Wednesday 17 August 2011

Thing 13

Well I've had a look at Google Docs and it does look quite interesting. From the perspective of the College where I work we have a shared network drive so any documents relating to projects or other work are stored there and can be accessed and edited by the full Library team. So I couldn't see me really needing this kind of thing at College. We also have a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) called Moodle and we use that to store documents, leaflets, induction material etc and we also all have access to that.

It is interesting to see the potential for projects outside of College though and that if I were working on something I could work on it with other people without sending emails back and forth and getting confused as to which version I was ctaully working on. Something I will definitely keep in mind for the future.

Dropbox on the other hand looks a little bit more confusing yet does the same thing. I have decided not to set up an account yet as I am limited for time and I will revisit it if I have time at a later date.

Wiki's I also find look interesting but again working within a College environment I feel that our Moodle does just a good a job in storing documents and information.

Monday 8 August 2011

Thing 12 - Putting the social ito socal media

I agree with the advantages outlined that social media is really good for CPD in helping to achieve a sense  comunity between professionals, giving a space for sharing best practice and allowing access to other areas of the profession. I think it also encourages a more rounded approach to development and gives it a wider sense of experience. You can go on a traing course and I tend to find I'll think about what is said then sometimes it will completely go out of mind and I have forgotten what was done, said or my thoughts. Social media gives an area to reflect with other people so that the knowledge and theory is underpinned with reality.

I have followed developments in CILIP and the Library and information community much more since embarking on 23 things and feel a sense of belonging to a community. It makes working in a Library seem more than 'just a job'.

The negative aspects I have found is the extra time it takes to trawl through everything. There are so many different social medias that keeping up with everything can be quite a daunting task. I am also finding that I have joined so many things that remembering login deetails and passwords is becoming an issue! You only get out what you put in though so from taking a few minutes to check updates I am learning and sharing.

To be honest I don't feel as though I have made many contacts at the moment. I have had a quick read of updates but not actually had a rapport going with anyone specific. Summer is quite a busy time where I work so my time has been quite limited. I have found that some of these 'things' do take up quite a bit of time to set up accounts and get to grips with what can be done. This then hasn't left me with much time to read others blogs and see how everyone else is finding the experience. Hopefully as the Library starts to quieten down over the next few weeks I'll have more of a chance to have a look and comment on a few more, find a few people to follow on Twitter etc.

I hadn't used social media for professional development before '23 things' so it has been an experience. I hope to continue to use it and hopefully make it work a bit better in the future depending on time constraints. When we are back into the swing of term I am hoping to set aside a good 15 minutes a day for checking social media and connecting with the professional world.

I have had experience of creating a sense of community with social networking outside of Libraries. I am part of a Facebook group of ladies who all had babies in the same month. There are around 60 of us and it is fantastic to keep in touch with them and be able to ask questions as our children grow up. We have such a sense of community and many of us have met up and become friends as a result of the group. I haven't yet reached this same sense of community yet with Libraries. I feel the main reason for this is that there are just so many people that is it more difficult to keep in touch with what is going on. I think that smaller groups are sometimes better. I have felt a bit bewildered and out of my depth at times with the range of knowledge and experience and the sheer size of the information professionals community.

I am happy though as I have just realised I have managed to catch up on the 'things' after my mammoth blogging session this morning! Yay

Thing 11 - Mentoring

I officially had a mentor when I completed my Certification and I found it extremely useful. Everyone else I talked to about Libraries at that point had mainly been colleagues that I work with so it was refreshing to get perspectives from someone 'outside' the organisation. I found there were many things that I took for granted and just assumed that was what everyone did so it was intereting to sehow other Libraries worked. With only ever workin in one Library setting I don't have much experience so having a mentor helped me see Libraries from other viewpoints.

I don't think I would have been able to complete Certification and learn about the process of reflective practice without my mentor. She was constantly reminding me of the need to be reflective rather than just descriptive as I tended to do. She was full of praise when I completed and made me feel like a worthy Library professional which is always good to make you feel more confident in what you are doing.

Unofficial mentors I have had along my journey have included mostly people who I have worked with. There was one special lady who helped me when I started in the Library and showed me the ropes. She had such a passion and enthusiasm for libraries and it really rubbed off on me. Sadly she died a couple of years ago after a battle with Cancer but I will never forget her.

There has also been my assessor for when I completed my NVQ. She was incredibly supportful and helpful and it was through her encouragement that I decided to join CILIP and have a go at Certification. Recently she has also provided a reference for me for the application foy my PostGraduate course and was as encouraging as ever.

I would like to think that one day I will have the opportunity to become a mentor and be able to support and encourage others in return. We do have a lot of work experience students so I do play an active role in telling them about Library work and showing them the ropes.

Thing 10 - My experience in Libraries so far...and what is round the corner

I have always loved Libraries but never really thought of working in one until I saw my current role advertised. I didn't really know what the full extent of working in a Library would entail but I loved visiting them and borrowing books and thought it would be a lovely environment to work in after my previous disappointing experience working in a call centre. I applied for the job as a Library and Learning Resource Centre Assistant and was so excited then I got to the interview and saw how many applicants there were and thought that was it, as I had no experience I didn't stand a chance. Amazingly I did get the job and have been working in this role now for almost six years!

A lot has changed during that time. When I started here we all did a bit of working in the main Library and spent some time working in the LRCs and did a bit of everything to do with processing stock and all of the other 'workroom' duties involved in running a Library. A few years ago however we changed so that we are a lot more responsible for different areas and take ownership and the service has greatly improved. I am now responsible for the day to day running of OARC LRC (Outdoor Activities and Recreation Centre). This is basically the Learning Resource Centre for Sports and Public Services. I liaise with the departmentsla staff and what resources they require, update displays and promote resources and run inductions on the resources available to students of those subjects. I still work in the Main Library and get to work in some of the other LRCs as well so the job never gets boring!  I am also responsible for journal management, so I order new journals and process renewals, ensure the stock is up to date, tidy and weed old stock out. I also produce circulation reports, process stock, create displays for the Library, help select stock and promote it and I am currently working on a project to see how QR codes can be used in a Library setting.

After working in my role for a couple of years I completed an NVQ level 2 in Library and Information Services. It was interesting to look at the Library World from a theoretical viewpoint and I got to meet people from other Libraries and talk about how different libraries from different sectors work. Once I completed this I then decided that I wanted to be more involved and take my career further so I decided to start work on Certification. I found a mentor who was really helpful and managed to get through Certification quite quickly. It was interesting to reflect on what training I had undertaken and looking at what I needed to do in the future.

I have then had a bit of a break as I was off work on maternity leave and spent a year not thinking about Library's at all!

I have now been back into the swing of things since February and I have decided I am ready to take the next step. I have been offered a place on the PostGraduate Diploma course at Northumbria University and looking forward to the new challenge. Where I will go after that, who know? I really love where I work so I don't really want to leave anytime soon. My ideal job would be to work up to a senior level within the Library here although vacancies don't seem to come up very often!

Thing 9 - Evernote

Well I have just installed Evernote and had a play around with it and I can see that it could be quite useful. We are in the process where I work of upgrading to Windows 7 and Office 2010 and I had been looking at OneNote and how usefil it can be in storing notes and ideas. I like the way that EverNote can store photos and anything else and that you can use it on whatever computer or mobile device you are using as it updates and shares from the internet. The only plus point I can see for OneNote over Evernote is that you can add in dates and appointments and they will automatically link to my Outlook calendar rather tham having to go to two seperate places to type up, for example meeting notes. I haven't been able to see that you can link Evernote to a calendar, although you probably can on the premium version if paid for.

As I am hoping to start a PostGraduate diploma in September this would be a really useful tool for storing all of my notes and research so that I have access to it where ever I am.