Thing 23: This is the end?

So the end is here at last! In the beginning I said I wanted to think more about my professional development; I’d just begun a secondment as a Liaison Assistant and was keen to develop my knowledge. I think the programme has been a good opportunity to build on the things I already knew and to try out new things, and I think I’ve achieved that. 

So what have I enjoyed and what have I not enjoyed? Everything has been very interesting and motivating, but in particular I’ve found the less technology focussed things more challenging.  Despite this they’ve been a good starting point and have made me think more about what I could do. One of the things I’ve found most helpful was to follow other cpd23-ers on Twitter – it definitely gave me the incentive to keep going!

As for putting together a PDP, I may charter at some point in the future so I would probably do that then as there are other things I’d like to do first. However I don’t feel as if this is really the end as there are some things I want to explore further. Ultimately, the 23 Things programme has made me think about my professional development and I will definitely try to keep blogging - if I have anything to write about after this!

So to sum up: Have learned a lot of new stuff!

Thing 22: Volunteering to get experience

Unlike a lot of people I’ve no experience of volunteering; I was lucky enough to get the first library assistant job I applied for and have worked in libraries ever since. However if I’d known then that a career in the information profession was for me, perhaps I would have sought out opportunities to gain practical experience elsewhere. At the moment I don’t really have the time to volunteer, though I can see how it could be a positive thing. Since I started my secondment I’ve become more aware of gaps in my skills, so perhaps if opportunities weren’t available at work I would need to go elsewhere to fill them. However I think I’m quite lucky; I’ve been given opportunities and encouraged to gain experience and develop my skills in my current job.

Thing 21: Promoting yourself in job applications and at interview

For this Thing we were asked to think about how to promote all the hard work we do and the abilities and skills we have acquired in our career and life so far. I find this hard as I’m one of those people who feel awkward boasting about what I’ve done, even though I know this is necessary. However, since I’ve begun my secondment I’ve definitely learnt a lot so I’ve tried to identify some of my skills and things I like about my work:

• Finding out about and playing with social media and new technology
• Helping library users to find information and showing them how to use resources
• Learning new skills
• Being part of a team

Also, I looked at things I wasn’t so good at or disliked and came up with the following:

• Teaching (although I’m starting to change my mind about this)
• Public speaking

I’ve don't keep a database of things I done and until recently my CV was very out of date.  So this was a helpful exercise, especially as I had an interview very recently for an assistant librarian post (maternity cover).  Although I was unsuccessful this time, it was a good experience. I spoke to one of the interviewers later and got some good feedback, so next time I’ll hopefully do better. However I enjoy my job so in I’m no hurry to go elsewhere as long as I can continue to learn and support our users.

Thing 20: The Library Routes Project

For this Thing we’ve been asked to add a link to the Library Routes project and reflect and compare our experiences. I’ve already added my Thing 10 post to the wiki and I’ve had a look at other peoples’ posts. It’s interesting to see the different routes that everyone has taken; some have accidentally fallen into librarianship, while others have known all along it was the career for them. I’m in the former group, but perhaps as someone who has always loved books and using libraries it was inevitable. As an English, Drama, Film and TV graduate I had a vague ambition to do something related to that, but careers advisors don’t tell you how hard and competitive it is. If only I'd known! After a couple of temporary jobs after university, I finally decided that perhaps working in a library was a good idea. If I’d come to this realisation sooner who knows where I’d be now, but I’m happy with the path I’ve taken.

Anyway to cut a long story short, since I completed by MA and started my secondment I’ve become more enthusiastic; even though I said in my Thing 10 post that I didn’t want to do any more training or studying, I am currently considering doing some sort of teaching course or possibly chartering. So who knows what the future holds!

Thing 19: Integrating 'things'

The purpose of this week was to look back at previous posts and consider which elements were most useful and how they might be integrated into our working routine. So these are a few of my favourite (and not so favourite) things:

• RSS feeds – I used these anyway and still use them to (try) to keep up to date with news and info, but for the most part they have been replaced by…
• Twitter – I won’t bore you with how much I love this. But I find it much simpler to use this than RSS. Yes, I could be missing information, but at least I don’t feel like I’m suffering from information overload.
• Evernote – I’ve used this to clip webpages that I want to look at later. I’m sure it has other possibilities; I’ve just not had the time to explore them yet.
• Prezi – I love this and it’ll be really useful but I think I’ve only scratched the surface so far. I may use it for an Endnote workshop I’m doing next month.

Things I need to explore more:

• Mendeley/Zotero – It’s useful to learn more about alternatives to Endnote.
• Wikis – I added my Thing 10 post to the Library Routes project, but apart from that I haven’t had an opportunity to use wikis.
• LinkedIn – I need to fill in more information, although joining groups has been quite useful for seeing what other people are talking about, however I can find that on Twitter too.

Things I probably won’t use:

• Pushnote – I just don’t see any use for this.
• Google Calendar – I already use Outlook Calendar and can’t see any benefit in changing. 

     So far I think this programme has given me the impetus (excuse?) to try out new tools – not that I need any encouragement! However I have found the professional development elements a little more difficult although they’ve definitely given me food for thought. I have also enjoyed reading other peoples’ blogs and feeling more of a part of the librarian community.

Thing 18: Jing / screen capture / podcasts (making and following them)

Thing 18: Jing / screen capture / podcasts (making and following them) 

 

Just a short post for this Thing. At the moment I don’t really have a use or a need to create screencasts or podcasts. I think I really learn about these sorts of tools when I have a purpose for them. I do love playing around with this sort of thing and figuring out how they work, so in the future they may come in handy. They definitely have their uses for library induction though. For instance in the Robinson Library we’ve had screencasts explaining how to use e-books and podcast library tours. I’ve just not been involved in creating them yet. 

I do intend to write more about this Thing when I've had time to explore these tools fully - honest!

Thing 17: The Medium is the Message- Prezi and Slideshare

As I’m new to presenting I haven’t used either of these tools before, although I have seen other people using them: a week ago a colleague used Prezi in a presentation and I was very impressed.  I thought it was so much more watchable than a Power Point presentation. In about months’ time I’m due to present an Endnote workshop, so I thought that would be a good excuse to play with Prezi.  As I’m very impatient I tend to only briefly (or never!) read instructions, so I just dove straight in and started to play around with it. I find I can learn better this way. Anyway, I found it easy to use and simple to add text and play around with fonts. My only problem came when I tried to add images, but I’ll persevere. I’ve not used Power Point much so I can’t really compare the two, but I think Prezi is much more likely to hold an audience’s attention. I’m sure there’s a lot more I could do with it and have so far only scratched the surface.

Anyway, here's my very basic Prezi:

Endnote on Prezi

I’ve often looked at presentations on Slideshare but have never used it myself; at the moment I don’t have anything I can share. But it is useful both for learning and for gathering ideas from others.

Thing 16 : Advocacy, speaking up for the profession and getting published

Initially I thought I would have nothing to write for this thing. But then I considered some of the ways in which the library I work in promotes its services to users and realised that it’s all part of advocacy.  For example, since I started my new post I've attended events within the university to promote the library to staff and students. I've been able to meet many people who would not normally come to the library and had no idea what sort of services were available. I got the impression that some staff thought the library was just for students, or that we only lent books. It was good to be able to show them otherwise.  We promote services within the library too – for instance we had a week promoting our ebook collections and we're currently arranging book displays on different areas of sustainability. Because more and more resources and information is available electronically, it’s important for users to understand the variety of services libraries offer and how we can help them to find the best resources. As Dark side of the catalogue said – academic libraries still need to shout about their services as often students and staff are ignorant about the services on offer. 

Thing 15 : Attending, presenting at and organising seminars, conferences and other events 15 

Another quick post. As I’m newly qualified I haven’t attended, presented  at or organised any conferences or events. To be honest the very idea terrifies me and I really admire those who do. Perhaps at some stage in the future I may change my mind, but for now I’m happy to avoid the limelight. Anyway, I don’t feel experienced, passionate or knowledgeable enough yet to take part in something like that, so for now I'll leave it to the experts.

Thing 14 : Zotero/Mendely/citeulike

After much delay I've decided to postpone this thing, mainly because I haven't spent as much time as I'd like playing with these tools. So more later...