This was held at the National Railway Museum in York, which is close to where I live so I thought it was a good opportunity to go to something different but still useful. The day began with a welcome address from the Chair of JISC Collections, followed by an overview of what JISC Collections have been doing over the last year by their CEO. The corporate style was not something I'd experienced before in person, both speakers were very accomplished at speaking to a large audience and very good at making the topics understandable.
The third presentation was about HE and FE perspectives and future directions, these presentations were given by Stephen Town from University of York and Emily Armstrong and Chris Skerrow from Hull College. Town's main message was that research libraries are not matching the values of the researchers. This needs to be addressed as he believes that value measures are becoming more important than quality measures. The University and research libraries, in his opinion are slow to change even though they are committed to sustainability.
Armstrong and Skerrow painted the picture at Hull College and this view is similar to my experience, as I work in the same sector. They have experienced an increase in e-book usage due to JISC's E-books for FE Collection and students want their e-resources available through their own mobile devices. Ideally they would like federated searching to be available, however they are yet to find an affordable system. They also try to make best use of their VLE by making all their library information and digital literacy information available through it. It is encouraging to hear that this is what they do and want to do, as it what the students I work with want too.
The workshops that I attended were Managing E-resources and E-books for FE. The Managing E-resources covered JUSP, which is what I was most interested in, a single point for journal usage statistics. The publishers currently involved are not ones I deal with and there is a question over longer term funding for the project.
E-books for FE was presented by Anna Vernon from JISC and David Scott from Dundee College. Scott mentioned that if the Colleges were to buy the books that are available through the Collection, it would cost £115,000 - that is amazing. Independent study skills are very important to Dundee College, so it is also very important for e-access to as much as possible and for it to be simple and straightforward. They are using QR codes for e-book access and this is something that I need to look into as a way forward, for both the access to e-books and moving on our use of QR codes. Vernon looked at how you can make using e-books more interactive through collaborative reading by using social media apps such as Open Margin, SocialBook, and Flipboard.
I found the day very interesting and have got some good ideas especially for e-books and how they can be further promoted and accessed.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Conference Planning and Mini Umbrella 23/11/11
Last week I was in Newcastle for a CoFHE / UC&R Conference planning meeting. I was nervous about this as I know nothing about conference planning, so what could I offer?
Initially I had to offer:
One of the most positive aspects of the meeting for me was meeting new people, who were very supportive. I hope to be able to keep in contact with them both regarding the Conference and for other aspects of library work.
On the same day, I was due to attend Mini Umbrella. I was presenting with my colleagues Claire and James at the event. I was hoping to get there much earlier to see the other presentations. I managed to get there in time to see the presentation immediately before ours about services to visually impaired library users.
Our presentation was called The New Curiosity Shop: What's on offer today? and looked at what is expected and how we deliver our 21st century library services, by balancing modern and traditional services in innovative and engaging ways whilst working with an ever decreasing budget. The presentation went really well, it got people's attention and made them laugh - so definitely a success and with very positive feedback.
I think that more College libraries / LRCs should go out to cross sector or non-College events and tell their stories. There is a lot of good work out there and it needs to be promoted. It won't happen by itself though. It is something that I have only really started to do this year. I have started small and haven't presented on my own (lack of confidence). Claire and I did the Newcastle TeachMeet earlier this year, this last week, at the beginning of next year, we are doing a workshop for a local UC&R event and today I submitted our paper for consideration at the CoFHE / UC&R Conference next year. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Initially I had to offer:
- a presence from a College
- a presence from somewhere local
- support to other College and CoFHE members
One of the most positive aspects of the meeting for me was meeting new people, who were very supportive. I hope to be able to keep in contact with them both regarding the Conference and for other aspects of library work.
On the same day, I was due to attend Mini Umbrella. I was presenting with my colleagues Claire and James at the event. I was hoping to get there much earlier to see the other presentations. I managed to get there in time to see the presentation immediately before ours about services to visually impaired library users.
Our presentation was called The New Curiosity Shop: What's on offer today? and looked at what is expected and how we deliver our 21st century library services, by balancing modern and traditional services in innovative and engaging ways whilst working with an ever decreasing budget. The presentation went really well, it got people's attention and made them laugh - so definitely a success and with very positive feedback.
I think that more College libraries / LRCs should go out to cross sector or non-College events and tell their stories. There is a lot of good work out there and it needs to be promoted. It won't happen by itself though. It is something that I have only really started to do this year. I have started small and haven't presented on my own (lack of confidence). Claire and I did the Newcastle TeachMeet earlier this year, this last week, at the beginning of next year, we are doing a workshop for a local UC&R event and today I submitted our paper for consideration at the CoFHE / UC&R Conference next year. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Thing 23: Reflection - What Next?
6 word story - A rollercoaster ride to professional development.
For the most part I kept up, I didn't want to fall behind for fear of being overwhelmed when trying to catch up. Over the summer this worked well, then September came and the new term, not a good time to try to get anything done other than the immediate and pressing inductions and then have a lazy evening trying to recover ready for the next day. I have struggled to keep up since September and I've finally now got to the finishing line. Yay!
I'm glad I particpated in 23 Things, it has given me lots to think about.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Thing 22. Volunteering to get experience
OK - I haven't volunteered to get experience but I have given up a paid post to free up my time to do potential extra work.
I was working as library assistant part time and secured a part time professional post. I could've worked both jobs in permanent capacity but I wanted to be able to say yes to any overtime at the professional post. I had been promised any overtime as there were 3 professional people (including me) and our combined contract hours didn't meet the hours we needed. The other librarians, thankfully for me, had young families and didn't want to do anymore than their contracted hours on a regular basis. I was very lucky, my contract hours were 20 hours, I rarely did less than 25 hours and I was able to continue to work as a library assistant for a maximum of 12 hours a week. My employers were in the same town and only about 20 minutes drive apart.
When I secured my first full time post I technically took a pay cut as I was moving from public to FE libraries. In fact given that the new post was 10 minutes from home rather than a 45 minutes drive like my other posts, I probably came out with about the same wage. Even if I didn't though, it was worth it, as this is when my career really started to move.
I can see both sides of the volunteer argument but I would volunteer to get experience.
I was working as library assistant part time and secured a part time professional post. I could've worked both jobs in permanent capacity but I wanted to be able to say yes to any overtime at the professional post. I had been promised any overtime as there were 3 professional people (including me) and our combined contract hours didn't meet the hours we needed. The other librarians, thankfully for me, had young families and didn't want to do anymore than their contracted hours on a regular basis. I was very lucky, my contract hours were 20 hours, I rarely did less than 25 hours and I was able to continue to work as a library assistant for a maximum of 12 hours a week. My employers were in the same town and only about 20 minutes drive apart.
When I secured my first full time post I technically took a pay cut as I was moving from public to FE libraries. In fact given that the new post was 10 minutes from home rather than a 45 minutes drive like my other posts, I probably came out with about the same wage. Even if I didn't though, it was worth it, as this is when my career really started to move.
I can see both sides of the volunteer argument but I would volunteer to get experience.
Thing 21: Promoting yourself in job applications and at interview
For this we are asked to think about our likes, dislikes and achievements.
Likes:
Dislikes:
Achievements:
Over the last 3 years there has been:
I think that these 3 achievements have all been initally overwhelming because of the timescale involved and the amount of work needed for it to be successful. The pessimist in me told me I couldn't do it, well it was wrong - I could and have done these things successfully.
Likes:
- Cataloguing and classification
- Stock management - I like doing the relegation and removing the old unused stuff, sprucing up old books that are well used and ordering new books.
- I like things well ordered and organised
- Technology - I love being able to incorporate technology into my work and the service, sometimes I find that my staff and the students are resistant, I however want to get on and will continue to embrace new technology
- A tidy desk - amazingly it often is. This morning I was irritated as the desk had been cleaned and stuff was out of position (I know i'm bordering on OCD here)
- Doing displays - sadly i'm not the most creative of people and I do like things symmetrical (the OCD is kicking in again)
- Going to Conferences and external training sessions. I like the opportunity to network and see what other people are doing. I should warn you though (and I have mentioned this before), i'm an introvert, so I do need my own space and time to recover from networking.
Dislikes:
- Doing inductions and information literacy sessions - basically teaching of any kind to a group. One to one is fine, i'm comfortable with that.
- Being interrupted - not much can be done about that as I share an office and I don't think anyone would take any notice of a sign saying do not disturb or currently unavailable etc. I've learned to live with it and appreciate more any time I get uninterrupted.
- Conflict - I don't mind people disagreeing with me but please do it in a civilised manner, listen to my point of view and don't shout or spit your dummy out
- Lateness especially when I'm on a tight schedule.
Achievements:
Over the last 3 years there has been:
- The move - helping move 4 buildings into 1, as well as the physical move itself I was involved with planning how it was to be achieved
- Rearranging the LRC, having moved in, we lost a floor the following summer and had to rearrange and fit into 3 floors. This was an immense opportunity to address all the parts that didn't work at the same time and make the LRC a better space for both staff and students.
- Changing the LMS to Heritage. Changing the LMS is a daunting task, it was important that we moved to a system that was fit for purpose though.
I think that these 3 achievements have all been initally overwhelming because of the timescale involved and the amount of work needed for it to be successful. The pessimist in me told me I couldn't do it, well it was wrong - I could and have done these things successfully.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Thing 20: the Library Routes Project
I like many seem to have happened upon librarianship. I started with a temporary library asssistant post straight from University. This experience led me to more library assistants posts and after working in libraries for a few years I decided that I wanted to know more about the professional side of librarianship. I enrolled on a MA Information and Library Management course at the University of Northumbria and discovered that organising information was one of the most exciting things you can do.
After graduating I got a casual post as an Assistant Librarian with Durham County Council working in their prison libraries. A few months after this I got a permanent part time post in the same area. I have always been interested in computers and technologies and this was something that was becoming more and more important in libraries. However with the restrictions in the prisons, I was stating to think I was falling behind a little bit. It was at this time that I really discovered my passion for stock maintenance too.
My first full time librarian post was at Hartlepool College of Further Education and this is where I got the opportunity to start playing with new technologies. I had an absolutely fantastic manager, Jane, who was very encouraging and supportive of me. The support I got here has helped immensely in where I am now.
In 2006 after a year of hell due to changes at Hartlepool, I moved to Middlesbrough College as the Deputy LRC Manager with an emphasis on supporting and moving the technology forward and to help prepare for the move to our purpose built site. In 2008, we moved, the LRC was restructured and I successfully applied for my current post of Library Services Manager. Since then, my manager has been Claire who has an e-learning background and again I have expanded my knowldge and use of new technologies.
I enjoy the range of work I do, I love doing cataloguing and classification - a very traditional aspect to my job and I also get to experiment with technology which never ceases to amaze me. The buzz surrounding the LRC and the continual changes that have to be dealt with are both challenging and invigorating.
After graduating I got a casual post as an Assistant Librarian with Durham County Council working in their prison libraries. A few months after this I got a permanent part time post in the same area. I have always been interested in computers and technologies and this was something that was becoming more and more important in libraries. However with the restrictions in the prisons, I was stating to think I was falling behind a little bit. It was at this time that I really discovered my passion for stock maintenance too.
My first full time librarian post was at Hartlepool College of Further Education and this is where I got the opportunity to start playing with new technologies. I had an absolutely fantastic manager, Jane, who was very encouraging and supportive of me. The support I got here has helped immensely in where I am now.
In 2006 after a year of hell due to changes at Hartlepool, I moved to Middlesbrough College as the Deputy LRC Manager with an emphasis on supporting and moving the technology forward and to help prepare for the move to our purpose built site. In 2008, we moved, the LRC was restructured and I successfully applied for my current post of Library Services Manager. Since then, my manager has been Claire who has an e-learning background and again I have expanded my knowldge and use of new technologies.
I enjoy the range of work I do, I love doing cataloguing and classification - a very traditional aspect to my job and I also get to experiment with technology which never ceases to amaze me. The buzz surrounding the LRC and the continual changes that have to be dealt with are both challenging and invigorating.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Thing 17: Prezi and Slideshare
OK I'm going to be brave. I've made a Prezi, my very first one and it's here Thing 17
It's not fantastic but I don't think it's the worse either. I found it very strange to do, however I know that Richard at work would/will help me make a better one if I should ever need to. I think my main hang up is dragging the canvas around, it's definitely out of my comfort zone, I like linear which makes Powerpoint easier for me. I do like Prezi and would like to try to use it instead of Powerpoint.
Slideshare - i've never really used this. I have been directed to them from different posts I've read and am always caught out by the fact you have to click to move the slides along. I seem to think that everything in a small box will automatically play when you click - obviously I do too much You Tube-ing.
It's not fantastic but I don't think it's the worse either. I found it very strange to do, however I know that Richard at work would/will help me make a better one if I should ever need to. I think my main hang up is dragging the canvas around, it's definitely out of my comfort zone, I like linear which makes Powerpoint easier for me. I do like Prezi and would like to try to use it instead of Powerpoint.
Slideshare - i've never really used this. I have been directed to them from different posts I've read and am always caught out by the fact you have to click to move the slides along. I seem to think that everything in a small box will automatically play when you click - obviously I do too much You Tube-ing.
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