library.
Earlier this year I applied for a sponsored place at Umbrella 11 through the CDG West Midlands group. Even though I was not successful it was good to go through the process and look at what seminars I would attend and the areas the wider profession is discussing.
I would like to attend more conferences in the future but at the moment I cannot think of which ones I would like to attend.
I have also attended termly meetings with the Schools Library Service in Shropshire. Again it was good to be able to talk to others that are in the same situation. we talked about areas of national topics and how we can use these campaigns in the library.
Earlier this year I applied for a sponsored place at Umbrella 11 through the CDG West Midlands group. Even though I was not successful it was good to go through the process and look at what seminars I would attend and the areas the wider profession is discussing.
I would like to attend more conferences in the future but at the moment I cannot think of which ones I would like to attend.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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