Thing 13 - Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

I often work at home and either print a document off or if I need it at work email it to myself.  This doesn't always work as the format often changes.  Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox will all help me to access my work from wherever I am.  I don't very often work on shared projects, but there have been occasions.  We have saved the work in shared documents at work.  The problem with this though is if I want to continue at home, I can't access the document easily.  Thing 13 has provided the solution to this.  We don't have to worry about saving the document in shared, it can be saved on any of these three applications.  From watching the really easy to understand video, Wikis looks like the best application for collaborative work.  I will certainly be using Dropbox to save work I do at home which I want to use at work and vice versa.  For documents that I want to share, I think either Dropbox or Google Docs look best as it looks easy to set up who can share.  How I have understood these applications, Wikis is best for actual collaborative work, whereas the other two are good for accessing documents from different locations by using log-ins, and are good for sharing information with others, which can be added to or edited. 

Thing 12 - Social Networks

As well as networking, social networks are useful for raising awareness about specific events or important issues.  I believe that they do foster a sense of community especially when used regularly.  You start to recognise names and remember what people have said.  They can be used to discuss things unrelated to work if someone comments on something.  When you are at home reading different people's comments, and you comment back because you know what someone is talking about or you feel strongly about what they have said and want to add more, then you start to feel that you are part of a group and not just at home looking at the computer, you are not on your own.

Thing 12 - Mentoring

Just read through Thing 12 on mentoring.  I have a mentor through my chartreship and have to say she has inspired me to want to go on to mentor myself.  My mentor has been really supportive and helped me develop both my confidence and ideas.  It has been really beneficial to have a mentor in a different sector as I have learned about different aspects of the profession.

The idea of an informal mentor is interesting in that this could be someone at work with whom one can talk to about professional matters but also observe them and so learn from them.

Chartership

I am pleased with myself for getting down and writing the first draft of my evaluative statement.  I was expecting it to be too long, possibly around 2000 words and am quite pleased that it is just over 1200.  So lots to be edited out but at least I have started.

Thing 10 - My experiences as a librarian

I started off managing a primary school library.  I was given the responsibility of transforming a bunch of book shelves with out of date books into a busy, well-used library.  At this stage I had no training but had a strong interest in library work.  I attended various training events and loved every minute of this challenge.  After three years of hard work, the library was used by nearly every pupil in the school on a regular basis, I had a team of volunteers who supervised classes in their sessions.  I ran a library club which was very popular.  I held events for World Book Day and other occasions.  I had improved the stock on a very limited budget.  I could go on but I won't. 

Because I loved the challenge and the satisfaction of what I had achieved so far I decided to train on a postgraduate course as a librarian.  By the time I left this employment I had only two months training left.  I then moved into a sixth form college as a librarian.  This is quite a different environment but one with its own areas which I love.  I have run special events such as the National Short Story Week, and have several planned for the new term.  I have learned how to use various new technologies to reach users and I find that there is always some new area to develop to improve the service.

I love learning new skills and for this reason I am now working towards chartership.  I have attended lots of training courses this year as part of this and have loved every minute of them.  An area I particularly enjoy is networking.  It is so interesting to hear about the work of librarians in different sectors and to hear that we all have certain challenges in common. 

Thing 9 - Evernote

This is brilliant - everything in one place is so useful for planning and reflecting.  I haven't really done that much with this yet, but so far I am impressed.

Thing 8: Google calendar

On returning back to work I will look into using Google Calendar to inform users about various upcoming events, library closures etc.  This would be a useful tool to put on VLE in addition to posters which are put up. 

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

My first involvement with professional organisations has been through CILIP.  I have attended special interest group meetings through my work.  Initially I felt quite nervous as I was new to the profession and didn't know any others in the group.  In spite of this, however, I did feel the event was highly beneficial.  All the ideas along with developments and experiences which were discussed were interesting and in some cases inspiring.  I came away with new ideas which I shared with my colleagues.  It is also enlightening just to hear about other people's situations. 

I have also attended a local sub-branch outing, which I really enjoyed - a day trip to Jane Austen's Chawton.  This was not only an interesting day it was also really useful to network and meet other librarians.  I shall certainly be attending future events.

As I am working towards chartership I have attended several training events this year, all of which have involved networking with librarians in different sectors, which is interesting as through this we learn about different environments and how things work in them. 

In May I attended the ILIG conference on library advocacy held at CILIP in London .  There was plenty of opportunity for networking with librarians in all different sectors as well as finding out about different areas of the profession through the variety of talks which took place.  I found the IFLA talks extremely interesting, and learned so much about the work IFLA is involved in throughout the world. I wrote an article about this conference which was published in the July edition of the ILIG journal. 

In addition to these official organisations I am a member of LISNPN but have not yet seen an event which I would be able to attend.

Just this week, I have been looking into the possibility of restarting up a regional sub-group through CILIP.  It looks like this may be a challenging task, but one which I may well take up.
I know that as a result of networking events I have put new ideas into practice at work.  For librarians who care about their profession and want to develop professionally networking is clearly essential.  I know I have learned  so much from the various events I have attended and am keen to continue to attend events. 

Thing 6 - online networks

I am already a member of Twitter and LISNPN.  Have investigated the CILIP community section which I didn't realise was there, so will certainly look at this from now on.  I have heard of Linkedin but haven't yet signed up to this, nor am I signed up to FACEBOOK.

I find Twitter really useful for keeping abreast of up to date information.  It is easy to follow on my phone.  LISNPN is good for sharing ideas with others.  I haven't been keen on Facebook in the past, I think this has a lot to do with witnessing how addicted young people seem to be, it has never really appealed to me.  However, I can see how it can be useful in our profession, considering the impact it has on so many.  It is clearly a useful tool for reaching the younger generation.  Linkedin is something I will be looking at very soon.

Thing 5 - reflective practice

I feel that due to CPD23 I have learned some useful lessons about developing one's online presence.  I never really understood blogs before, but now I'm on my 6th post.  I can see the value of them, for putting thoughts down and making sense of what has been learned.  It is one thing to practice different things such as writing a blog, setting up a Twitter account etc.  The important thing is to see the difference this has made.  I now feel I can write a blog about anything, rather than needing to say something profound.  I regularly read Twitter and have found out about so many events and issues from reading this.  I have tweeted, nothing exciting, but tweets nonetheless.  These tools are valuable to our profession, not only to find out what's going on, but to share our own thoughts and ideas.  Through this, we all benefit.  Reflective writing is difficult especially with starting to write something.  I suppose the trick is write what you think first without getting too hung up on what you say or how you say it. 

Thing 4

Although I have had a Twitter account for a while, I very rarely Tweet myself, but I do read it regularly.  However, I have now tweeted and feel that this is a really useful way of keeping up to date with what is going on in the profession.  I have now subscribed to several feeds, some of which look interesting and informative.  It is essential to keep up to date to avoid being left behind.

New New look

Wasn't totally convinced on image and name of  blog after finishing previously so changed it after much deliberation.

Thing 3 - my personal brand

I am quite behind with 23 things after being away for nearly a month but now I am back I intend to crack on. After googling my name and feeling amazed at the amount of people who share my name, I did find two very relevant entries about myself.  I looked at my different accounts online (Twitter, LIS New professionals and my blog) and discovered that I have given myself a different name on each.  I have therefore started by sorting this out.  I have added a photo which is the same for each and edited my profiles so that it is clear I am the same person.  After lots of fiddling and trouble with pictures being too big for the background of my blog I finally managed to upload a suitable picture.