Face to face networks

I enjoyed the Cambridge 23 things cpd meet up last week in the Maypole pub, networking is always easier with a glass in my hand. Matching real life people to their twitter, facebook or blogging personalities is a great party game although it can be quite disconcerting if you are approached by someone commenting on your activities and you don't know them from Adam.
For the great part of my career, involvement in CILIP was confined to paying the annual subscription and skimming through the Gazette, Sunrise and other publications although I did attend a few CILIP Rare books conferences and a couple of East of England events. In terms of networking and support the CCLF (Cambridge College Libraries Forum), the annual Libraries@Cambridge meetings, the Cambridge Libraries Group, monthly brown bag lunches and the Liberty users group met most needs with the specialized Trumpington Street Disaster planning group providing advice when required.

Training can however come from other sources. For several years I ran a Brownie pack and Girlguiding UK provides excellent training for leaders including event management and publicity. I sail, and the RYA provides specialized courses in first aid (101 things you can do with a fender) and the Cruising Association has meetings  in CA house where people can share expertise.

Networking should not be confined to library workers but should also include participating in committees within your organisation: health and safety, environment, heads of department. You won't make enemies by offering to take minutes and may well get a better feel of what is going on.

On line networks

Have been on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for some years now but do not link the accounts. All notifications go to email accounts (of which I have several).

• Twitter. Wonderful for following trends such as  #ashcloud #savelibraries and colleagues, especially for crowd sourcing quick answers. Columns in Tweetdeck help me keep track of various threads. Orkney Library and Archives can cheer up a dull morning.

• Facebook. Although I follow libraries and professional organisations on Facebook I use it mainly for personal posts and to share photographs with extended family, especially of sailing exploits. There is an argument for maintaining a library page on Facebook but I wonder how many users choose to follow it. Those College Libraries which provide cake and jigsaws during stressful examination terms probably have more student followers than institutional libraries.

• LinkedIn. The notifications from groups go to email and are glanced at but I don't do much posting. I get some messages directly from members but log in one a week at most whereas I am on Facebook  and Twitter daily.

I investigated CILIP Communities and expanded my profile using a picture of me on a boat to maintain consistency. I have been consulting the CILIP site a great deal recently as I have become drawn into the struggle to maintain the branch library in my village. Having not worked in public libraries for 30 years I needed to get up to date with issues and policies.

Reflections

Souce : http://www.oliveislandmarina.com/index.php?menu=1&action=1&id=77

Reading various CPD23 blogs has made me thankful that my route to Chartership all those years ago followed an apprenticeship / mentor route rather than a portfolio / reflective writing route. I'm a roll your sleeves up and get stuck in person, a history degree gave me the ability to collate and analyse information, but blogging has been my main means for recording reactions to new techniques. The blog is an on-line diary, slightly disconcerting at times when you realise that others are reading it.

I have been providing supply cover for a year now, in between sailing expeditions and, as well as doing a daily or weekly report for each employer I maintain a folder of lessons learnt from byom (bring your own mug) to checking where the switches are if I have to close up in the evening to ensuring that passwords are set up at an early stage of each placement.  Perhaps most important bring in biscuits or cake.

Librarian avenger birthday cake commissioned by daughter

Current awareness - somewhat overwhelming

I have previously blogged about twitter, rss feeds and current awareness for the cam 23 things program, but pushnote is new to me, so I have signed up, rated Annie's instruction page and await developments with interest.

Staying in touch or information overload. It is all to easy to be staring at a screen for hours following up interesting gobbets of news, links and so on. Tweetdeck columns (if you can load the application on your desktop) facilitate following specific hashtags or people but google reader is best limited to the beginning and end of the day else it takes over from real life.

I have enforced breaks from internet noise when sailing, with the only information coming from a vhf radio. I have the RYA licence and monitor channel 16 (coastguard) and 68 (weather) a constant feed from the Italian meteomar service (think British shipping forecast with designer shades). After reassurance that nothing nasty is forecast, it is a relief to mute the radio and enjoy the silence.


Calon Lan standing by. (Over and out is WRONG)