When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Librarian!

CILIP PPRG Marketing Excellence Event

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:32:00 +0000

Earlier in the year I was really chuffed to find out that the submission I had made to the CILIP PPRG Marketing Excellence Awards on behalf of the Warwick Marketing Advisory Group had won a Bronze award. This was great news and was accompanied by an invitation to speak about the project at the annual PPRG Marketing Excellence Event. So yesterday I jumped on a train to Birmingham to find out what other libraries are up to when it comes to publicity and public relations and also to pick up the award on behalf of Warwick and present on our Check It Out campaign.

It was a really enjoyable day, with good crowd of library marketing types from a range of sectors, all very happy to chat between sessions and discuss a range of issues, not just around marketing, but also about internal communication. The most interesting thing I got chatting about was the idea that a rebranding exercise could actually improve internal communication because it brings people from different teams together with a common goal, and also promotes a feeling that everyone is part of the same overarching team - even in very large libraries.

The speakers were informative and the presentations were informal and provoked a lot of chat and questions about a range of issues.

Kate Hall from Leicestershire County Library Services was the first speaker, explaining how the "Words on the Street" campaign increased attendance at author events in public libraries in the county. The campaign built on existing branding but added colour and used the internal staff intranet to allow staff at a range of sites to easily access, edit and print key publicity resources to match events in their areas easily and at low cost.

Linda Smith, Chair of PPRG spoke next on some key points about marketing library services in tough economic times. Linda talked a bit about the history of library marketing - which was really quite enlightening, and something I would like to look into more (I may feel another blog post coming on). Linda also talked about the importance of using marketing to "unpack our services" so customers can see what we really offer and get past the misconceptions they may have.

Lunch involved a great looking cake - 'nuff said.After lunch were the presentations from award winners.

Unfortunately Edinburgh Libraries were not able to attend, but Linda Smith gave an overview of their project which had won a Bronze for their Edinburgh reads project, which is an interactive map of the city showing which books are relevant to different locations. It really is impressive - please do have a look at it.

View Edinburgh Reads in a larger map

Laura Wood and Nicola Richards from Cardiff Central Library spoke next about their year-long series of events intended to surprise, and in some cases shock, their customers. This was a fantastic and innovative project getting people into the library who would not normally have come, by putting on everything from Chinese New Year celebrations and poetry readings to speed dating. They are looking at erotic reading and burlesque dancers for next year - so if you're in Cardiff DO pop in to the central library - but DON'T expect anything boring!

Warwick University's Check It Out campaign was up next (my turn) during which we managed to increase attendance at student orientation by 717%. I am very proud of the project but it felt a little dwarfed in comparison to Cardiff's amazing originality.

Check it out: the hottest session on campus

View more presentations from kwiddows

James Barisic, head of Social:Haus public relations agency was the last speaker, and well worth waiting for. James talked about the need for positive messages and "rays of sunshine" in such a negative time, and how perhaps the focus of library marketing should be on great services, great achievements and the importance of we do, rather than on the problems with government cuts, the decline in borrowing figures and the difficulty we are facing (let's face it national press is picking up publicity on all that stuff already!) His message was to be friends with the press, and to offer them good news stories in a time when they are hard to come by. James was really well received and a perfect final speaker to end the event leaving everyone with a positive message and a fresh perspective.

Final note: PPRG are currently looking for new committee members if you are interested in getting involved. Contact Davina Omar (who was confirmed as the new Chair at the AGM yesterday) for details.

Thing 14 - Zotero / Mendeley / citeulike #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:26:00 +0000

I tend to use Endnote Web for what little amount of reference management I do for my own purposes (usually related to writing journal articles, also used it for my Chartership portfolio and a few other things) and I only use it because it happens to be the system used by the university I work at. When we had RefWorks I used that. Before I knew about such software I used a set of index cards (though not as attractive as the ones pictured here courtesy of Reeding Lessons). To be honest I found the cards easier in many ways - and only really shifted to using the software in an attempt to get familiar with it in order to be in a position to help students. But this is no longer part of my role, I can now happily refer the reference management questions (no pun intended).
I'm so behind in 23 things now that I think I will skip looking at the free online options - I know its a bit of a cop out, but given that I already have a system I use, it's not part of my job to know this stuff any more anyway, and I am seriously behind in the program, I think my time will be better spent moving on to Thing 15 - which I think is more relevant to me.

Thing 13 - Google docs, wikis and dropbox #CPD23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:26:00 +0000

Google Docs

I've used Google docs for ages on and off, but only for personal stuff, like sharing Christmas wish lists with my Mum and sorting out house finances with my partner. It's handy and would be handy for work if other people were using it, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about using personal accounts for work, and I am not a fan of having to sign up for multiple accounts with one service either. Given that Warwick Uni gives staff access to Sharepoint (which I admit I have not yet used) I think (assuming it does actually give the required functionality) I would be more comfortable using that, and also more likely to find colleagues who would it.

Wikis

I'm quite comfortable with wikis. I think my first wiki editing was done on the Library Routes wiki back in 2009. Since then I've also edited UK Library Blogs and set up a wiki for the CILIP West Mids committee in an attempt to aid hand overs and succession planning for committee roles. The CILIPWM one is in it's infancy and only a couple of us are adding content - but it was raised at a recent committee meeting and I think it might get better used in future.

Dropbox

I've never used it, and though it does sound useful for some I don't think I have much need for it. And I don't want to sign up for another account I probably wont look at after CPD23 finishes.

Thing 12 - Putting the social into social media #CPD23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:39:00 +0000

Like Cara, I feel a bit like I've already talked about this in Thing 4 and Thing 6 so I don't really want to spend lots more time on general social networking Things.

Instead I'll put in a few links to stuff other people said about this that I thought was interesting.

Thing 11 - Mentoring #CPD23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:40:00 +0000

I was very lucky to have both an excellent mentor and excellent line manager during Chartership. The mentoring of course was a formal arrangement and was a necessary part of the Chartership process. Chris Bradford, one of our subject specialists, was my coach/ guide/ motivator throughout, and provided support with everything, from understanding the paperwork and tracking down appropriate courses to advising me on tricky situations and sharing experiences from her own career. At the same time Helen Ireland, my line manager, was working to coach me through my actual job and the learning curve, both practical and political, that I found myself on with that.

As an extraordinary route candidate I had to complete 2 years of PPD rather than the usual 1, so Chris and I had twice the time to talk, exchange ideas and drink coffee. This didn't mean that the final portfolio collation wasn't a rushed paper-strewn stress-fest with last minute page re-numbering and a complete re-write of the contents page 3 hours after we both should have gone home - but even that experience was one of fun, learning and sharing.

And I stayed in the same job during that time, so also had Helen there to encourage, direct and focus me on the day to day things, as well as support my medium - term development aspirations by finding me opportunities to to do things I found challenging, but in a supportive environment.
In my current role I still work with both Chris and Helen on a range of things and now that I am managing a team myself they have both been a great source of inspiration and support for me while I support my team and develop them.

If I am being successful in "paying it forward" at least as a manager, if not as a mentor, then my team have Chris and Helen as key people to thank for my attempts to support them and give them good opportunities. And if I am not so good on this front, they still have Chris and Helen to thank, because both of them encourage my team (as well as many others) to take opportunities which arise elsewhere in the library. . .

It is thanks to Helen that one of my new team members last year got to present inductions to groups of international students alongside the International Students Working Group, when she was just a few weeks into the job, and it was thanks to Chris that another of my team got to deliver an interactive PRS session in a lecture theatre of over 70 college students as part of a widening participation event.

So I feel that Chris and Helen are still supporting me and now helping me to support my team, long after our formal professional arrangements have ended. We also still have coffee sometimes - and probably should do that more.

Quick update on TechnoGran

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:43:00 +0000

My Gran and her ipad have been happily home from the hospital for a little while now, and I've just picked up the first email she has sent me since she had the fall. She says:

. . .I was very touched by the kind messages from people on your Blog, . . .please thank them for me and tell them how much I appreciated them.

So I thought the best way to do that was by posting her message here. I don't think Gran was expecting such a big response from the blogosphere, or from the tweeps - and you guys really did make her smile. Thank you all very very much.

xxx

Thing 10 - Graduate traineeships, Masters degrees, Chartership, Accreditation #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:55:00 +0000

I did write a post for the Library Routes project back in 2009 which tells the whole story of how I got to be in my current job (which really started with a complete accident), so I'm not going to give all the details again here. This is a chronological outline of my key qualifications, I'm probably not a typical case - I have only done 1 of the 4 things in this Thing:

First degree: Bsc(hon) in psychology
NVQ2 Library And Information
Post Graduate Award in E-Learning for Academic and Professional Practice
CILIP Chartership (via Extraordinary Route due to lack of Msc or Bsc in LIS)
CIEH Professional Trainer's Certificate
Warwick Introduction to Management

What strikes me when I look at this list, and when I consider that my next qualification is probably going to be PRINCE2, is that the library specific stuff is really fairly minimal, and really my qualifications are general and transferable. Other training I have completed, even since starting to work in libraries, is also very transferable, covering topics from customer service issues to presentation skills and event organisation. - I'm not a specialist - I do question whether I am a "librarian" in the true sense, at all.

My current job certainly has less emphasis on core library skills and more emphasis on managing a team and running and developing a service. When I look at my skill set I do sometimes wonder where I will go next and whether I will stay in libraries - but what I do know is that in terms of finding genuine interest, having fun and meeting inspiring colleagues, libraries have so far been much much more than I could have asked for. So I think this post has made me wonder:

How much do specific qualifications matter once you have a foot in the door?
Is experience more valuable in these times when there are so many graduates?

Thing 9 - Evernote: Great - but it will take more than that to rescue my desk #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I had never heard of Evernote until Thing 9 - but I have now downloaded it and synced with my android phone. I've played with it for about a week and it has become immediatly useful. In just a week I've used it to save photos and info for potential future blog posts, make a gift list for a friend and clip several web pages to come back to later.

I also really liked the video tutorials - they made me giggle. And it seems that Evernote employ elephant librarians (who seem to be able to articulate their professional talents better than many human librarians can). Perhaps I just like this tool because it feels a bit like a little librarian you can carry about in your pocket.

Though my desk looks a LOT like Jack's and I doubt there is an app anywhere that can really fix that. Despite my chosen career path, organising my own desk and files is not one of my strong points. Today is not a particularly messy day, in fact I am amazed to see that there is only ONE coffee mug present (the usual count is about 5) but even so, this is how my desk looks right now:

Maybe I should save THAT in Evernote??

Foursquare - not really sure what to do with it

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:06:00 +0000

A few people have asked about the Warwick Library Foursquare account in the last few days - Library + Foursquare discussions seemed to have gone a bit quiet recently in my corner of Libraryland but it now looks like there is a bit of renewed interest, possibly with induction time coming up in the academic libraries?

We are on Foursquare primarily because our students are on Foursquare. Before we even knew they were there they were checking in and adding tips to our venue. Back in February I delivered an EMA Link presentation on student engagement and I took the screen shot above to show that, despite us not having any involvement with Foursquare, our students had already put us on the map (note: there had been 710 check ins by 126 people at that point, and the first tip was left in April 2010).
Because of this interest and because students were leaving comments (both good and bad) about our services which were going unchecked, we registered the venue (this process took a little while but was complete by the end of April this year).
Our account is managed by the Enquiries Support Team (my team) who also manage the Library Facebook and Twitter accounts, and it really doesn't take up much time at all. We just check it occasionally, update our tips to reflect any important information, such as changes in opening hours, or bank holiday closures, and watch it for comments left by students. This morning it looks like this:

(6 months on 1173 check ins by 176 people - bear in mind that 3 of those months were vacation time).

So what are we going to do with it now?

Well - we don't really know.

As of this academic year (2011/12) we will be actively advertising our presence to our students, something we have not done until now. We are starting to include Foursquare links on our web pages, most notably to our newly set up "Get Started" pages for new student orientation.

For next year we might involve geolocation apps in our orientation program, (possibly Foursquare, or perhaps it's slightly more exciting cousin SCVNGR) but this is a long way, and a lot of planning, away from where we are now.

Some other posts and info. on Libraries on Foursquare that I have found useful - in no particular order (these are fairly old now):

David Lee King: Foursquare and Libraries - anything there?
David Lee King: Foursquare and Libraries - definitely something there!
Melissa L. Rethlefsen: Checking in: location services for libraries
David Viner: Libraries and location services: using Foursquare in public libraries
Phil Bradley: Foursquare - Meh

Is anyone else using Geolocation apps in their library?

Anyone looking at using them as induction tools?

Thing 8 - Google calendar #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:43:00 +0000

This is a quick one :)

Already use it - think it's fab - been using for it for personal reasons for ages, share it with my Mum and boyfriend mostly - all very good.

The end.

Thing 7 - National/Regional Groups #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:56:00 +0000

CILIP:
I have been a member for probably about 6 years. I have been an active member of CILIP since I decided to Charter. After Chartership I joined the branch committee (CILIP West Midlands) and following brief periods as Web Editor and Marketing Officer I am now in my second year as Newsletter Editor.

Why do I do it?
So why on earth, when I PAY to be a member of this organisation, would I give up some of my free time to WORK for them, for FREE???

2 big reasons:
Fun: I like events, I like finding out what's going in my profession, and what's going on close to home is of particular interest, I like meeting like minded people, I like meetings that take place in pubs and on occasion involve really good food.
Experience: I learn a lot of stuff about CILIP, about what's going on in the region and about working with people from other sectors. I learn a lot of stuff about editing, dealing with printers, making contacts, distribution, costs, running events, working with committees, and on occasion, last minute contingency planning. No 2 ways about it, it's going to look good on my CV, and it also gives me something to be genuinely proud of which is outside of my day to day job.

As a result of CPD23 I am now looking to broaden my horizons and have requested a log in for:

Library Society of the World:
They are not to be taken too seriously, but if you don't like any of the group or branch options offered by your national of local professional body, they have the answer on their FAQ page:
Are there divisions, committees, or round tables within the LSW I can join?
Not yet, but you’re free to create whatever divisions, committees, bureaus, offices, cabals, discussion groups, round tables, knightly orders, or other factions you wish. Awesome! Perhaps a Knightly order would be fun?!

On a more sensible note - if you are in the UK and interested in getting more involved in CILIP the branches and groups are always on the look out for people who want to be active and make a contribution. So check out your local branch or a group that takes your interest. And yes - we do have meetings in pubs from time to time :)

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/2977800339/sizes/m/in/photostream/

My 97 yr old TechnoGran and her ipad - a lesson to us all

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:59:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago my Gran had a fall and broke her leg, she's in hospital, she's had it pinned, and she is now getting ready to walk again. So far this is probably not an unusual story, apart from perhaps my Gran being 97. However, what is slightly unusual is what she took to the hospital with her. It was an ipad, her own ipad, that she got last year, when she was 96.

My Gran learned to use a word processor when she was 80 because she writes children's stories and could no longer manage a pen and paper, so my Mum taught her how to type and save files and so on. A few years later a PC was purchased and Gran learned to use a mouse. The next obvious step was to get online and sign up for an email account (judging by my Gmail search just now this was during 2007). This was really useful to keep in touch with the family, particularly the 7 Grandchildren. We move house a lot, and some of us are rarely even in the same country for very long. I have moved 4 times in the last 5 years, I am nothing unusual - in fact Jessica has probably lived in 4 completely different countries in that time - so there's no point trying to keep up with a paper address book and snail mail.

My Gran reads, a lot, several books a week. So when it started to get difficult for her to see the print on a page, the usual tactics were employed - large print books, stronger specs, a magnifying glass, and then this:

My Uncle rigged up a table with a camera and a monitor so my Gran can put her books, cross words, and so on, under the lens, select the magnification she wants, and read from the screen. It is also a digital TV with the subtitles enlarged (at 97 hearing is not always easy). Genius! It only really works as a practical solution though, because my Gran is not afraid to press buttons, twiddle knobs, and generally mess about with technology. The only problem with the awesome camera-table-TV is that Gran can't carry it around or take it to bed. So she decided a while ago that what would be really really useful would be:

". . .if they invented some kind of small computer I can carry around that I can have electronic books on and will enlarge the type as big as I want."

My brother took her to look at a Kindle, and then to the Apple Store. It took about 5 days for her to make a decision, and the ipad it was. Gran now uses it for email, playing games, and all kinds of other apps. (The current favourite seems to be The Talking Tom Cat, which she feeds and beats with equal zeal.)

So my Gran got an ipad at the age of 96. And when she got injured and took it into hospital I asked her if I could take a photo and put it on my blog, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Would you mind if I put this picture on my blog?
Gran: What's that? Is it like Facebook?
Me: It's more like a kind of diary I keep on the internet that anyone can read
Gran: What's it called?
Me: It's called "When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Librarian"
Gran: No, I don't mean that, I mean what's the service called?
Me: It's called "Blogger"
Gran: So can anyone have a blog on Blogger and anyone can read it?
Me: Yes
Gran: Yes OK then put it on - just don't tell them what I said about the bed pans.

Firstly, I have to say, I won't tell you what she said about the bed pans - but it was very funny.
Secondly, I'm now wondering if my Gran is about to start her own blog.
But anyway - here's the photo:

The other thing about Gran having the ipad in hospital is that it is attracting quite a lot of attention, mostly positive, mostly from people who want to see the ipad, play with it, and generally marvel at the amazing old lady with the cool bit of tech (even if she is slightly disappointed that she can't get wireless access while she's in there like she does at home). The one (male) person she encountered who did say anything negative got a firm telling off - apparently it went along the lines of:

"All the women in my family use computers, and none of them would even know what you were talking about if you said to them that you were amazed I had one".

So there you have it - none of us have any excuse now for being ignorant about, or scared of, technology - even when we get to 97. I think we've also learned to be careful what we say about elderly relatives on our blogs - because we never know what they might be saying about us on Facebook!

Thing 6 - Online networks #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:51:00 +0000

I'm on a few of these - and I use them in different ways for different purposes. I think I'm getting it kind of right, but again, this idea of personal branding kicks in and Thing 3 rears it's ugly head all over again. However, ignoring all that side of things I am quite happy with my use of online networks - this post seems a bit like a checklist. . .but here we go:

Linked In:

Yes I'm on there. Yes it's quite nice to occasionally look other library people up out of interest. Yes it feels a bit like an office.

No, I haven't joined any groups (I don't think), no, I don't use it to communicate with people much, and no, it has not led to any offers of dream jobs - or in fact to offers of any jobs - and having said those things, I'm now starting to wonder what the value of it really is for me. But it isn't demanding of my time, and it can be quite interesting, so perhaps I'll work on my profile a little, add a bit of detail and pay it marginally more attention for a while and see what happens.

Facebook:
Yes I have a personal Profile, yes I manage a library Page, yes I use my profile for personal rather than professional purposes, yes there is content I wouldn't want the world to see, yes I am aware of the privacy settings. Yes it feels more like a BBQ.

No I don't use my personal profile professionally, no I don't like it when other people try to make me.

CILIP Communities:
Yes I'm on there. Yes, I use it - but not as much as I should and usually only when there are hot CILIPy topics that are of particular interest to me. Yes it feels a bit like an office party. (Though not as bad as the one pictured here).

No I don't think it is used enough - but then I should use it more myself so I can't complain.

Google Plus:
Yes I'm on there, yes I'm only using it professionally at the moment (this is because I want to get used to it in a professional context first, then consider expanding to personal. I think this way round is "safer" as it doesn't matter if my mates get fed my professional content, but if I do make any mistakes I don't necessarily want my colleagues or potential future employers getting fed my "mates" content.) Yes I quite like it, yes I think there is space for it in the market.Yes it feels a bit like just before a party where you're not sure who will show up so you should probably be on your best behaviour.

No, I don't fully understand it yet (I haven't read Phil Bradley's article on it in the last issue of Update yet - but this will undoubtedly help), no I don't know whether I will abandon other networks and move to this one instead.

On to Thing 7. . .

Images:
1. From the Library of Congress Gottlieb Collection
2. My own - from a friends BBQ
3. Ricky Gervais Office. From TV Scoop
4. My own - boyfriend's boss' dog

Thing 5 - What? So What? Now What? #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:55:00 +0000

Reflective practice then eh? This was a big part of why I set up my original blog. But, as many others have pointed out, having time to do these things is often a problem. I have been through the work-work-work way of living a couple of times (once whilst trying to charter, complete a Postgraduate Award and do a full time job all at the same time!) and it's no fun. Actually it's the opposite of fun. And its the opposite of fun for the people around you too. So I don't want to go back there (hence only being on Thing 5 when the program has now moved on to Thing 11).

Image: Library Mirror by Jspad

But I do want to make more time for reflection. It's important, it's what makes your experiences and learning have a real impact on how you do stuff. What's the point of going on all those training courses and attending all those conferences if not to learn from them and apply what you have learned in places where it can make a real difference? (Don't say it's the cake).

So what I'm taking away from Thing 5 isn't so much a reflection on the 4 Things that have gone before (because I have already reached conclusions about those and in the case of Thing 3, have decided that I need to set aside some proper time to think and act, and I don't want to do that at 5am when I'm only awake because the house is too hot and my head feels like it might melt). It is more an intention to manage my time better and try to build in opportunities for myself to think about things properly - I'm sure I'd do a better job of my job if I had those opportunities.

Thing 4 - Current Awareness #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:05:00 +0000

Twitter
I've been using Twitter for quite some time now, I'd guess about 2 years. I find it really useful for picking up on what issues are being discussed in libraryland, finding out about must-read blog posts and getting advice and ideas from my professional network. It's also a great way to feel part of a community, as the discussion is not all work work work, and often I get involved in more personal discussions, or things which are just plain funny. I have seen the #libchat stuff appear in my twitter feed from time to time, but Wednesday's are not a good day for me to be doing extra-work-work so I haven't been involved in this. (Have now started following @nataliebinder though)

RSS

I use Google Reader for my RSS feeds but I don't look after it very well and I should really use it more, it's a great tool, but I often overlook it and rely on Twitter and other things to highlight good blog posts. I've just been through all my subscriptions as part of this Thing and tidied it up a bit, got rid of all the stuff I don't want to read any more and added in some stuff I have found since I last played with it, etc. I think I will start checking it more. One thing I have noticed though is that I don't seem to have the option to +1 items that appear in Google Reader, even though I can "like" them so people can see I like them through Google Reader. I expected all these Google tools would link together. Am I missing something?.

Pushnote

I have to admit, I've never heard of it and I am not that interested in the concept. I use Delicious to keep a track of my book marks and I use twitter and stuff to find out what other people are reading. I don't think I need yet another social networking account to use up my time. Sorry - I haven't even registered.

Some practicalities of Thing 3 - #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:47:00 +0000

So I've reflected on my personal brand - I know it leaves a lot to be desired - in fact I don't think it exists. I don't even have a consistent approach to what I wear to work, anything from jeans to a suit. Unfortunately such decisions in my world are mood-dependant, not event-dependant - which has led to various mistakes in several directions (though so far I have managed to curb my occasional desire to turn up to work in a ball gown or vampire fancy dress).

While some people can pull off that stand-out-quirky-look and make a good impression because they are different to everyone else in the room, I tend to just rely on luck and hope I blend in. I have learned that a suit in a room full of jeans is as bad as jeans in a room full of suits - and I've been guilty of both on many occasions.

Image by dbking under creative commons - Flickr 2006

Anyway, it's time to take some action, and there are things I can do both on line, and in the real world, relatively easily:

Rethink my blog title - it's followed me from chartership days and no longer seems appropriate
Rethink my blog layout, and update the links - there's a lot of out of date stuff that needs to go
Get business cards
Go through my wardrobe and put worky/professional clothes all together on one side, and then wear them, and only them, for worky/professional activity
Get a decent photo taken and put it on all my profiles

Will I actually do these things?

Well, I have a week off now with nothing planned - there's no excuse really.

Thing 3 - Consider your personal brand #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Why was thing 3 so scary?

For me, this was the scariest thing on the cpd23 list. I should be better at this, I am surrounded by people who are great at this. I am on the Marketing Advisory Group at work (Chaired by Sharon Tuersley, who speaks at PPRG conferences), I have known Jo Alcock for over 5 years and currently work with her on the CILIP WM committee, Anthony Brewerton is on my librarys' senior management team, I am a member of PPRG.
Marketing myself really should be higher on my personal agenda. It isn't, it feels like work, and it makes me feel like I should revisit the settings on all of my on line accounts and sort them out, link them together properly, unlink them in some cases, separate out all the professional and all the personal, and make it impossible for that unfortunate Saturday night photo to accidentally slip into library land. And that feels complicated and boring - so I didn't want to force myself to have to do it. Partly this bothers me because I like to feel I am good at this stuff, but I know I am not as good as I should be.

Vanity Search: What was I expecting?
I have always identified myself in my professional social networks, generally using the handle Kwiddows (because it reflects my actual name, and surprise surprise, has never been taken by anyone else before I get round to registering an account). However I hide myself fairly well when I am using accounts for personal only communication. For example I limit my Facebook profile quite heavily, so even a lot of my real-life friends can't see much FB content. But more and more things link together, and I have some things linked that I don't remember linking, and some things happening that I don't understand. There is huge potential all over the interwebs for things to get shared in ways they shouldn't get shared.

So while I expected to find myself in a professional capacity, through the blog, twitter account etc, I also half expected to find more personal content as well, things I know I should have better control over. I didn't really want to know what a potential employer might see, and I didn't really want to know how much work I might have to do to improve whatever list of stuff I found.

Vanity Search: what did I find?
So, what is on the first page of hits on my incognito google-myself search?

Well, it's all my stuff that comes up - I suppose "Widdows" is unusual enough, and when you combine it with the the slightly unusual spelling of "Katharine" that my parents blessed me with it's unlikely anyone else is going to come up. And what of mine actually appears?

1. My old chartership blog, which I stopped using in April 2009 - not great
2. This blog - OK - but this blog is looking a little rough around the edges, and I don't update it enough
3. My twitter profile - mostly professional - some randomness - not too bad
4. My linked in profile - a little neglected
5. A case study I wrote for "Infopro" at least 2 years ago which I had forgotten about, and which sadly makes reference to an author picture they evidently haven't used on the web site (should I chase this up because the picture I appear to be referring to is unfortunate?)
6. My google+ profile - with another unfortunate picture, which I really need to change (as much as I like orange monsters)
7. Academia.edu - OK, slightly rubbish profile pic and not much info
8. A broken link to an old Just Giving page from when I did the Great North Run in 2008

So, not great but not bad, I'm actually quite relieved - There is nothing objectionable there, my Facebook profile doesn't come high up in the hits, but some of the stuff is seriously out of date, and the "wrong" blog comes first. Is that important?

How about the look and feel of my profiles?
Well, there is no real consistency. I chose purpley colours for this blog and for my twitter profile because I like purple, I think the effort stopped there. I have recently changed some of my photos, because I have had a string of random ones, including one of me in a giant fake spiders web, one of just my legs, various awful ones of my face, one of me on a small wooden horse and so one.

I don't look great in photos, and I have been tempted to get a couple of professional ones taken, especially when I have written articles and been asked to supply the dreaded author photo. When I started to edit the CILIPWM newsletter a year or so ago and had to stick a picture of my face on the front of every issue I found the least rubbish one I had and used that - and then used that in other places as well (twitter and this blog), just because I was fairly relieved to discover that a not-too-awful picture existed. I have other photos on other profiles - none of them are great.

As for business cards - I don't have any - that's probably quite bad isn't it?

Thing 2 - explore other blogs #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:48:00 +0000

So, in-keeping with my newly rediscovered enthusiasm for blogging is my newly rediscovered enthusiasm for other people's blogs. I really like the CPD23 team use of delicious for linking participants to each other, it made it easy to find people in other sectors than my own - I do tend to have a lot of dealings with other academic library types, and often feel I should know more about other areas of library land.

I had a look at about 15 blogs, and commented on several. A few blogs and posts especially caught my attention and I've noted them below. I was surprised that a lot of people have signed up, created a blog and still not posted anything. There is time yet of course, but I hope people haven't lost the enthusiasm already!

Stalking the Stacks has a great post on odd, Japanese, library-war manga.
Shestacksbooks I also liked a lot, because the writing has a very natural feel to it
It's a Librarian Thing was also one I liked, partly because this author also once failed to complete 23things and is trying again (just like me)

Exploring other people's blogs also introduced me to some other cool tools, like Pinterest, written about at Wrapped Up In Books.

I also discovered Flavors.Me as used by Lauren Smith (who I have only previously known as @walkyouhome on Twitter). I really like Lauren's page and had a quick look at setting up my own, but decided I really need to separate my personal and professional on line accounts much better before I do that.

Perhaps I'll revisit this when I get to looking at my personal brand in Thing 3. It is about time I sorted it out, things (especially email and Facebook) get a bit messy between professional networking, stuff I do for CILIPWM and friends and family. And now I have google+ as well (linked to a personal/professional messy email address), so, well, yah.

A very late Thing 1 - blogging #cpd23

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Well, I've joined CPD23. Everyone else may be on thing 5 already, but I'll see how it goes. My blog has been suffering for some time now from a lack of attention and maybe CPD23 is just the thing I need to help me get it back on track.

My blogging has never been great, and has always been sporadic, but I have mostly enjoyed it. I started my first blog to record my reflections for chartership over on the Warwick blogs platform, and I used it fairly frequently for about 2 years before moving to blogger because I didn't want my blog platform to be tied to my job (if I had left Warwick I wouldn't have been able to take the blog with me).

As it happens I am still at Warwick, I'll have been here for 5 years next month, but I am not still blogging.

I saw Emma Illingworth and Sarah Ison talk at a conference in Birmingham at the start of the year, and they inspired me to blog again, very briefly, which was great, but I am hoping that CPD23 will give me some ongoing motivation, and hopefully help me to improve my posts as well.

I also find, the more I blog, the more I read other people's blogs, the two things go together. So while I'm not blogging I'm not reading either - and I know I'm missing out!

CILIP West Mids Member's Day 2011 - quick summary

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:12:00 +0000

Yesterday I joined various other members of the CILIP WM committee and (happily) a fairly large number of members, for the annual CILIP West Midlands Member's Day.

It was a great day almost single-handedly organised by Jo Alcock, our Marketing Officer, who managed to get not only a set of great speakers, a venue with strong wireless access and the opportunity to try out Poll Everywhere software, but also provided a set of fabulous coloured felt tip pens so we could all write our name badges in (as Jo put it) the style of primary school teachers (I drew a smiley face on mine and wrote each letter in a different colour - what more could you want?!)
(This picture from Children's Book Reviews on Flickr is much better than mine)

It was a really good day, kicking off with speakers and information on new library builds in the region, which was a really positive subject to focus on with all the recent bad news about closures.

For general information on the projects there are some links here, but I'm sure one of us will be writing up a full blog post soon over on the CILIPWM blog, so I won't add lots of info.

Staffordshire University Library - Dave Parkes was informative and amusing
Newman University College - Chris Porter asked the interesting question "Why have a building?"
The Library of Birmingham - unfortunately the expected speaker couldn't make it but really good on line video to give a feel for the project
The Hive in Worcester - Roger Fairman spoke about what is believed to be a globally unique project

We had a tour of the existing Staffordshire Uni Library and lunch, and then Phil Bradley spoke on how he sees the future of libraries. As always Phil was passionate and motivational, and not afraid to raise concerns about the way the profession might be going while at the same time noting examples of great work being done and progress being made.

After some discussion and the presentation of certificates to newly chartered West Mids members (well done Cath and others!) the AGMs were held for West Mids CoFHE, UC&R and branch.

Jo Alcock finished off the day by asking those present to share their opinions on current and future Branch activities via text message to Poll Everywhere. The survey is still live at: http://twtsurvey.com/mahog9 and is open to members and non-members alike so please do fill it in - it will only take a few minutes and will give the branch committee really useful information.

There was wireless access at the venue so people were tweeting throughout the day using the hash tag #cwmagm - check it out on twitter.

CILIP Elections 2011- In the West Mids? Want to know more?

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:25:00 +0000

CILIP West Mids Branch have organised election hustings on the evening of 16th November in Birmingham at The Studio.

Attendees will be able to hear manifestos of all candidates, even the ones who can't attend in person (and it sounds like most of them are going to be there).

Attendees should register on line in advance at Eventbrite. There is no charge to register but donations of £5 are encouraged on the door.
There will be a bar available for refreshments.

You can find full details on the CILIP West Midlands Blog.

Why not come along and find out who wants to represent you and your profession?

#libdebate - What are Libraries for?

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:39:00 +0000

Last Wednesday night I was in Birmingham at the joint CILIP West Midlands and Birmingham Salon event: The Library Debate - What are libraries for?

It took place in very smart surroundings at The Studio in the centre of Birmingham and at my estimate there were just over 80 people there. A good mix of librarians and non-librarians turned up and the debate was very interesting. It wasn't entirely what I expected, I thought it would be a debate about if should we continue to fund libraries, or are they outdated and irrelevant? However it was more a kind of traditional vs. modern discussion with some falling strongly on the side of the traditional silent libraries with lots of books, and others just as strongly on the side of diversifying library services to cater for a wider audience and introducing new innovations.

Jess Humphreys (@jesshumphreys on twitter) from Warwick University was tweeting live for CILIP West Midlands and did a great job keeping up with the conversation. There were quite a few tweeters in the room (including @damyantipatel @sarahbartlett1 @geoshore and @joeyanne ) and quite a few tweeting ideas and comments in remotely. The debate was wider that the people physically there, which was great, and yet another example of the power of social networking to get information and ideas out into the world (and back into the event). The archive of tweets is available via TwapperKeeper.

The debate was opened by Brian Gambles, the Assistant Director of Culture and Head of Birmingham Libraries Service, who made a very passionate argument for the new Library of Birmingham being a partnership with local communities and other organisations in order to keep it relevant to a modern society and provide a range of new and different services alongside the traditional supply of books and study space.

Brian was followed by Andy Killeen local author who offered a kind of story about his memories of libraries growing up and how he felt the traditional library was important in shaping his life and the person he is now.

Comment from the floor was very interesting, and included a range of opinions from those who felt very strongly that we should preserve and celebrate silence and availability of books, to those who felt there should be more community involvement in developing shared and innovative services. (One point of contention was whether or not noisy children should be welcome in libraries - that issue raised a bit of blood pressure).

There were examples given of library projects that push the boundaries somewhat. I think my favourite such example was the Human Libraries project spoken about by Lorna Prescott (@dosticen). The project allows people to borrow a person and talk to them about a given subject on which they are well informed.

Personally I think there is room for both. I think Libraries do need to recognise how the demands of their user groups are changing, they do need to innovate and introduce new ideas, as any organisation does. But they also need to remember their roots, and not forget to provide the traditional study space and access to traditional materials that has for so long been their core service. A lot of people pay a lot of money to have access to silence and books, just check out the membership fees at the London Library for an example - they are considerably higher than the membership rates for CILIP). There is still a place for the traditional, but if we are to remain to current to the masses (as we must to survive) we need to offer variety and keep in touch with developments in the information world.

It was a great night with lots of engagement from librarians and non-librarians alike (and a decent amount of free wine!). There is more information and comment on the CILIP West Midlands blog, and more to follow soon in the CILIP West Mids newsletter coming to members in November.

Social Networking in Libraries - MmIT event

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:33:00 +0000

Yesterday I went up to Liverpool John Moores University for the Multimedia Information and Technology Group event. There were 4 speakers each giving a case study of the experiences their libraries have had with social networking.

1. Gareth Johnson from the University of Leicester

Gareth delivered an entertaining overview of the situation at Leicester, where a lot of experimentation has gone on and is still going on with blogging, facebook, and more.
It was nice to finally meet Gareth in the flesh after having seen him on twitter so much! He even treated the audience to one of his famous stuffed-animal videos: The Thing on the Doorstep: Libraries and Social Networking which addresses some of the issues and fears that many social networking enthusiasts come up against when trying to persuade library managers of the benefits.

2. Zelda Chatten from the University of Liverpool
Zelda was lighthearted and funny and talked about experiences at Liverpool, where subject librarians are the main catalysts behind social networking activity. Liverpool started off with a range of different blogs, and has found the most successful one to be the electronic-resources one, as it seem to have a large target audience and captures the attention of people who are willing to comment and engage. They also have a facebook page and twitter account and find they encourage two way dialogue with students.

3. Dave Puplett from LSE
Dave used Prezi for his presentation, which was very good to watch, and didn't make me feel sea-sick at all! It also means I can share it with you here:

LSE Library - Social Networking on Prezi

Dave was concerned about the use of the term "web 2.0" to describe things that were actually "social networking". He talked about some of the LSE work going on and as well as the Twitter and facebook stuff LSE also have an iPhone ap which allows students to access information, and also prompted the start of later discussions at the event about location data. They have also used Flickr to ask the public to identify people who appear in archived photographs. LSE also used a "subject-specific" twitter feed to gain input and feedback from students when working on their catalogue interface.

4. Andrew Walsh from the University of Huddersfield

Andy had 3 hard acts to follow, and was conscious of not wanting to repeat any of what had gone before, so he did a bit of ad-libbing and took the conversation to other areas, including following on from mention of location data earlier on he talked about FourSquare and how this is being used by Huddersfield students. (Andy is currently the Mayor of the library!)

General Discussion:
General discussion throughout the event covered a range of topics of concern, largely centering around how to persuade managers to back social networking endeavors by library staff.The feeling in the room was that to was better to have an official presence than not have one. As Andy demonstrated by searching Facebook for a few choice phrases - your students are already talking about your library - and not always in a flattering light - so get on there, and give your library the chance to balance the information available.
It was also widely felt that in order for social networking developments to take place in libraries we are depending a few enthusiastic individuals to drive things forward. over time this may change, as social networking responsibilities may be added to job descriptions and formal marketing and communication strategies. But until that happens it seems that most libraries are dependant on the personal interest and skills of their existing staff to push them in new directions.

#cilipceleb ? Who would be a great celebrity advocate for CILIP and libraries?

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Neil Gaiman has just been awarded the CILIP Carnegie medal for his children's book "The Graveyard Book" (which, by the way, was the first of his books I have read and I was spellbound). The award has been very high profile and has had much media coverage (well done CILIP!). Neil Gaiman even considers the award to be more important to him than the Nobel Prize for Literature! So it's only to be expected that he is in our collective-librarian-conscience at the moment. Also, considering some of the brilliant pro-library and pro-librarian comments he has been making it is hardly surprising that tweets like this one, from @damyantipatel are now appearing in our twitter feeds:

http://bit.ly/c7JpQD 'libraries are our future' says Neil Gaiman

So, given recent discussion about the need for CILIP to raise their profile and that of libraries and librarians, might it be possible to persuade someone like Neil Gaiman to be an official voice for libraries, or a spokesperson for CILIP? I think we all spotted he had been engaging with @CILIPinfo on Twitter yesterday :-)

A quick tweet to ask for opinions late last night, and a look around at what people were saying about celebrities and libraries, led me to a few other possible candidates (some seeming more likely than others) including:

Victoria Wood (who did a show called The Library as part of her 1989 TV series if wikipedia is to be believed)
Stephen Fry (so many reasons it could be him)
Henry Winkler (who spoke at the SLA conference yesterday - see Caroline Roche's photo)
Jeremy Paxman (it turns out Paxo loves a good library)
Keith Richards (who apparently wanted to be a librarian)

Thanks to @sphericalfruit @carolineroche @smilylibrarian @twistedwillow and @joeyanne for sharing their thoughts and giving me some of these ideas.

If anyone else has any ideas about possible celebrities who might be great library advocates please share them, and also - do speak up if you have any ideas about how they might be persuaded to get involved! Perhaps we could put some ideas forward to CILIP?

#cilipceleb ideas anyone??

ALISS AGM presentations now available - Datasets, UK General Election & NHS Evidence

noreply@blogger.com (Katharine) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Following the ALISS AGM on Monday the presentations have now been made available via Slideshare.

You can also check out the ALISS web site for more information.