BLOGGING: Although I did do these Things last year, I've decided that a quick review won't do any harm! I already have my blog, and as it's only for CPD23 I'm not worried about followers - I'd need much more interesting content to make it worth people's time, but I do like looking at other people's blogs, which are becoming better and more likely to pop up with genuinely useful content on internet searches.
Having had a quick look at the Delicious bookmarks, I glanced at a few local (as in Wales) blogs - some have vanished already! I did like this one though:Library Cat: CPD 23 - Thing #2 as it had an interesting link about how to write the perfect blog post. It's really aimed at marketers, I think, but if I really wanted people to read my blog, the tips are spot on.
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-tips-on-how-to-write-the-perfect-blog-post/
I do still find using blogger a bit of a pain - it seems to be a bit fiddly, and for some reason it doesn't show the whole post before I publish it, which makes editing it a bid fiddly. This may be because the work computer is still on Windows XP and IE 8 though.
A few of the blogs are genuinely interesting with photos, but I can't do that on my work computer, and don't really want to be doing this at home!
ONLINE BRAND:
I'm glad to see none of my shocking escapades have made it online, although there is now a Mirror columnist of my name, writing about her life as a widowed mother of one. The girl who previously had some quite embarrassing stuff on her facebook appears to have locked it down a bit more, although she lists Poodle punching as an interest, which may be a euphemism, and my Linked In profile is available with professional details, which I'm perfectly happy about.
Monday, 28 May 2012
Monday, 21 May 2012
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!
I'm rejoining CPD23 Things again, hopefully to finish it in line with the schedule this time. Really, I've already done the first 7 things, but a review is no harm! Last week I went to the CILIP Wales 2012 conference, as well as attending a meet-up to discuss CPD23 Things after work, so I've really properly explored Thing 7 now.
The meet-up was an enjoyable few hours having a couple of drinks and general chat about what is involved, and how it can be useful career-wise. The conference was useful, interesting and exhausting in equal measures, plus added cake, which is always a Good Thing. It was particularly good to see the Welsh Minister for Housing Regeneration and Heritage (libraries are in the last bit!) Huw Lewis show such interest in public libraries and say how important the Welsh Government thought they were. There was also a fascinating talk on the redevelopment of Birmingham Public Library, which looks magnificent, and well worth a visit. Phil Bradley boggled everyone with the massive diversity of online social media available, a real eye-opener. It was nice to meet up with someone on my Masters course, as well!
The meet-up was an enjoyable few hours having a couple of drinks and general chat about what is involved, and how it can be useful career-wise. The conference was useful, interesting and exhausting in equal measures, plus added cake, which is always a Good Thing. It was particularly good to see the Welsh Minister for Housing Regeneration and Heritage (libraries are in the last bit!) Huw Lewis show such interest in public libraries and say how important the Welsh Government thought they were. There was also a fascinating talk on the redevelopment of Birmingham Public Library, which looks magnificent, and well worth a visit. Phil Bradley boggled everyone with the massive diversity of online social media available, a real eye-opener. It was nice to meet up with someone on my Masters course, as well!
Monday, 5 March 2012
Things 8 and 9 - Google Calendar and Evernote
Thing 8 - Google calendar. I was really impressed with this, and despite using google quite a bit, I don't think I'd even heard of it before. I don't really need it for work as everyone uses the Microsoft Outlook calendar, but it's good to know about this, and having read about the way it can be integrated into websites and blogs, it's really one to remember. The only thing is to do with privacy - and google finding out even more about you. I would be very happy to use it for work, and unimportant personal things, like maybe setting up an event with family or friends, but nothing really personal is going to go on there. That's just asking for trouble! I do wonder if the privacy issue is going to be google's downfall.
Thing 9 - Evernote. I have got an account already, but I haven't been using it much. Reading this week's CPD23 blog and looking at the Evernote website has reminded me how useful it could be, so I will be trying it out to report back next week. I don't think I've used it to its full capability so far.
Thing 9 - Evernote. I have got an account already, but I haven't been using it much. Reading this week's CPD23 blog and looking at the Evernote website has reminded me how useful it could be, so I will be trying it out to report back next week. I don't think I've used it to its full capability so far.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Thing 7 - at last! Face-to-face networks and professional organisations
With Xmas, New Year, and a button-eating cat, I've gotten quite behind in my 23things!
With some reference to the Thing 6, I've become a member of CILIP now, and I'm just waiting for my details to arrive so I can have a look at the members-only area of the CILIP website.
While I haven't been working my way through 23things, I have been keeping an eye on Twitter, although I don't really post that much. I usually only have time to glance at it, and I don't want to just retweet, or post without thinking, and I don't have that much time to ponder over what to tweet! I suppose it's just a habit I still need to get into, to consider what I could tweet earlier in the day, what may be of use or of interest. For quick, bite-sized news though, Twitter has no equal!
Thing 7 - Face-to-face networks and professional organisations
Well, I haven't cheated and read all the things in advance (I may have skimmed over them..), so this is perfectly timed! I am on the LIS-Wales webmail list, from which I get items of interest in the library professional area, such as important press releases and training courses, helping to keep me informed.
As I mentioned above, I joined CILIP, as I've been meaning to do, but the offer of £25 of gift vouchers to the member who sponsored me (to be spent on library books, of course!) gave me the impetus to fill in the form and get it sent off. Although I already kept an eye on the CILIP website, I will now have access to some member-only areas, which will hopefully be of use. I am already a member of the CILIP Linked-In group, as it's got open membership, and have followed some discussions on various areas of interest.
I have noticed various training and networking opportunities, and was able to take part in a local tour of the Atrium library not far from where I work, and have a little chat to some fellow librarians the day before the general Save Our Libraries Day on 5th February. There was mainly discussion about the various cutbacks, and how people are doing their best with ever-more limited funds.
There are definitely plenty of training and networking opportunities available. A fellow student posted on a facebook group, as well as LinkedIn about a library unConferenence in Leeds, which sounds good, but is a bit far, and the tickets sold out very fast too! This Library Camp idea sounds like fun, and I do intend to try and get to one eventually.
With some reference to the Thing 6, I've become a member of CILIP now, and I'm just waiting for my details to arrive so I can have a look at the members-only area of the CILIP website.
While I haven't been working my way through 23things, I have been keeping an eye on Twitter, although I don't really post that much. I usually only have time to glance at it, and I don't want to just retweet, or post without thinking, and I don't have that much time to ponder over what to tweet! I suppose it's just a habit I still need to get into, to consider what I could tweet earlier in the day, what may be of use or of interest. For quick, bite-sized news though, Twitter has no equal!
Thing 7 - Face-to-face networks and professional organisations
Well, I haven't cheated and read all the things in advance (I may have skimmed over them..), so this is perfectly timed! I am on the LIS-Wales webmail list, from which I get items of interest in the library professional area, such as important press releases and training courses, helping to keep me informed.
As I mentioned above, I joined CILIP, as I've been meaning to do, but the offer of £25 of gift vouchers to the member who sponsored me (to be spent on library books, of course!) gave me the impetus to fill in the form and get it sent off. Although I already kept an eye on the CILIP website, I will now have access to some member-only areas, which will hopefully be of use. I am already a member of the CILIP Linked-In group, as it's got open membership, and have followed some discussions on various areas of interest.
I have noticed various training and networking opportunities, and was able to take part in a local tour of the Atrium library not far from where I work, and have a little chat to some fellow librarians the day before the general Save Our Libraries Day on 5th February. There was mainly discussion about the various cutbacks, and how people are doing their best with ever-more limited funds.
There are definitely plenty of training and networking opportunities available. A fellow student posted on a facebook group, as well as LinkedIn about a library unConferenence in Leeds, which sounds good, but is a bit far, and the tickets sold out very fast too! This Library Camp idea sounds like fun, and I do intend to try and get to one eventually.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Thing 6 (Part 2)
Moving onto the rest of Thing 6 this week, although as a quick aside, Karen Blakeman's latest newsletter (here is her blog: http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/) mentioned www.paper.li, which is a brilliantly simple way to read your twitter account! Trawling through twitter can be a bit of a chore, and this turns it into a newspaper that's a much easier read on your screen. I could see it being used to present news and commentary in areas of interest to a wider audience. I'm still investigating it, but you can rename it suitably, and add Editor's comments, publishing weekly, daily, or twice daily.
Back to the Thing!
LISNPN - This is short for the LIS New Professionals Network - so ideal for me. One of the first things that you see on the homepage are the forums - and the most important thing about forums is that they are active! These are - not horrendously so, which is just as well, but it is obviously used by a number of people. I've had a quick look at the download section, which has how-to guides, a couple of which look excellent. Definitely one to keep on my "to be checked regularly list"!
Librarians as Teachers network - This isn't really of use to me at the moment, but I should be providing training in the future, and I will come back to it then, as I have no experience of this! Although started for people doing teaching courses, it's aimed at anyone with an interest in the area, and really that will probably be anyone looked to advance their professional development.
CILIP communities - I'm not a member of CILIP, although the library does have membership. I will probably join next year, as I can definitely see the benefits. There are a lot of CILIP-related posts, and a lot of different groups that you can join which look to be of interest. There don't seem to be that many comments or replies, but those there are do look useful.
Back to the Thing!
LISNPN - This is short for the LIS New Professionals Network - so ideal for me. One of the first things that you see on the homepage are the forums - and the most important thing about forums is that they are active! These are - not horrendously so, which is just as well, but it is obviously used by a number of people. I've had a quick look at the download section, which has how-to guides, a couple of which look excellent. Definitely one to keep on my "to be checked regularly list"!
Librarians as Teachers network - This isn't really of use to me at the moment, but I should be providing training in the future, and I will come back to it then, as I have no experience of this! Although started for people doing teaching courses, it's aimed at anyone with an interest in the area, and really that will probably be anyone looked to advance their professional development.
CILIP communities - I'm not a member of CILIP, although the library does have membership. I will probably join next year, as I can definitely see the benefits. There are a lot of CILIP-related posts, and a lot of different groups that you can join which look to be of interest. There don't seem to be that many comments or replies, but those there are do look useful.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Thing 6 - Online networks (Part 1) LinkedIn and Facebook
LinkedIn - I actually set up a LinkedIn account a month or so ago, as a fellow Aberystwyth student sent me an invite. I haven't 100% completed the set-up yet, as I've been exploring it, and waiting until I got to this Thing to go into more detail. LinkedIn is actually quite forward in making suggestions on how you can improve your profile, but I still haven't found a photo that I like - I'll have a look on my computer at home, and see if I can find one. The only other thing to do, really is add more contacts! I sent a few requests, and got one answer back already, so hopefully this will improve!
Facebook - I do have a facebook profile, but that's really for family and friends, so I don't want to get it mixed up with work. I don't use it that much, but it's still handy for keeping in touch with certain people I don't see very often. I could see setting up a facebook page more if you're a public-facing company, but I'm not sure how much use it would be for this library.
I've spent long enough in LinkedIn tonight, so I'll get onto to the rest of this Thing in my next blog post!
Facebook - I do have a facebook profile, but that's really for family and friends, so I don't want to get it mixed up with work. I don't use it that much, but it's still handy for keeping in touch with certain people I don't see very often. I could see setting up a facebook page more if you're a public-facing company, but I'm not sure how much use it would be for this library.
I've spent long enough in LinkedIn tonight, so I'll get onto to the rest of this Thing in my next blog post!
Monday, 5 December 2011
Thing 5 - Reflective Practice
I have been enjoying looking at these Things - some new, some not, whilst getting frustrated by the limitations of work tech. Unfortunately it can be painfully slow, which can make a quick 5 minute task last 20 minutes! I have been fitting my CPD 23 Things into a couple of hours on Monday nights, and have just about successfully managed this.
Things 1 and 2 - Blogging: I'm still not a huge personal fan of this, although I enjoy reading other blogs. There is a lot of useful information out there, and I'm trying to learn how to actively filter it so I don't get swamped!
Thing 3 - Considering my personal brand. This is still ongoing, but at least there aren't any nasty things about me out there. My twitter name is perhaps a little odd, SiobhanWGLib, but not too bad.
Thing 4 - RSS feeds, Twitter, Pushnote. This one has taken me the longest to do, although so far it's the most useful. I'm still getting the hang of RSS feeds, even though I signed up to Google Reader, as when I select, sometimes it adds it to my browser, and I'm not sure why! It's really important if you want to follow a number of blogs and webpages though, to prevent information overload.
I was already on Twitter, and I created a work account, which is very useful, as I am following a number of librarian twitters which post recent news and blogs that I may have missed.
I am unable to download Pushnote at work, but a colleague (Stephen Gregory!) has advised me that he doesn't think it's that worthwhile. I will leave that one unless I hear better opinions about it.
Things 1 and 2 - Blogging: I'm still not a huge personal fan of this, although I enjoy reading other blogs. There is a lot of useful information out there, and I'm trying to learn how to actively filter it so I don't get swamped!
Thing 3 - Considering my personal brand. This is still ongoing, but at least there aren't any nasty things about me out there. My twitter name is perhaps a little odd, SiobhanWGLib, but not too bad.
Thing 4 - RSS feeds, Twitter, Pushnote. This one has taken me the longest to do, although so far it's the most useful. I'm still getting the hang of RSS feeds, even though I signed up to Google Reader, as when I select, sometimes it adds it to my browser, and I'm not sure why! It's really important if you want to follow a number of blogs and webpages though, to prevent information overload.
I was already on Twitter, and I created a work account, which is very useful, as I am following a number of librarian twitters which post recent news and blogs that I may have missed.
I am unable to download Pushnote at work, but a colleague (Stephen Gregory!) has advised me that he doesn't think it's that worthwhile. I will leave that one unless I hear better opinions about it.
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