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.