Thing 23

Last Thing, Thing 23 is reflection and what next? Though I have found it difficult to find the time to devote to #cpd23, I have found it to be a very rewarding and enlightening experience. It has given me much food for thought, skills and tools to develop ideas, and above all the confidence to try new things in the world of web 2.0 and beyond. I am incredibly grateful to the team of people who devoted time to developing and contributing to this programme. I would also like to say thank you to the other bloggers and participants who shared the journey with me and made participating in #cpd23 feel enjoyable and collaborative. Since starting #cpd23 I have made better and increased use of Twitter, and discovered numerous tools to use in developing my ideas and making them a reality. I have also been asked to be part of a project group working on an online community that the charity I work for is developing. I feel in part this must be due to my undertaking this course and developing our information service's online and interactive content.

I have undertaken a SWOT analysis to inform my Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Strengths

• Commitment to continuing professional development, learning and acquiring new skills
• Innovation in developing new ways of providing information and engaging with users
• Support of my team and departmental managers
• My employer's commitment to and support of providing information and online innovation

Weaknesses

• Lack of time
• Some limitations with IT infrastructure and resources (though this is improving)
• Inexperience with web 2.0 tools

Opportunities

• Participating in project group working on new online community
• Support of key colleagues for developing web 2.0 content and interaction

Threats

• Current economic climate
• Lack of time
• Work of other teams within the charity may mean that we are asked to restrict some of our web 2.0 activity

Whilst I will not be sharing my Personal Development Plan (PDP) online. I am happy to share key learning needs, tasks and goals that I have identified. These are:

• Continue to engage with online learning and participation, and seek out and use opportunities to develop skills. I am looking forward to my next planned learning opportunity, the ALISS half-day conference, Gateways to Social Science Information Online
• Continue to establish and build a reputation for the library and information service as an innovator in providing online information and opportunies for user interaction
• Invest time in using and developing my use of key web 2.0 tools and projects, in particular Twitter
• Establishing new and innovative projects. Ideas to develop include a book group, blog and netvibes page

Finally I will conclude with my six word story for #cpd23: 'librarians share, learn and innovate online'. 

Thing 20

Thing 20 is on the Library Routes Project This is such a fantastic idea. I really enjoyed reading about other peoples roots and routes into the career (basically the why and the how). Most people, like me, didn't set out to be a librarian and decided late on in their first degree that they would like to go into librarianship. I think this is a strength because it means we tend to have degrees in other subjects or even other previous careers that we can bring to our librarianship careers. What I really like about the project is how it demonstrates the variety of roles available. Some people shared how prior to embarking on the career themselves their view of librarians was limited to the people who stamped their books in the public library, and given that this isn't usually a librarian that would do this, it shows the value of projects like Library Routes in sharing what librarians do and why. It has inspired me to have a go at Library Day in the Life next time it opens for contributions. In the meantime I'll encourage my colleagues to contribute to Library Routes. One thing to note is I had trouble posting on the Library Routes wiki at first. I think it was because there weren't any new free unused spaces created at the time (i.e. a line with name, job title, link for you to type your details over that hadn't yet been used by someone else) so if this happens to you come away and go back a few days later.

Thing 19

Thing 19 is a catch up week (phew!) on integrating things. Basically we are asked to look back over our posts and think about how we might continue using some of the tools we have reviewed. I have been introduced to so many new things but I think what has had the most impact is blogging, and the opportunity for reflection and creativity. Much of the inspiration I've drawn from #cpd23 hasn't so much been about the tools as about the 'space' given to think, share, innovate and create. I think I will most likely draw on #cpd23 for a long time, and go back to it again and again. I was already a Twitter and RSS user so the new tool that has had most impact on me is Blogger. It is so easy to use, and has so much potential for the user in terms of reaching out and sharing information. I am seriously considering using it outside of this course in a more personal venture. Professionally I hope to continue to find the space for reflection and creativity.

Thing 18

Thing 18 is about Jing, screen capture and podcasts. I've put off doing this one partly because of the delay in the tutorial being made available but partly because I wanted to set aside some time to try Screencast-o-matic, reported as the most accessible in the tutorial. Sadly I've been having problems with this. Could be my PC rather than the tool but being limited on time and needing to move on I've given up trying for now. I notice in the onsite reviews that some people had difficulty with this. I do think this has great potential for demonstrating using web resources. We manage a few online databases and our Web Manager is excited by the idea of a film tutorial on using them so I will go back to this. As always grateful to #cpd23 for introducing me to something new again.

Thing 17

Thing 17 covers Prezi and Slideshare. I am familiar with the latter though had never thought of using it as a platform personally so perhaps this is something I should bear in mind. Prezi is entirely new to me so thanks again to #cpd23 for another first. I read Auntie Daniel's blog post on this warning of the potential for motion sickness and can see what he means. Prezi certainly makes the mind boggle. I don't create presentations as part of my role, though realise that I could. I can see that perhaps Prezi could be used to create a presentation about using our library catalogue. I haven't got round to it yet but am excited about the potential of Screencast-o-matic for this. I'll let you know how I get on!

Thing 22

Thing 22 is about volunteering to gain experience. I've never volunteered in the field of librarianship. I did look into it once when I wanted to volunteer for a society I'm a member of. The meetings and work were all during office hours on week days and as I was working full-time at the time, I couldn't help sadly. Perhaps this is something we need to bear in mind where possible when offering volunteering opportunities. I have worked with volunteers in my various library roles and found them to be inspiring people. One volunteer was a paediatric nurse who was considering changing career and volunteered in our library on her day off. One volunteer's family had been helped by the charity I work for and wanted to give something back. Both very different reasons for volunteering and both volunteers offered different skills and experience. In both cases the library manager tried to ensure that the work was interesting and a true reflection of the work of a professional librarian, e.g. not just admin and shelving. I am wary of too many voluntary roles and of the potential problems, e.g. I am uneasy about local communities running public libraries without any professional involvement and support. I recognise the value of volunteering both for the volunteer and the host (the examples above were mutually beneficial opportunities) but I believe that volunteering shouldn't be at the expense of paid professional posts.

Thing 21

I realise I'm getting out of order here but in an effort to keep up with the tasks and complete #cpd23 as soon as I can I thought I'd tackle Thing 21 next. The focus is on promoting yourself in job applications and at interview. Having been in my current role for 8 years it is a very long time since I've submitted a job application or attended an interview. I chartered 5 years ago but haven't updated my CV since then (I know, naughty, naughty!) so Thing 21 is a useful reminder to do this and also a chance to brush up on this area. As ever I found the further reading and resources highlighted enlightening.
The task for this week encouraged me to identify my likes, and strengths. Having considered this I can share that I particularly enjoy writing. I am fortunate that my current role offers plenty of opportunities for this that I always eagerly snatch up. I've also created new opportunities for myself through making suggestions. Thing 21 has made me realise just how many different types of writing tasks I undertake or have done previously. Currently I am writing an information sheet on careers, I also regularly contribute to our staff newsletter and our society's membership magazine, as well as compiling my own e-newsletter from the library and information service, I write abstracts for our library catalogue Autism Data, I Tweet and now as a result of #cpd23 I blog too. I've even started to think that I might start to blog personally (as opposed to for this course). I suppose this has made me realise just how much I love writing, and how many different types of writing I do. It has emphasised to me the skills I am using in these areas that I love, e.g. communication skills, and accuracy.
We are also asked to share interview tips. I don't think I have anything to add really to those shared under the further reading, other than to emphasise the importance of preparation and self-confidence. I found the idea of gut instinct shared by Auntie Daniel very interesting too.