Thing 10: Graduate traineeships, Masters Degrees, Chartership, Accreditation

Why did I choose librarianship? So I had a legitimate reason to be uber-tidy of course!! I'm unable to remember the moment when I decided it was the career for me but I do remember chatting to the careers advisor at school when we had to chose a work experience placement. The advisor nearly fell off her chair when I asked if she could get me in at the local library. Her exact words were "no one has ever asked me that before". Thankfully she took me seriously and here I am today.

Career history so far (edited highlights):

Work experience - two weeks at the local library. I remember doing lots of tasks and asking for more things to do. The memory that sticks in my mind is reading aloud at the children's story time and realising that children's librarianship was not for me due to the high levels of sticky fingers and snotty noses.

University - my first degree was not in librarianship but of course like all good students I did go to the library. Looking back I didn't use a database and I didn't meet a subject librarian but I did do an awful lot of photocopying. In my final year I went to the careers office and picked up a leaflet about careers in information and that sealed the deal. I think it was the attraction of being organised, tidy and working with different groups of people. I applied for a graduate trainee position at an enormous multi-site Uni in central London and got the post in the January before I'd even taken my exams.

Graduate Trainee - multi-site Uni in central London - spent lots of time on the various issue desks but my 'home' was the Periodicals office. Every fortnight the 6 trainees would do some sort of training or visit other libraries to get us ready for the Masters course.

Masters - did this full-time. I enjoyed it but with hindsight I'm not sure how much I have actually used in the workplace. There's a lot to be said for having the qualification but on-the-job experience has given me the best training in my career so far. During this time I discovered I was not cut out for Cat & Class - I passed the modules but developed a deep seated fear of Dewey tables. In my current post I have met a kindred spirit and I no longer feel like a bad librarian for pinching class numbers from others.

First 'real' librarianship post - another multi-site Uni in central London - started as a Library Assistant but quickly took a secondment as a Senior Library Assistant. This time my home was the Journals and Document Delivery office. What did I learn? Well how to scan, how to keep fit by shelving journals, how to ferret out free articles.... I also had to supervise the issue desk in the evening which made me a little nervous.  It was here that I met inspirational manager number 1. They trusted their staff to get on with the job. I've always felt this to be a good quality and have tried to do this myself in various roles. Whilst I was here I obtained my Chartership.

First 'chartered librarian' post - a hospice - yep, that's right a hospice. Many people raised their eyebrows when I told them my choice of workplace but I found it hugely rewarding both professionally and personally. Professionally it was my first post that required me to be Chartered. As it was a small library I got to have a go at everything which wasn't the case in the large libraries I had previously worked in. I did cat and class, presentations, helped to run the bookshop, assisted with research queries, made posters for conferences, worked with volunteers.... the list is never ending. Personally, it was an enlightening experience which I shall never forget - it changed my attitude to illness and death for the better. I also met inspirational manager number 2. Her enthusiasm was infectious. She made it her mission to do everything she could to build the best library possible with limited funds and manpower. She cared passionately about her job and taught me the notion of 'added value'. She knew how to go that extra mile with an enquiry. It was her drive that made me think I'd like to be a library manager and lead a team and service.

Then - The Drama School - I was the library manager. Well, this was in interesting experience. Nice library staff to work with but the role was challenging. Issues - never ending issues - with IT, space, lack of web presence and people welded to very old fashioned ideas about libraries (one day someone actually said "why don't we put in some wood panelling and some lamps"). I think I'll leave it there. I learnt a lot about managing staff, running a service etc but I'm sure there was an easier way to learn this stuff! I also signed up as a Mentor for CILIP and took on my first mentee.

Now - multi-site Uni in the South East - In the previous role I felt I'd lost contact with the students and I wanted to get back to a role involving running workshops, giving support and academic liaison. I also did not want to work with acting students - been there, done that, most were very nice, some were most certainly not nice. I enjoy my current role. I like the variety of tasks and the relative autonomy. I find it rewarding when I've helped a student solve a search problem and when academic staff ask for my advice or expertise. I'm still mentoring for CILIP.

As for what I'm planning to do next, ideally I'd like to stay where I am, revalidate my Charteship and gain some sort of teaching qualification.

Writing this post has made me realise how far I've travelled in librarianship. For the most part I've enjoyed and made the most of every role. Hopefully there's a lot more still to come.

Thing 9: Evernote

Previously I'd looked at Evernote in the App store but hadn't really understood what to use it for. Now I get it and I love it. I've downloaded it on to my laptop, my iPad and amazingly managed to download it on to the work pc without needing the elusive 'Administrator password'.

Thinking it was going to be a bit fiddly, I watched the online video to work out how to use it but it's actually quite simple. I made my first note in it within seconds and then added an audio clip and a photo to the note. It is a list makers dream - I've can have notebooks of lists accompanied by pictures, links and voice recordings! Further exploration found I could drag pictures from other folders and 'clip' webpages. I decided that the first web item I clipped should be my first ever blog post. The last thing I tried out yesterday was integrating it with my Twitter account - when I send a tweet if I add @myEN to the end of it, it automatically saves it as a note in Evernote. I wouldn't do this with all my tweets but I could keep an archive of all my professional tweets and let the other silly ones rot away in my Twitter account.

I'm going to use Evernote as a diary for reflective notes, an archive of all things me and a list maker extraordinaire.

Thing 8: Google Calendar

Well I've downloaded Google Calendar, added it to my iGoogle page and inserted the cpd23 dates but I won't use this tool for work. The team at work already use a shared calendar via the email system which we populate with all our outings/meetings/appointments. However I also use a printed diary for work because I don't have a smartphone that will sync with the online calendar. It feels 'safe' to have a paper version - I've jokinly asked for a netbook at work so that I can go more or less paperless - but no word on this yet. it is somewhat disheartening to go to a meeting to find you are the only one who has to print out the papers instead of read them on the netbook. Online calendars are important for team work in the office - we can pitch in when we see others are having a busy day and give accurate 'she's not at her desk, she'll be back at so and so o'clock' reports to telephone callers. It can sometimes feels like online calendars are used to keep tabs on staff (maybe I'm paranoid) but all in all I find it useful.

Thing 7: Face-to-face networks and professional organisations

I belong to CILIP and am a member of the Health Libraries Group and University, College and Research Group. I've been a member of CILIP since 2000 when I started as a graduate trainee. I'm one of the few  left in my organisation that is actually a member - the further I've moved from London the less signed up/paid up members I've met which is a shame. I've been reflecting on why I am still a member of CILIP after 11 years. I know there is the argument that it's a lot of money each year but I like finding Update on the doormat, I always read the jobs email (just to be nosey really), I read the publications from the two groups I belong to, I read the CILIP blog, I flick through the Facet catalogue, I like having CILIP on my CV, I've done my Chartership, I'm a mentor and I'm revalidating. I get quite a lot out of my membership in terms of professional development and the satisfaction of feeling there is a large support network that I can draw on when needed and for those two reasons I'm happy to renew my membership - after all, you only get out what you put in. I'm not into writing journal articles about library research but I do enjoy mentoring for CILIP so being a member makes me part of the wider library community in a way that I am comfortable with.

Since the Browne Report I've been looking at doing a qualification in learning and teaching in HE. Hopefully this will strengthen my CV, improve my skills and gain recognition in the institution for the work carried out by the librarians. With that qualification I'd like to become a member of the HEA. Bit of a long term goal this one but edging towards it via the appraisal scheme.

Thing 6: Online networks

I know other people who are on LinkedIn and in the past I've poked around in their profiles to see what sort of info they shared. I had steered clear of it myself because it didn't seem relevant to me as I'm not looking for a new job or for any freelance stuff. Since trying it out for Thing 6 I've decided that it's a good way to keep my CV up to date - this is something I'm very bad at. With the current state of the economy and job market I need to make sure my CV is updated and presentable at short notice. I can't see myself using LinkedIn to keep in contact with colleagues but if I was searching for a new job it would be invaluable to find out about the company and people that work there. I have joined a couple of LinkedIn groups but have just amended my profile to stop all the emails alerting me to new discussions as they were filling up my inbox.
The comment 'Facebook is the backyard BBQ; LinkedIn is the office' stuck a chord with me. I intend to keep Facebook as my locked-down, non-professional network. I'm all for maintaining a work/life balance and have no intention of being in the office (virtually or physically) when I don't need to be. I love my job but there is life outside of libraries.

I'm already a member of CILIP Communities and have kept my short profile up to date. I joined a while ago because I'm a mentor for the Chartership etc scheme. Chartership candidates looking for a mentor can find out a bit about my professional background which helps them pick the right mentor for them.

I'm pleased I've joined all these networks but now need to keep a tight reign on the info that comes out of them or I fear I'll have generated my own information overload.

Thing 5: Reflective practice

I like the Greenaway model of Do-Plan-Review. I already reflect on the user education sessions I deliver at work. I find it helps to highlight the good and bad parts of the sessions and it makes me record changes that I might incorporate the next time I deliver the session.  I'm also using CILIPs CPD audit sheet for my Chartership Revalidation log. This simple form makes me think about what I have learned from an activity and how I'm going to apply or why I'm not going to apply it in the workplace.

Reflecting on the last few weeks of cpd23, I think the tools I've used so far have taken me outside my comfort zone such as making my postings/tweets public and making comments on other sites. I still need to improve my online presence and I think it's something that will build slowly over the duration of the course. In terms of using the tools at work there's not been much progress (mainly because we are not encouraged too but with a new VLE due in 2012 there is scope for more web tools). I'm finding it easy and convenient to use GoogleReader to keep up to date with other blog posts. Opening my tweets up on Twitter hasn't resulted in anything bad in fact I've gathered two new followers - one of which I exchanged tweets with on the iPad2 and e-book app Overdrive.

Thing 4: Current awareness - Twitter, RSS and Pushnote

I already use Twitter for a mix of personal and professional activities but haven’t reflected yet on why I do so. I am somewhat lacking in tweets but use it instead to follow other people – a few librarians (one who sits on the desk behind me at work which says a lot about how open plan offices work), a few libraries, the local theatre, some cyclists on the Tour de France (don’t ask!) and several comedians.  I’m not entirely sure what I should tweet about and I suspect this will need to be considered in terms of my online brand but at the moment I’m happy to follow the others. Many of the people I follow use it for commercial purposes - plugs for their TV shows etc which is ok as I follow them because I like them and I will probably watch their shows anyway.  The Twitter accounts I like best for librarianship news are @Philbradley and @ijclark.

Google Reader is the most useful tool I’ve discovered this week. I’ve added all the librarianship blogs that I follow. I’m getting used to seeing everything in the one place although it does seem a bit cluttered.  I’ve decided to restrict it to librarian blogs only so that I can use it purely for current awareness.  My best blogs for current awareness are Phil Bradley’s weblog (to keep me up to date with the different products available), Sheila Webber’s Information Literacy Weblog (local to international news etc for info lit) and Dean Giustini’s The Search Principle Blog (I like his use of Slideshare and I’m looking forward to week 12: Presenting information which includes Slideshare).

After reading Helen’s 23 Things post I’ve started an iGoogle page. I’ve kept it quite simple and only added widgets/gadgets for Hotmail, GoogleReader, Twitter, calendar, YouTube, weather, To Do list, BBC news and just for fun some waddling penguins which frankly are the best thing on there at the moment. I kept this open on my work screen for the whole of yesterday and it’s quite nice to scan everything at once but will only be of use if I remember to log in each day (I fear I may have to write myself a note to remind me!).  I've put iGoogle on a trial but it looks promising.

iGoogle seems very similar to Netvibes which I have messed around with in the past. Yesterday I saw a great example of how to use Netvibes for current awareness from Emma Aldrich at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Libraries  MTW NHS Trust Knowledge Services I’d like to do something like this for the students I support at the university but web 2.0 tools are looked at with some suspicion here. LibGuides and Wikidot look like other useful tools and maybe my workplace will explore these at some point.