Last month I attended the Special Libraries Association (SLA) annual conference in Chicago. It was a whirlwind experience, made all the more exciting by being on a different continent. I was lucky enough to win an Early Career Conference Award (ECCA), co-sponsored by SLA Europe and the Business & Finance Division of SLA, to attend the conference. There were five ECCAs in total, each co-sponsored by a different division; Business & Finance, Leadership & Management, Legal, Pharmaceutical & Health Technology, and Science-Technology. Our reflections on our ECCA experiences will be appearing on the SLA Europe blog shortly.

 

The ECCA's all bright eyed and bushy-tailed on Day One

SLA 2012 took place over four days, and involved presentations, panel discussions, and courses, and an exhibition hall full of vendors keen to show their latest products (and freebies) to us library folk. I found a couple of the sessions to be a little hit-and-miss, but on the whole they were educational and entertaining. Some of the highlights included, among others:

• Marketing for the Rest of Us: A Guide for Introverts
  I’ve written up my impressions from this session on my own blog.

• 60 Sites in 60 Seconds
  Exploring some new and useful sites. The full list of useful sites can be found here

• 60 Apps in 60 Seconds
  I’m not sure if this one actually stuck to its 60 minutes, but I’ll forgive that as I learnt about some great apps. Unfortunately, like 60 Sites, a lot of these are North American-based, but there are some in there that cross the pond too.

• Seeing You Career from the Outside In
  In this session, speakers discussed the soft competencies that we as library and information professionals need to succeed. I found this session particularly useful from a new professional viewpoint.

I learnt a lot at SLA 2012, both from the sessions themselves, and from the overall experience. It was a fantastic networking opportunity, something which I was looking forward to, but was also a little nervous about. Networking can seem daunting for a new professional – I can sometimes have a ‘what on earth can I add?’ mindset, but this quickly disappeared once I started chatting with people. I soon realised my viewpoint was just as valid as anyone else’s!

My most enduring memory of the conference is just how friendly everyone was, and how much fun I had. I would put this down to it being my first conference, but honestly even seasoned SLA conference-goers were excited to be there, and excited to meet first timers. There was a real sense of community, and I felt very welcomed, both as a new professional and a ‘foreigner’. I’ll admit the conference did often have a very North American focus, something which Sara Batts mentioned in the Future Now final panel discussion, but nevertheless I feel very much a part of a global association as a member of SLA.

If you are thinking of applying for a conference award or bursary like this, just do it - you have nothing to lose! There a number around to support students and new professionals attend their first conference, and I highly recommend applying for an ECCA to attend SLA San Diego next year!

 

The morning started off with a keynote speech from Liz Jolly, who emphasized the importance of learning together and lifelong learning. I was interested to hear that she was sure that professional activity (involvement in CILIP) has been instrumental in getting jobs through her career, and was one of her ‘unique selling points’. She went on to talk about the positives and negatives of social networking as a type of community of practise – the obvious (to me) advantage was learning as equals (there are no obvious levels on twitter) and the integration with everyday life, and a pointed reminder that it could be an unwitting contributer to de-professionalisation, not to mention giving a potentially unintended negative view of librarianship. (I see these points, but I can only then suggest all the positive examples that have come out of social networking – library day in the life, routes to librarianship etc which are out there to share all the positives about our profession). Liz made a pointed comment about the combination of continuity and change – that ‘professional’ is not just a single goal to achieve (“I must attain chartership”), but rather an on-going process. I think too many of us fall into the trap of thinking of chartership as a 1 act play (at least, of course, until you run into revalidation…!). Finally, Liz made a strong case for involvement: WE are CILIP – and the more we put into it, the more powerful and reflective of us it becomes. One to think about right there.

My first presentation of the day was Steph Bradley’s on resurrecting a library service, which I picked because sometimes it seems that is what I am trying to in my own job.  She explained about the structure of NHS libraries (an eternal mystery to a corporate librarian like myself!), then went on to explain the problems of bringing a library back to life after a year/18 months with no librarian. This was particularly interesting, as they really had similar problems with regards to ageing stock and items going walkabout that we have every day! Steph was quite inspiring, as she was full of ideas and enthusiasm. I particularly like the idea of the “where’s Steph?” widget – as she works from various sites on no fixed timetable. I may integrate a basic variety of that here, as my colleague occasionally works from home, so the library can be unstaffed if that coincides with my being out of the office. She gave lots of tips on interactivity, being flexible, positive, enabling face to face contact, finding out what users want. Specifically:

• People are better than things as publicity.
• Don’t assume people know who you are and what you do – be ready to explain, anywhere and any time!
• Fit in with the organisation – adapt to them because they won’t adapt to you.

This was probably to most relevant presentation to me of the whole day, provoking lots of thought about new ideas or old ideas with new ways to incorporate them into my own working practices.

My second choice of the day was, as it turned out, the only choice – Patricia Lacey and Emma Gibbs’ talk on developing your own skills network. This was about a learning and development group across health libraries in the West Midlands. Although this was interesting, it was less than relevant to me – there just aren’t enough corporate libraries to provide such a rich learning environment. We can learn lots from other sectors, but this kind of organised event simply isn’t possible, at least, not in specific library terms. Training within your company is of course a different matter, so perhaps we still have our own advantages!

After a coffee break we were back for our next sessions. This time I had chosen Stephen Ayers’ ‘Collaboration between NHS libraries for information skills training’. Interesting, because it was about proving the value of skills training from small sample sizes. Between a larger group of health libraries across the region, they had made use of a much larger sample size than any could gain alone in their individual small units. The one thing I did take away from this session was the Kirkpatrick hierarchy of the effect of training on your users (lowest: enjoyed training; next: new knowledge/skills/attitudes acquired; next: resulted in changes in professional practise; best outcome: improved patient outcomes though changed skills).

After lunch (honourable mention to the scones, which I understand were very good, although they had all gone by the time I had decided to try one!), the graveyard slot went to Michael Martin of CILIP talking about the Future Skills project. Although I had heard of this previously, I had never investigated in any great detail. The professional knowledge and skills base wheel for professional development did however look as if they may be worth investigating further for use with chartership work and cpd.

There was an excellent session from Jeremy Clarke of Sue Hill Recruitment on planning a career path. This was an excellent session covering the basics of planning a job search, including the very basic (in hindsight, at least) “knowing what you’re selling”.

Jeremy covered some interesting ideas on the job market, including one I am rather keen on - security in the modern job market is in employability rather than a single employer. Obvious, but reassuring in a way, and the best reason I have heard thus far for keeping up with one’s own professional development: your career depends on it!

Jeremy went on to suggest that professional skills development should be tailored to your own development and career aspirations, and could be linked to a different or future role, not just your current one, and may also incorporate activities outside of work. Your development: your responsibility.

He went on to cover obstructions and catalysts – something I am very familiar with, and methods to deal with them. Lastly, there were some pointers of things to be aware of (did you know that your team is a reflection of you? I know some people who should be very worried about this!), and tips of networking.

Following on from this was Charlie Cohen’s session on ‘breaking down barriers’, or organising an informal training event in an academic library. She covered learning, teamworking and running training. This is not particularly relevant to me at the present time, but interesting to hear about other workplaces and activities, and potential ideas for the future if there ever comes an opportunity to run this kind of event.

Stephen Bowman provided a lively end to the day with an exhortation to get out of the library! He had an interesting statistic (of as-then-unknown-source) that 44% of students never visit the library. Translate this to a corporate research library and I suspect that percentage would be higher still. Which makes the rest of his points even more relevant:

• Institutions don’t appreciate value (customers do, some of them). Institutions are the ones who pay us, so we need to demonstrate value to them!
• Visibility is very important. The more you are out of the office/library and visible the better. Always on show. This is a very good point – I often get asked library questions when passing people around the office, at the coffee shop, over lunch…even occasionally when out running!
• Internal committee membership is useful (visibility again, but also a chance to demonstrate your value).

Another statistic: success in business is 30% skills and experience and a whopping 70% visibility. I think you’ve made your point Stephen – I shall make it my priority this week to get out of my library! (well, since I don’t actually sit in the physical library that won’t be a problem, but out and about in the office is a whole different matter, and one I shall pursue with vigour 

So that's my take on the day. I enjoyed it, and came away with some useful ideas to implement in my own library. Were you there? What did you think of it? How many of you did I fail to meet?

 Through the work that you do in your institutions, I am sure you are all in an excellent position to enter. As a cohort you bring enthusiasm, knowledge and innovation to the library world.  If you have been involved in any aspect of marketing your library, whether that has been via social media, e-marketing, print marketing etc, please do think about entering.

  We want to encourage you to innovate in this area as it is such a fundamental area for libraries now and in the future. Library staff make a little go a long way in marketing by using imagination, commitment and creativity.  This is the work that we want to reward and promote.

 Winning entries are recognised by Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.  The judges look at evidence of the campaign’s impact and effectiveness.

 If you are wondering whether the work that you have done is what we are looking for,  have a look at previous winners or contact me (Davina on d.omar@kingston.ac.uk) and I can discuss it with you.

 Previous winning projects: http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/publicity/awards/previous-winners/pages/default.aspx

 How to enter: http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/publicity/awards/pages/award-info.aspx

 Closing date: 31^st August 2012

 Projects must have been promoted to the target group after January 2012 and been running long enough to be able to demonstrate effectiveness.

 Winners will receive a certificate, which will be presented at a PPRG event, and details of their winning entry will be added to the PPRG website and publications. Winners will also be invited to speak at a PPRG event to share their experience with attendees.

 The PPRG Marketing Excellence Awards are free to enter for any library and information service in the UK. Entrants do not need to be PPRG members, as the group seeks to celebrate innovation and achievement from right across the library marketing sector.

 Entries will be judged by the PPRG Committee, against a number of criteria, which include:

•  Effective use of a combination of marketing communications activities
• Originality of concept and suitability to target market
• Quality of graphics, design and copywriting
• Innovative use of new media
• Success of events in terms of feedback, attendance (if applicable), and press coverage (if applicable)
• Timing, message and consistency of marketing communications
• Effective use of resources and project budget
• Presentation

 

I look forward to reading through your entries :-)  

Library Camp Leeds was my first ever library camp. I have experience of the "unconference" format from things like Cultural Conversations, but as someone with autism, I find events with minimal structure and lots of social contact quite difficult and tiring. Much as I enjoyed it, #libcampls was definitely exhausting. Especially as it was very hot and sunny. There are other great reports so far from Carly, Lesley and Carolin.

There were 16 proposed sessions, pitched at the beginning of the day. These took place as four sets of four; two sessions before lunch and two after. The initial rush to pitch saw a lot of the men present jumping up. Given they were actually a minority in terms of attendees, this gave me the push to be brave and pitch my own ideas. I pitched two sessions.

 

1. Richard had mentioned on the wiki that he would like there to be a session about ebooks, and since that's my undergraduate final year project topic, I was happy to lead that with his help. He was very supportive, and this session, in the first set, was much more of a group discussion from the off than anything too guided. There was a high level of contribution from most in the group. Publishers are antagonistic towards libraries when it comes to ebooks, either demanding very limiting terms and conditions or excluding them altogether, and it is ludicrous that on the one hand publishers and authors are clamouring for PLR and zero-rated VAT on ebooks and on the other locking out the very organisations who would support them in these aims - libraries.

Money, as so often throughout the day, came up as an issue; particularly for public libraries, though the costs of digital formats for academic institutions can be astronomical. Managing users' expectations and interoperability issues between formats and devices are real problems, and some thought libraries should just give up on ebooks for now. However, we did talk about the positives of ebooks, including for accessibility, and the excitement of affordable digital magazine subscriptions. Because the magazines are supported by advertising, as well as subscriptions and single issue cover price, it could potentially work to add advertising to library ebooks, especially when enhanced ebooks become more common and so e.g. movie trailers can be embedded. Obviously not everybody is keen on commercial creep into libraries, but in some cases it may be unavoidable in order to fund the resources and libraries in many sectors already stock DVDs, newspapers and magazines that contain advertising and trailers. Another idea was to develop a special ereader for libraries nationally, that had no resale value but could be lent out in the manner of Playaway. Again, the spectre of money reared its ugly head.

 

2. Kate from HMP Styal led the second session I attended, about prison libraries. Her library has 10k books and there is an average 6 week inmate turnover. A lot of work goes into literacy projects. The library helps to record prisoners reading stories and then the CD is sent to their children for bedtime. There is a mobile library service for the detox wing, which involves taking a trolley of books direct to them as they cannot get to the library building itself. The library has a major role in the prison's aims of education and reducing re-offending by preparing prisoners for release. It is a genuine leisure facility and popular. The prisoners have basic, standard and enhanced categories when it comes to privileges. The building at Styal looks more like a boarding school with houses and gardens than normal prison. Officers have no time to accompany prisoners there, other than those with mental health issues who have one-to-one contact and are escorted once a week. Prisoners get privileges and opportunities if they behave. The prison library is run like a school library system. The librarian has free range when it comes to book selection, beyond the essential specification: law, human rights etc titles are specified. The library stocks daily papers plus weekly magazines.

Popular titles are very different to those in a "normal" library. Crime authors such as Martina Cole, "smutty horror", misery lit, true crime, celebrity autobiographies all go down well. Nothing is allowed that can be used to aid things like bomb-making: microelectronics, books about extracting chemicals from food etc. Private prison libraries are different, there are more restrictions, e.g. real life crime books can be banned. Libraries are not always seen as important by private prison companies even though they are essential and statutory. Outreach and publicity are important; liaising with managers and senior officers & service providers. Books related to other services are ordered and highlighted: coffee shop, gardens, events, drama group.

There are not many people working in the prison library, so it is hard to feel part of a team. It is important to make an effort with officers and healthcare workers as it takes a while to get to know them and for them to trust library staff. 3 prisoners work in the library at the moment, with a library assistant and senior library assistant as well as the librarian. One is studying for an NVQ as a library orderly funded by Women in Prison. There are problems with prisoner volunteers, and it is awkward when one has to be "sacked" as you still see them around. Rhyme Time with babies is valued, as babies aged up to 18 months stay with their mums in the prison. Organisations like the BBC organise creative writing and other events - prisoners loved rap poet Mr Gee.

Prison libraries have to have a qualified librarian, and hours a week, minimum size of the library, book numbers are specified. Assistant applicants don't have much library experience. It can be lonely. You can't be connected even via Twitter during the day. The CILIP prison librarians group is good. There is nowhere to go upwards career-wise, as there is nothing above qualified librarian, so everyone tends to be older and stay in their roles.

Male prisons are bigger and prisoners have more resources. Crime in women's prisons is low level, less organised, and the atmosphere is more relaxed. Deliveries in more secure prisons have to go through a security process, but Kate can bring things in and isn't searched. Only Iibrary staff can use the one online computer, orderlies have to just sit next to staff using it. Prisoners can use other PCs but staff must check/read documents before printing. The library is included as a resource in healthcare, and connects to housing and employment services. One of the most difficult aspects of the job is older prisoners ashamed about not being able to read. The appointment system can be a barrier, as prisoners often come from chaotic homes and lives, with negative experiences of education. Prisoners have to have enhanced status to get out CDs and DVDs. Extra cleaning and helping out results in green tickets: get 2 in a week and get enhanced status and extra library time. Kate gives green tickets to prisoners who are helpful in the library or bring back others' books. Red tickets are given if they misbehave or return books late.

I really enjoyed Kate's session and hope to take her up on her offer of visiting the prison library.

 

3. After lunch, the afternoon sessions moved outside to the park. I brought my picnic blanket, as this had been mooted earlier in the week on Twitter when it became apparent that the good weather would be continuing. It was time for my second session, which was on accessibility and invisible disabilities. I concentrated on the latter not just because my own are invisible (autism, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy), and my research interests lie in this area, but also because speaking to other people about it confirmed my view that while library services at least try to cater for more "obvious" physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health, and some provide support and services for disabled children, adults with disabilities like mine or who deal with their impairments in a non-standard way tend to be unsupported.

Another member of the group agreed, as she is visually-impaired but does not read Braille and prefers not to be stuck with the limited range of large print books or reading groups that are only for the blind. Signage and decent light was a common issue for both of us. Non-disabled members spoke about sensory and other issues that they had noticed but not raised, and the importance of doing so pro-actively rather than reactively (based on complaints or known issues around disabled staff/users) was discussed. What is good for people with disabilities is often good practice for everyone.

I believe that this session went really well, and people seemed to think that it was useful. It made me want to lead more sessions and presentations on the topic in the future. Lesley has written about it in more detail; it feels quite awkward to go on and on about my own session. I mentioned that often good information and resources can be found at the websites for specific disabilities, for example the NAS, RNIB and Scope.

 

4. My final session of the day was Dace's session on new professionals in Latvia and the UK, and this was a great one to end on. Lesley and Carly have covered the session well, but it felt like the sort of discussion we should be having more often. And lots of us would like to join an international wing of the Latvian group, because for such a new organisation they are doing so much and so well.

The Latvian new professionals conference will have lectures from "gurus" about practical skills - fundraising, other skills - sharing experience and personal knowledge. Dace has been in the UK for 2 years. She is taking her experience back to Latvia. The country has 1 library school, and of 25 new graduates a year, only 8 work in libraries. There are only 200-250 new professionals in an ageing profession and they must stick together. It is important to raise the profile of librarianship: there as here it is low paid, with levels of respect and understanding dropping.

Carly said she thought it was important to give career talks and has got involved. It's not just about showing librarianship as a career option, but also raising awareness of what we do for new graduates who go into other professions. Library schools need to review what they teach to give people better skills and more practical experience of things like budgets and management. The New Professionals network can fill the skills gap, and it is important to offer events for free or with bursaries for new professionals, students and the unemployed - but funding or finding event spaces for free can be very difficult. Dace said her group have to fundraise in Latvia in order to do anything as they are only a small group. Even so, they are committed to blogging as a group 3 times a week. Every member makes one post a month. Lecturers ask students to read the articles they post. They make a presentation to library school once a year (undergrad) and go into schools and have good links with IFLA.

Latvian new professionals help public libraries and ran a competition for jokes from libraries for April Fool's Day. They ran an email list for Library Day in the Life. 30 librarians took part in the project, making Latvia the 3rd most active country after UK and US, The feedback was that they are very excited about the next one. Dace is involved with other fun events like Cycling For Libraries.

 

This post has also been published on my blog: PennyBinary

Courtesy of @kevupnorth Flickr creative commons (kw_online_uk)

Yesterday I travelled to a very hot and sunny Horsforth for Library Camp Leeds. Library Camps use an un-conference format which is very informal and encourages participants to propose and choose session topics on the day. Its based on Open Space Technology. This was my first Library Camp and at first I was a little unsure as to the setup; it all seemed a bit chaotic for someone who thrives on structure and routine but I ended up liking the relaxed atmosphere (including setting up Camp in the local park!)

Of the many proposed sessions I attended four: Twitter behaviour; fun and games in libraries; accessibility for library users with hidden disabilities and new professionals in Latvia and the UK.

Carly proposed the session on how our behaviour on Twitter (and other social networks) can impact the way we are perceived and our professional lives. Three themes emerged from the discussions:

• One, what you say online can and probably will be read by your current employers, your potential employers, your colleagues, your peers, and your friends so choose what you say wisely. Its easy to get a sense of someone (both good and bad) from their Tweets. 
• Two, there is the possibility of a divide forming between young people who appreciate how to use social media and those who don't. It was suggested that parents who don't use social media in their jobs won't be able to inform their children about the pitfalls of misusing social media and being too open online. These young people could well be disadvantaged in the job market because of their online activities. 
• Three, there are many positives to Twitter such as the advertisement of jobs that you may not see elsewhere; problem solving and trouble shooting; feeling more included in your profession; knowing people online first makes conferences and events less intimidating and it can validate similar issues professionals are facing.

I was intrigued by Andrew's session on Fun and Games in Libraries as I'm currently tasked with improving our information skills training sessions at work and thought I could harness some of his ideas. The idea around gamification is to make commonplace activities (such as information skills training in this case) more engaging by introducing fun and play elements to them. This in turn enhances deep learning and reflection. I was a bit dubious as to how this could work with my library's users (professional healthcare staff) but Andrew offered the idea of leadership boards to encourage competitive use of the library. I could see how this could work and will definitely see if I can start something like this at my library.

After lunch Camp was moved outside into the simmering heat (my sunburnt shoulders are testament to the fact that I never remember suncream even though I am a pale freckly being!)

Penny led a session on Accessibility issues for people with hidden disabilities such as autism, dyspraxia and epilepsy. Penny argued that those who are high-functioning will often not have any specialist help offered to them as its perceived that they don't need it. Inclusivity and accessibility is helpful to all library users as everyone needs clear unambiguous signage, dedicated quiet areas and good lighting. Being proactive is always better than reacting to a problem once its been pointed out to you. The general consensus was that if something is irritating or affecting you (flickering lights, noisy 'quiet' areas, heavy doors, badly signposted sections, nowhere for users to sit for e.g.) just think how it might then be ten times worse for someone with a disability of any kind. The best kind of supportive resources for people with disabilities tend to be the ones that everyone either wants or can use (such as iPads). Creating specialist tools or resources isn't truly inclusive. Penny also suggested that charity websites tend to be the best places to research how libraries can make their service inclusive for all people.

And lastly Dace proposed a discussion about New Professionals. Dace is chair of the New Professional section of the Library Association of Latvia which was founded by six students (of which she was one) and now has fifteen members. In Latvia a tiny minority of all library professionals are new professionals; there is only one institution that teaches academic librarianship qualifications and of the 25 graduates in 2008 only 8 went on to work in libraries. (Ned Potter recently visited Latvia to speak about the profession to Information Science students and to see how well the Latvian public library system works.) It seems that Latvian libraries are hugely respected by the people and the media yet very few undergraduates and even fewer postgraduates go on to work in them which is the opposite of what has happened in the UK. The government, media and general public has a rather apathetic view of libraries yet library qualifications (especially postgraduate) are very popular. This is likely to change with the rising fees of postgraduate study and the lack of post-qualification professional jobs; something that CILIP, universities and library employers need to be addressing. Since 2008/9 new professionalism has snowballed but there are still issues that people feel need addressing to support people entering the profession such as:

• Awards aimed at new professionals should be more widely promoted
• Conferences, events and workshops should be cheaper (or free) for students and recent graduates without jobs
• CILIP membership fees seem unfair. The jump between the student price and the employed price is huge.
• Practical 'real world' library management/professional skills are often not included in postgraduate courses
• Many people see CILIP as a passive organisation not supporting a sometimes demoralised section of its profession
• Links between European and UK new professional organisations should be encouraged and good ideas should be replicated. For e.g. Latvia has a 'library marathon' and many countries are involved with Cycling for Libraries

All in all an intriguing day meeting very enthusiastic library people. I've got my eye on the main Library Camp on the 13th October!

A big thank you to everyone involved in organising the event LibraryCamp, Carolin, Richard, Carly, Sue and Leeds Library and Information Service who provided Horsforth Library free of charge

You can read others' thoughts on the day here: Carolin, Carly and Penny

This post has also been published on my blog: HerSlantFinely

On Friday 11th May I attended the 2012 New Professionals Day organised by CILIP, a day for anyone new to the profession to learn, network, be inspired, and eat burritos. There was a fantastic mix of people there; I met one other person who, like me, was just entering the profession but hadn't yet begun, along with current graduate trainees, library assistants, librarians, information assistants, students, people returning to the profession or moving from very different sectors.

The key speakers were all fantastic, as were the workshops, and I would highly recommend the day to anyone thinking of attending in the future.  There were so many great ideas to come out of the day that I couldn't possibly list them all so I thought I'd do a brief summary.

 

Key Speakers

Ned Potter is well known to a lot of people already, but as this is the first library event I've attended this was the first time I've had the opportunity to attend one of his talks.  He really is as good as the rumours would have you believe - engaging, funny, thought-provoking but not in a dominating/preachy way, I found his talk incredibly interesting and could certainly have listened to more. The central theme of Ned's talk was DON'T PANIC!!!  Speaking about your 'brand', Ned let us know that - we already have a brand, and we have no control over it....but remember, DON'T PANIC!!!  For me, the key things I took from his talk were:

• Learning that your brand is essentially "what people say about you when you're not in the room".
• When considering if you need to develop a 'brand' for yourself, consider what you want to achieve.
• Find out what your ideal employer cares about and extract the parts of your experience that match this.
• Match your brand to your path!
• Don't worry about that others are doing - it's unlikely this will be relevant to your goals
• A successful brand is a by-product of your goals being developed (in a networked way)
• You should be an open resource - nothing is gained by keeping this you develop secret - Be part of the community!
• Get online (control what people find, interact - have conversations, be useful and interesting)
• If you're not sure you should put something online - imagine your boss is reading it!
• Link all your social media together
• You can create a brand by publishing something, organising something, sharing something, presenting something.

And so it was that on the 8^th day of October in the year of our Library 2011, a hundred or so librarians and library lovers convened in Birmingham, thanks to the organisational skills of @libraryjmac . It was only the second library event I’d ever been to, and I really can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it...however this blogpost is an attempt to try! Here are all the things we have to thank @libraryjmac for:

Super Saturday

Having just finished my MA dissertation, moved house and started a new job, I haven’t had acres of spare time recently. Therefore, I have to confess to feeling a little sceptical about giving up my Saturday as it was the first one in a while not being spent moving furniture or on hold to British Gas (other craptacular energy suppliers are available). I had originally signed up in July, A.K.A. P-DH-I (Pre-dissertation hand-in), and October seemed very far away. But I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss, and duly got up at 6.30 on a Saturday to go from East to West Midlands to join the other library campers.

And what a joy it was. From the moment I got there, the atmosphere was buzzing and I spent the whole day on a similar high. I attended sessions on Cataloguing and Classification, the future of libraries, breaking down barriers between different sectors, modernising public libraries/dealing with cuts and one on social media, specifically #uklibchat (which I actually helped run...).. I enjoyed all the sessions immensely and could have gone to many more. The place was full of smiling happy library people – including some I knew a lot about, but had not had the pleasure of meeting in person before. Which brings me to:

Meeting virtual friends and fellow professionals

I only really got into Twitter and blogging this year, but have found it a really useful, informative and above all enjoyable way to relate to other library folk and learn more about the library world in general. Library Camp was a great way of meeting some of the people who I’ve enjoyed interacting with online, specifically a couple of tweeters who got in touch with me after my WI talk on the Save Libraries Campaign, and the #uklibchat team. We’ve been running fortnightly Twitter chats about libraries for the past couple of months (quick plug: if this sounds like it interests you, please go to our website uklibchat.wordpress.com)

I also however found it massively rewarding hearing from and talking to people I hadn’t known about before, such as Sara Batts (@BattyTowers). I do sometimes worry that Twitter can be a bit exclusive and cliquey but I found it just as easy talking to people who I didn’t know virtually.

Broadening Library Horizons

I work in a very niche sector as a librarian for a chartered organisation. Therefore it’s interesting to meet other library people from a variety of different sectors and circumstances. I personally think that there’s not enough of this going on, and it was great that some of the sessions during the day focussed on cross-sectoral understanding and working together.

On the day I met public librarians, HE librarians, FE librarians, commercial librarians, law librarians and even some non-librarians who were there just for the library love. Even at library school, we never got a chance to meet such a variety of library people. Library camp really reaffirmed how huge and various our profession is – but also by some kind of divine spell, had you going away with a warm fuzzy feeling of love and respect for the professional as a whole.

“That’s A Learning I Made”

The way that Library Camp worked meant you couldn’t go to all the sessions, but man, did my head get crammed with some awesome ideas and the smartness of a hundred or so library campers! Not only did I personally benefit from hearing feedback about #uklibchat, but I learnt about things I’d never dreamed of before the day. In some sessions, my main train of thought was simply “I must remember to look that up when I get home.” Really cool things like the Chicago Underground Library 

Going to the sessions also made me realise a few things about my own job and about libraries more generally. Like when you catalogue, don’t worry about getting the perfect number, and don’t think you are the only librarian not cataloguing “properly.” Or that whilst many of the “solutions” to the challenges libraries are facing have been proposed many times before, there are some genuinely exciting new ideas out there, like the teen librarians in San Francisco taking their Manga stock out on carts and wheeling it round the city streets.

So long and thanks for all the cake

So that was my Library Camp. Last but not least however, I should also say the chance to sample some excellent cake-based goodies was a major highlight of the day (Special mention must go to @deadlylibrarian ‘s brownies).Thanks to all those who made it such a satisfying day – for both my cake hungry-stomach, and my ideas-hungry brain.

 

 

To start with Rachel…I’m an academic librarian working in Bristol. I finished my MA at Sheffield in 2010 and this is my first role since. I’ve been involved in supporting fellow LIS new professionals for a while, through being a LISNPN admin and a New Professional Support Officer (NPSO) for the CILIP Career Development Group (CDG).  I think that LISNPN is such a valuable resource for new professionals, and that’s because of the contributions from its members. Please keep writing guest blogs and keep sharing ideas, experiences and questions in the forum – and of course, experienced professionals are welcome to share their wisdom too.

Now that another academic year and dissertation deadline has passed, I’d like to make another request for anonymous reviews of your library course; they are so helpful for people trying to decide where to invest their time, energy and money. You can look at the current examples in the Resources section for the kind of thing we’re looking for. I would also love to forge some links between LISNPN and the NPSOs dotted around the UK (as well as any international equivalents!), so if that’s you, I’ll be hunting you down soon if I haven’t already!

If you’ve got any questions , suggestions, or anything else I can help with, feel free to get in touch. You can follow me on Twitter @rachel_s_b– I must warn you however that my Twitter account is also an outlet for my non-LIS interests, such as my obsession with volcanoes!

I’m Lex, also an academic librarian. I’ve worked at the University of Sheffield for the last three years as a Liaison Librarian for the Science and Engineering faculties. I graduated from Librarianship in 2007, so although I’m not actually that new to it anymore I’m still learning so much and figuring out what I want to do next and where I want to be.

LISNPN is a truly inspiring project to be involved with... I see it as one of those ‘for the people, by the people’ things. It’s us, as a network, making it a great place to share, support and develop ideas. I’m keen to hear more from those under represented. I cheer for the underdogs let’s say. I want to read more about niche librarianship e.g. a day in the life of a military librarian, what an archivist gets up to day to day. That kind of thing. If that’s you, get in touch! We have the power to give you the power to get your story out there.

I’m on Twitter too (@lexrigby)... but if you’re not, don’t worry I’m around the Internet a lot, you’ll find me.

Let’s just get this out of the way first: cataloguers have a bit of an image problem.  But, let’s face it, so have librarians and you’re here at LISNPN so we already know that you – my esteemed reader - can see past lazy stereotypes and tired old clichés, right? So let’s just move on…

I love solving problems. Each piece I catalog is a puzzle. I can use that talent  to help end users and my colleagues in reference @erinaleach

I love being a cataloguer but I can’t give you a catch-all description of what life is like as a cataloguer. There are as many types of cataloguer role as there are types of library: what is involved with vary with the size and nature of the collection, the types of materials acquired, the balance of in-house versus outsourced record creation, the software used. Cataloguing could mean dealing with books. Or serials. Or purely online resources.  Or institutional repositories. Or artefacts, teaching materials, [fill in the blank yourself]. I can tell you that cataloguing takes place in a constantly evolving environment, so cataloguers need to be adaptable, forward-thinking and, at the very least, not afraid of technology. 

…it’s never boring: the challenge of figuring out how to make things accessible/findable @slmcdanold

There are many job titles for what we do: cataloguer, metadata technician, bibliographic services librarians, technical services/acquisitions/collection description. There are also plenty of library roles which involve some cataloguing without being defined as a “cataloguer”: for example, subject specialist, dealing with a special collection or solo librarian-who-does-everything.

To get some ideas of why people love cataloguing, whether they are full-time cataloguers or just do cataloguing as part of their wider role, I asked on Twitter for people to complete the sentence “I love cataloguing because…”. The quotes throughout my post are just a handful of the many replies I received within a couple of hours. These short quotes paint a better picture of the heart and soul of cataloguing than I could ever do myself.

...because my precise yet creative descriptions facilitate discovery by stealth. Patron: ‘Wow! I didn’t even know that existed’ @angefitzpatrick

...because it makes me more familiar with the books & therefore with the library, which means I can answer readers’ queries better @lemurph 

 

...because I feel like the anatomist of a book, I discover internal  intricacies,  pin down inner meaning, & enhance findability @darklecat

If you want to find out more, I’d advise you to start with the comments on the Anatomy of cataloger post, where many eloquent and passionate cataloguers explain what they do and why they love it. For even more,  try the High Visibility Cataloguing site (or, for those of you on Twitter, try searching for the hashtag #hvcats). At High Visibility Cataloguing, we are planning more ways to explain what cataloguers do and give a better sense of what it means on a practical, day-to-day level to be a cataloguer. It would also be a good place for anyone interested in getting in touch with cataloguers, to ask questions and find out more.

… because information is power,  and I control the information ;) @evil_jen

...gives ability to be a well-rounded librarian:  we wear many hats,  cat[aloguing] is a good foundation @hippylibrarian

Is there any position more dreaded than "cataloger"?  Not because they're scary, but because none of us really want to do it?  Because we don't really love LOC, Dewey, FRBR, AACR2, or ISBD?  Or any of the metadata standards?

I can't think of anyone I went to LIS school with who liked cataloging.  We all thought of it as a necessary evil.  I've had to do some cataloging, and I haven't changed my tune overmuch.  Copy cataloging is fine, but original cataloging?  Forget it.

To do cataloging, day in, day out, you have to be so meticulous it hurts.  And it will hurt...your eyes, if nothing else, but more likely your back and shoulders too, from leafing through all those aforementioned manuals and figuring out what metadata to use.  You have to be nit-picky about whether or not something belongs just slightly better elsewhere, and memorizing a basic Cutter table helps.

But, on the bright side, the cataloger is the road map to all things within the library.  Without them, we wouldn't be able to find anything.  As librarians, we're often taught to respect the call number, but we don't think too much about the people who put it there.  Catalogers are off in their own little nooks/rooms, with unprocessed, not-quite-alive materials, quietly going about their work with dignity and the calm knowledge that when they take a day off, the person who draws the short straw will be looking for items that can be copy-cataloged.

Catalogers are respected in an abstract way, I think, when they're thought of at all.  It's not a glamorous position, a high-visibility position, or one with a lot of change.  If you like a reliable, steady sort of work, then cataloging might just be for you.  Just don't let other librarians forget the important role that you play in getting materials to patrons!

Quick: who do you go to when you walk into most libraries?  A reference librarian.  Chances are, they get more circulation questions than the circulation desk (especially if there happens to be a line at circulation), plus all the reference questions they field in person, and via telephone and email.

Reference librarians can get the reputation of the "cool librarian" because they're the ones who know where the Anarchist's Cookbook is, where you can find information about things like pornography industry statistics, and why men have nipples (hint: there's a book for that!); from the patron's point of view, the reference librarian can get you answers to questions you'd never ask another person, and show you how to get it yourself in case you don't want to ask why that itches next time (disclaimer: see a doctor, not a librarian, for any and all medical questions).  They boldly go where information lives, returning victorious with an answer in their hands.

Reference librarians also, in my experience, have a high rate of burnout.  Besides answering questions, they keep stats about all the work they do.  They have to be politically savvy, or should be, at any rate, and learn how to balance needs of "normal" patrons with needs of VIP patrons.  They need to learn about what exactly the First Amendment covers when it's a minor asking a question, or how to deal with someone who either as a joke or in earnest wants to know where to buy drugs or hire a prostitute.  Reference librarians face tremendous pressure from both outside and within the profession to provide information regardless of their personal feelings.  A classic example: should a reference librarian who also happens to be Catholic be required to assist a patron in finding a clinic that performs abortions?  Should a reference librarian who suspects a patron is severely depressed also help that patron find information about methods of suicide?  Ideally, these questions are answered in policies and the library director/manager is available to escalate the situation if needed.  Ideals don't always happen.

Reference librarians do what our lofty goals tell us is important: they match those who have information needs with information that meets those needs.  They see sides of enquiry that other types of librarians don't, but they also deal with sides of our patrons we might rather not meet.  It's a high calling, but the job can be stressful and, from what I've been told, sometimes disappointing because of patron attitudes toward scholarly work and repetitive questions about the location of the bathroom.  This job isn't for every personality, so ask yourself if you can deal with the types of "boring", "everyday" questions that make up a fair amount of reference work.

The quintessential librarian is somehow audibly linked with the noise of a scanner (or a stamp, for those of us who remember card catalogs).  Those noises come from circulation.  The time-honored function of a librarian, allowing patrons to borrow books for a set period of time, seemed like a good place to start because most people, librarian or not, have a basic understanding of what a circulation librarian does in the average day.

But aside from checking out books, the circulation librarian is the one who processes late fees, overdue notices, and makes sure they're sent out in a timely manner.  This means they're also the ones dealing with upset/angry patrons who find out they can't borrow a material indefinitely, or that missing pages are in fact the responsibility of the borrower when it's the borrower's child who tore them out.  Or that waiving fines because someone "forgot" is an unacceptable reason.

I think, as far as abuse goes, it's split pretty evenly between reference and circulation librarians.  You need a thick skin to deal with frustrated patrons, and the patience to try and help them work through whatever their problem is, regardless of cause or fault.  You have to be willing to be the bad guy, too, telling parents they don't have a right to their 8-year-old's library records because their child is protected by the First Amendment, or defending some material selection because you're the convenient person to whom venting outrage is easy.

It's fun helping people find materials; similar to a guessing game, you find out what they like to read and then make suggestions based on that, or point them toward a previously-unconsidered genre.  It's not fun dealing with those same people when they're frustrated and having to be sympathetic, because as librarians we can forget that it's not always as easy for our patrons and that our systems don't always make sense to anyone but us.

Like being on the front lines?  Consider circulation.

The rest of the admin team remains largely unchanged (although Jo Alcock who's done a lot of work on LISNPN's social media presences is stepping down and we thank her muchly for all she's done...) and Rachel and Lex have lots of good ideas to take things forward. 

We're also delighted to finally announce some sponsors! The site has so many members and so much traffic that we pay for a Premium Spruz package - so Phil Bradley (and another sponsor to be finalised later today) have generously stepped in to cover these costs. The ads will appear on the top-left hand side of the home-page, so do click on them (and maybe on some of Phil's own site's ads as well!) and have a look - obviously, we're only accepting sponsorship from legitimate and library-and-information related sources...  And also obviously, but it warrants stating explicitly, all the sponsorship money goes into the site.

To start a network in an already crowded social-media-market-place and get more than 1,200 members is a great thing, I think - thank you to everyone who has helped get us this far, and here's to whatever happens next!

Cheers,

Ned Potter (former LISNPN admin)

 

As a relatively new librarian, I’ve had the good fortune to become a professional in an era where there are several outlets one can post a job, find a job, or promote your brand. I’ve also had the misfortune to come on board in a job economy that isn’t what it was five years ago for librarians, making it easy for employers to demand a certain level of experience for a certain amount of pay that wouldn’t have gotten a single applicant in years past.

All of the people I keep tabs on from library school don’t have full-time library jobs. Some have part-time jobs in libraries, that they then supplement with part-time jobs in other fields.  Granted, I certainly don’t keep tabs on everyone I graduated with, and I’m sure some went right from school into a job.  I just don’t think that’s the majority anymore.

It’s possible that all the graduates that have a “nostalgic” idea of what the job market “used to be” really have no idea what it was; those people who imagine that going to the “right” school and networking with your professors would get you an inside track into openings and really good positions, all based on a recommendation of how well you handled yourself in class and how your test scores were – are they making this ideal up?  I don’t know, as I certainly don’t know anyone this happened to.  It could be the situation that happened exactly once, and then was propagated via anecdote.

In any case, my experience in today’s job market is that if you are an unknown, the employer just isn’t interested.

Graduating librarians should note that “unknown” used to mean “no work experience”.  That’s not necessarily the case: you don’t need experience to transition from an unknown to a known.  Conversely, you can have experience but still be largely unknown.  The reason for that is simple: social media.  Today, everyone and their dogs (in some cases, literally) has a Facebook, or a Twitter, or a LinkedIn account.  I’m sure they’ll all start getting Google+ accounts too.  If you’re not on at least one of these platforms, you’re an unknown.  More importantly, you need to be on these platforms professionally.  That means no Facebook page where you’re friends with someone named “Cuddles McGee” unless that person had parents with an odd sense of humor.  You should have a professional headshot, with all your work experience listed, subscribe to feeds that relate to your profession, and list interests that are professional, along with a couple that are personal.  This page needs to be searchable, and you need to be aware of the type of content you’re creating.

More than ever, our professional reputations need to be public and visible.  It’s no longer enough to put in your hours at your job, do well, and hope to get noticed by superiors.  That model worked when you were likely to stay with an employer, or within a small geographic area, for your entire career.  Today, it’s not enough to have a career; you have to curate your career, just as you would a valuable collection.  What could be more important to your career than your reputation?  It’s not built on hard work alone.  You need to demonstrate that you’re interested and active in your field, that you have something to say and know how to say it, that you not only see the problems out there, but are capable of developing solutions.  The solutions don’t have to be perfect, the activities don’t have to be dull, but you must do something.

Build your brand while you’re still in school, through student organizations and as many internships as you can stomach.  Do poster sessions at conferences if you can afford to, and if you can’t, try to publish articles in student publications.  Bare minimum, maintain a professional Facebook and post links to stories and comment on them.  Offer to conduct workshops at your local library (they might turn you down, so check community colleges too).  Build networks of professionals and listen to their advice.  I know, you’ve heard this before.  Now more than ever, getting a job requires you to brand yourself and demonstrate your professional abilities and interests.

You curate your career because, honestly, it’s a lot of work.  It takes time to find things to comment on, and to write.  It takes creativity and energy that you could direct to some other aspect of your life.  But, being an information professional, you should be aware of the power of publicly available information, and you should be on that wave.  It’s “curating” because it requires attention, time, and nurturing that our predecessors didn’t have to put in unless they were senior management.

Today, everyone has a reputation.  Use it.

If you want to write a blog post for LISNPN, or even a series of posts, then let us know - leave a comment, or send me an email - ned @ thewikiman DOT org. It can be about anything that you think will be useful or interesting for those who've joined the library and information professions within the last decade or so.

If you've written such a post on your own blog and would like it to appear on LISNPN as well, that's fine too! A recent example of this is Laura's 'library school experience' post - it originally appeared on her own blog, and she generously rewrote it for this site too.

So, get involved - LISNPN wants your blogs!

- Ned

 

Some of you may remember that my blog, That's Not Online!, won an LISNPN-sponsored competition, the purpose of which was to create library advocacy materials that reach outside the usual audience for that type of thing.  That's Not Online is a blog about information and resources that are not online, and where to find them.  I have posted on many and varied topics, from independent Cuban libraries to small Finnish museums to zines to the digital divide in America and worldwide.  In this way, and by using Tumblr, a great platform for collaboration, and Twitter, a wonderful promotional tool, my audience grew to include people from diverse communities.

So my entry was a success, and my prize was attending CILIP's Umbrella Conference on a Full Residential Delegate pass.  It was a fantastic experience.  Although the contest is over, I don't think That's Not Online! has outlived its purpose -- it calls much-needed attention to resources that are often overlooked.  But the very nature of the blog means that it is difficult to maintain.  Offline information will, of course, be very difficult to find when one's resources consist of little more than skillful internet searching.  Finding things to write about can be incredibly challenging.  Not only that, but it's important that each post be well-researched, thorough and interesting.  I, like many of you, have a job and a life to maintain, and I'm finding it difficult to update That's Not Online! more than once every two weeks or so.

That's Not Online! is set up to be a group blog.  It has been my goal from the beginning to recruit a team of contributors to write posts and also help me develop a plan for the future.  Maybe you're a library school student looking for a little extra experience to make you stand out.  Maybe you want to start an LIS-themed blog, but don't know where to start.  Maybe you just have lots of great suggestions for things to write about.  Whatever the case, if you can write and you can research, and you have an interest in the topic, please let me know if you'd like to help out.

It would help if you could point me toward something you've written and tell me a little bit about yourself.  I am primarily interested in writers for the blog, but if you'd like to contribute in some other way, like suggesting a topic, translating a post into another language, or improving my metadata or web design, that's great too.  Obviously, I can't offer you anything in return other than experience and exposure -- but maybe that's exactly what you need!  Leave a comment, tweet or send a direct message @thatsnotonline, use my Tumblr ask box, or just email me at i [dot] barlova [at] gmail [dot] com.  I can't wait to hear from you.

Have a little look...

New Professionals Conference 2011 - Debrief!

Helen - Supercharging your CPD

Second to present a paper was Rachel Bickley, on the subject of 'Establishing a dialogue between new and experienced professionals'. Establishing a dialogue and avoiding seeming cliquey was a theme that several of the papers and workshops touched on, as throughout the day we were encouraged to talk to more experienced professionals, colleagues at work, and the public at large, letting them know what it is we do, and the value of what we do.

The final paper in the morning was given by Sam Wiggins and Laura Williams. I found their paper 'What makes an Information 'Professional'?'really interesting, as I'd seen their survey and was keen to know what other people thought about this question. I would consider myself to be a 'Professional' despite not being chartered or even qualified, and since it was after all the New Professionals Conference, I'm sure many of the other attendees would too. Because I'm in a graduate trainee role, and have always intended to get my MA, I see myself as a professional albeit a (very) new one! Sam and Laura's research led them to come up with the following definition of what makes a Professional: "possession of qualifications, experience or skills, alongside an underlying professional attitude." I guess I've got the attitude and am picking up the rest on the way!

Sam and Laura - What makes an Information 'Professional'?

We then split off into our groups for the first workshop session. I'd chosen a workshop on 'Information roles - expanding our horizons' run by Nicola Forgham-Healey and Franko Kowalczuk. In this session we were given a collection of required skills taken from job listings on recruitment websites, and had the task of dividing them by whether they were traditional and non-traditional librarian skills. Although we were asked to divide them, my group ended up making more of a continuum, as did most others. We were then asked to pick three which we could improve on or get more experience in (for me: budget/finance skills, leadership skills, communication skills), and then as a group pick 5 which would be essential for all information roles. Good communicator came top, then professionalism, prioritising/time management, team player, and internet savvy. Interestingly "organising information" was only chosen by two groups, which I was quite surprised by.

After lunch, my second workshop was with Alice Halsey and Simon Barron from Voices for the Library. The theme of the workshop was 'Getting involved: activism for new professionals'. Besides fanning the flames of my Kindle-envy (Simon was using his Kindle to read his notes!), this workshop was one of the parts of the day I enjoyed the most, as it was great to hear from two members of a group that I really admire. It was also a very positive session, and I'm sure many people came away feeling encouraged to get more involved in library activism.

Then it was back to the lecture theatre for the final three papers of the day. Ka-Ming Pang and Jo Norwood were up first with 'Can we play? Building opportunities for LIS student activism and why it matters'. Despite the fact that four of the speakers during the day were currently studying for a library MA, library students often don't seem to be that engaged or active. Like in Rachel's paper in the morning, the importance of effective communication and networking was emphasised. I particularly liked the suggestion of a regular #libchatstyle event at a more convenient time for us Brits. If anyone were to start up a #libchatUK, I'd be a regular participant!

Up next was Megan Wiley, who works as a Careers Information Specialist. Megan talked about the importance of making sure your work wasn't 'for your eyes only', but sharing what you do with your non-librarian colleagues, and proving the worth of your LIS qualification. If your colleagues don't know what you do, they won't be able to recommend your services to students!

The final paper 'Teaching old books new tricks: how special collections outreach can help you, your career, and your library' was by my travelling companions Katie Birkwood and Naomi Herbert. I'd heard a bit of this presentation on the train on the way up, but was looking forward to seeing the whole thing. Katie and Naomi have both done a lot of outreach work at St Johns College, and although it looks like a lot of work, it also looks really good fun. Katie and Naomi won the prize for the best paper, so the extra practice on the train clearly paid off!

Presenters from the afternoon session - Megan, Katie, Ka-Ming, Naomi, Jo
 

There were several themes running through the day. As well as establishing a dialogue/avoiding cliqueyness which I've already mentioned (and which has spawned its own discussion thread on Twitter and on the LISNPN forums), we were encouraged throughout the day to make things happen for ourselves, not to sit around and wait for things to come our way. Finally there was the question of ‘Professionalism’ and attitude. In Biddy Fisher’s closing remarks I think she summed it up very well with “enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and commitment – that’s what makes a New Professional”.

I had a fantastic time in Manchester, and very much hope to be at the 2012 New Professionals Conference!

 

I decided to be a modern girl and let my iPhone show me the way to CILIP  HQ (a feat helped immensely when I finally remembered to switch on location services!). Once I’d found my way there, I realised it was still only 8.45 and wondered if I’d look too keen if I went on in, a bit early. I decided to suck it up and was greeted by some very lovely ladies, who gave me a pack stuffed full of info about the day, and CILIP (and a pen!) and pointed me towards coffee, and (gulp!) other people with whom I could ‘network’. 

Networking, and the importance of it was one of the themes of the day, and I’m gad to say that I met some very lovely librarians, some of whom I had already encountered on twitter, (and some of whom I now follow). After copious amounts of coffee and OJ and a tiny croissant, we headed up to the first session, delivered to us as a group en masse:

 

Steve Clarke- Your attitude determines your altitude:

The first session was a little bit ‘outside the box’ from what you’d expect at a library association event. Not that I’ve ever been to one before, but even so, getting an experienced salesman to speak to new librarians seemed odd. 

Overall, it seemed that he made a good impression on some people, and slightly perplexed others. I liked him, despite my inherent mistrust of those business type guys, although I did get a little lost during his flight metaphor!

I’m not sure how many people in the room were convinced by his idea that we’re all essentially in sales, but his message was a positive one, and set a positive tone for the rest of the day, even if some of us missed his point a bit.

 

After this introduction, we popped back for a bit more coffee and OJ while the rooms were set up, and then split into groups to attend the next few sessions.

 

Alex Wilson-Campbell- Getting a Job.

At the end of the day, we found out that it was Alex’s birthday, and I can think of a billion things that I’d rather do on my birthday than give a presentation to a room full of people (twice!) but the presentation contained some excellent advice, so I’m glad he decided that a day at CILIP was the best birthday treat. 

There was some really good advice about how to tailor your CV, and how to approach employment agencies (top tip: treat your recruitment consultant like a friend, and form a relationship with them so that they start to think of you first as jobs come in) and also some great pointers on the difference between your qualities and your skills, and how to capitalize on these to get the job that you want. He was very friendly and approachable and gave some great tips on how to look at the ‘hidden job market’ too.

 

Lyndsay Rees-Jones- Getting experience:

Lyndsay had a great story about her career so far, and it really opened my eyes to the different types of experience available and how getting involved with your professional body can really kick-start your career. It was great to hear about someone’s successful career, and about how important it is to build up your contacts within the profession, this talk left me feeling really inspired and engaged with the profession, and really excited about ‘not saying no’ and putting myself out there with my local CILIP group to see what happens!

 

Bethan Ruddock-Getting Involved:

Bethan was really inspirational, I had never realised that there were so many different professional bodies that I could join, and it was great to hear from someone who is so enthusiastic about the profession, especially when it seems to be such a difficult time for librarians in general. 

As with Lyndsay, Bethan’s talk really made me wonder why I’ve been so scared to get involved with CILIP events, and I came away from this session with a renewed sense of excitement to get involved, and with a half year resolution to try and attend more events. (I’ve also committed myself, via post-it to do the CPD 23 things- an idea that I was ‘thinking about’).

 

Maria Cotera-Getting International:

Maria was my last session of the day. She’s had such a varied involvement with different organisations such as CILIP and IFLA (fun fact: as a CILIP member, you’re automatically an IFLA member too) and is so passionate about the positive impact that librarians can have on the world, that yet again I felt so inspired by her. I’ve been thinking about  applying for various conference awards, and the traveling librarian award for a while now, and keep thinking myself out of them, but Maria has inspired my second half year resolution: to apply for more conference awards, on the off chance that I might get to go to some more brilliant events.

 

All in all, the day was so engaging and inspiring. I’m getting to the end of my graduate trainee year,and am due to start my Masters in September, and this day gave me a renewed sense of excitement about my new profession. Once I’ve finished my trainee year, I fully intend to become more involved in my local CILIP group, and hope that the people that I met today will become part of my professional network as my career progresses. 

If anyone is hesitant about attending the NPID next year, all I can say is, go on, what’s the worst that can happen?

 

I’ll see you next to the mini croissants at the 2012 NPID :)