Update

Been a bit lazy this week, I haven't written anything on my blog. So I am going to write an update of my week- just so I don't get out of the habit of writing.

During the week I had a few one to one mop up inductions with new students who missed their group induction- I tried to keep them brief. By this time of year it is so hard to keep on rolling them out- it actually becomes exhausting. The group inductions were done over 3 days, and I they ended up totalling 18 separate inductions.

Updated my Line manager on what has happened in the last 4 weeks in the library. Always a decent meeting- I usually leave the meeting, feeling more motivated and that I want to run back to my department and start dishing out work. Doesn't always happen sometimes I return to my department full of energy and just start absorbing myself in my tasks.

Last week was also my self imposed deadline for getting back to LMS providers. However I have missed it by a few days, for one reason I wanted to get someone else in my department to read over them...in case I had missed something. Plus I was on leave on Friday. In preparation for this I need to allocate all the students a p-type depending on their course, as we have nearly 2000 students this is going to be tough.

With course validation process starting, I need to provide information on what support the library has offered students in these courses- journal holdings, online databases, number of books purchased and amount of money spent on these courses. In addition to this I have been handed a large number of previous students dissertations. The library keeps the best ones each year...so I have been working out which ones I need to keep, digitalise and catalogue.

Writing a policy for the college's interlibrary loans- need to present this at academic board in November. Done roughly half the work but I need to write it for a different audience- senior management team.

Read a couple of articles on libraries, more public libraries- so interesting back ground reading, but nothing worth writing about.

Plus I have redesigned our store cupboard..need to get a few bits of furniture next week.

Fellowship- no real progress has been made. I have signed up to a professional CV writing session, which should help me, as at the moment my CV is ok... but not great. I think it is lacking the detail of what I do. But I work in a company where "we are only ever one member of staff deep" this means that I end up being a jack of all trades.

Friday I was on holiday, which was great..I did a 5 miles walk, caught up on some TV and managed to get my sons play room sorted.

Next week is already looking busy- Monday alone, I have a lunch meeting with pre-degree staff about what I can offer there students in the research week. Plus our book sale starts on Monday. Tuesday and Thursday are looking like there might be some time to work on the LMS situation. Friday I am teaching Havard Referencing to A level students.

IMLS focus Learning in Libraries

Following up on a previous post, this one looks at the detail on the IMLS focus Learning in Libraries report, which is connected to the Advances learning in Libraries: An American approach. Which is the summary report highlighting 4 strategies in advancing learning in libraries.

This paper summaries the findings from one day's presentations and discussion in Kansas City Public library, which took place in May 2015, and was attended by public and state library practitioners, library and information science school representatives, researchers and service providers. Where the benefits of libraries individual learning objectives were discussed.

 One of the first topics discussed is community of practice that will disseminate resources for field- wide replication. However this might not be as easy as it sounds- replication or delivery of resources will take interaction. Each person are the origin, is likely to add their own twist on the situation. As well as information professionals who are reluctant to participate in such replication. The concept of one message for all in a great idea- even though everyone learns differently- so maybe not such a great idea. The message is likely to be altered- just think of the playground game Chinese whispers, something is missed and something is added.

Participatory learning: doing, together
Early in the write up, there are examples of innovative projects

• Sustainable library-artists partnerships
• Using libraries as makerspaces

This is a distinctive change in libraries- participating in learning for libraries. Such active learning is seen by researchers to provide deeper/ long lasting knowledge and that learning should be done is a social process. Yet one problem seeing how effective these projects would be, librarians favour recording quantitative data- but this doesn't fit with the concept that they are suggesting here. Anecdotes and interviews- qualitative data would need to be recorded here. Potentially a problem or skills shortage. 

Embracing the early learning ecosystems

Helping to reach the target audience

• families with young children
• low income families with young children
• early learning systems
• social services providers

However libraries need to develop in to non-judgemental, welcoming places- that engage with all age groups. From personally experience these are currently lacking in the public library service.

• Not welcoming places- due to the attitude of staff- if it weren't for my experience and thick skin,  I would have long ago abandoned my local library. 
• Unable to access children's services- several times I have asked library staff about Book start  to be greeted with a blank look on library staff faces. In the end I spoke to my son's nursery for the resources.
• Last summer I received a rude email from my library, as I hadn't borrowed anything on my account- my son however had borrowed loads. Instead of the email trying to entice me back, I read it feeling like I had been told off, that my account would be suspended if I didn't reply or take action in borrowing something. 
• Decent book stock for children isn't an issue, under 12's seem to be very well catered for. However there is a gap between 12-18 years old. This was the same I remember when I was that age...so I ended up raiding my older brother's bedroom and started reading Stephen King and Point Horror probably a few years before I should have done. 

Learning for adults: strengthening the workplace

Similar to the above topic, here partnerships with workplaces were highlighted. Libraries could be used to help people learn and improve IT skills. Here the main topic seemed to be in the growth of the immigration services- that could combine adult literacy and learning, workplace development, and legal services

From practice to research to practice

Funding tends to be available to library schools for research purposes. However this only shows half of the picture, how it theory events and activities should happen. But this might not be the case in reality. Teaming up practitioners with researchers would create more relevant and cohesive research and practice for the sector. 

Digital literacy and inclusion

Bridging the gap between those who have and don't have digital skills is a complex and critical component of not only government policy but also keen to society working cohesively. But as the digital environment is ever changing and teachers are preparing students for jobs that don't exist at the moment, for libraries to join in this challenge is a great idea, but a hard one. With more of the world becoming on line, so much as changed, social interactions happening online, economics changing to online services as well as education being able to be delivered online. 

However I do support inclusion, and here I really think public libraries need to look at education for inspiration. The educational sector has worked very hard to eliminate discrimination of any sort and mostly succeeded at this. 

Shaping the profession

A massive variety of skills are needed now to 10 years ago, and with all these skills I still feel that libraries are missing a few tricks and we have long way to go until libraries are at the forefront of change. With these increases in skills, this puts a lot of pressure of library school providers and employers of librarians- ensuring that librarians enter the profession with an decent skills set, but they are supported to continue to seek professional development to improve skills. This also means that libraries can no longer provider an all round excellent service, roles will start to become more specialised. With certain people taking responsibility for certain areas. This can easily be seen where I work, I have needed to become a more specialist librarian in developing archiving skills- mainly digitally, as well as developing web editing skills. Two elements I would never have considered were within my role when I was at library school. So it looks like the universal librarian is over and the days of the specialist are here to stay. 

Advance learning in libraries: an American approach.

Having just read the very exciting article entitled: 4 strategies in advance learning in libraries http://www.cilip.org.uk/cilip/blog/4-strategies-advance-learning-libraries. This paper was written in America and it is fascinating to read, several library leaders came together over 2 years to identify impact and outcomes of funding for libraries. Though this paper looks at federal funding, and examples are American. This is something useful to take from our state side information professionals. Having attended many conferences over the last few years, it has always occurred to me that America is somewhat ahead of the game. Having introduced a national Information Literacy month... yet the UK lags behind.

So to return to the summary article on these meetings. Though the meetings covered many topics, and looked at a variety of information professionals settings, 4 main themes were established. A full report is accessible https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/publications/documents/imlsfocuslearninginlibrariesfinalreport.pdf which on my reading list.

In brief, for now, here are the 4 topics

1. Connect LIS education and professional development to 21st century librarianship- starting and progressing from school librarians, this section looks at creating a new space and new services fit for the 21st century. Librarians should be embedded within the community that they work with. 
2. Pursue research that connects with library practice- connecting research that informs and is informed by practice. Working with others, and ensuring dissemination needs to be optimal for impact and influence. 
3. Designing participatory learning programs that demonstrate innovation and scalability- Design and develop library programmes that aid patrons over their lifespan.
4. Develop cross-disciplinary collaborations that advance library services nationwide- Engage with other non library organisations on a national level, to broaden the service of the library to new audiences. 

Article, ARLIS and LILAC bursary

Well, yet again, it has been a while since I last managed to write which is a little frustrating. However this week has been exceptional busy, possibly one of the most exciting weeks, where professional some exceptional events have happened.  

 

Firstly I have had a piece of work published in CILIP update. This is the fourth piece of writing I have now published (not including my blog). This piece was a piece that both my mentor and I wrote about our use of Skype in our chartership, from her position of the mentor and mine the mentee. The reason using Skype came about was we were unable to physically meet up. Over the course of 12-18 months we met virtually every other month. Towards the end of my chartership, which I successfully completed and have been awarded MCLIP in November 2013, we started thinking, how unique is this? Using conference call technology to complete something like a chartership, which needs to have two people working together for guidance etc? Which got us to ask the question, how many other people have used this method of working? With everyone having more and more work demands on them, travelling several times a month, year or every week become not only expensive but also impractical. 

 

I am very proud to have been a part of this project and I will continue to be grateful for the support of my mentor. She has already suggested we meet up with a glass of wine on Skype to celebrate, which personally seems very fitting.

 

Secondly I have now a member of the publications committee for ARLIS, which is amazingly exciting. ARLIS is the Art Libraries Society for the UK and Ireland, which promotes excellence within this community. Sadly due to the weather I was unable to travel to London, however Skype was used, with some success. Not to go in too much detail, but I think there is some great potential in an established publication. Alongside being a committee member I will also been asked to help co-edit the newsletter, which is brilliant, whilst someone else is on maternity leave. Editing is something that I have not done previously, however I have done proof reading. Having my husband’s aunt work in editing has always fascinated me. So being given this opportunity is one that I am very enthusiastic about.

 

All of this came about by attending last year’s ARLIS conference, which was in Bristol and I had a great time. I ended up chatting to loads of people, and obviously I must have made a pretty good impression on them. A few weeks after the conference I was asked to join the committee and then asked to become the co-editor. 

 

So it really has been an amazing week. Then I find out that I was successful in getting the bursary for the LILAC conference in April. Which I was really surprised that I had won and completely thrilled. I am hoping to do a write up after the sessions, for publication in CILIP, as well as blog about the days. Information literacy is a massive part of my role and something I have developed within my own role. 

 

It truly has been a remarkable week, were connected have developed in to exciting new projects or hard work has paid off. 

New CILIP regulations

With CILIP having changed there regulations, on obtaining chartership, I thought I would spend a few minutes to explain the changes. Firstly for MCLIP, they are going from 4 (or was it 5) down to 3. Plus making a clearer definition between each of the criterion.

The first Criteria deals with identifying there learning needs and reflect on the learning. This is made much easier with the introduction of Professional Knowledge and Skills Base.

The second criteria needs to show that they have examined their organization and shown an ability to improve the service. 

The third and final criteria needs to show an understanding of their wider professional context.

It sounds much easier but maybe because I have just had someone calmly explain this to me for near 6 hours and I don't need to put any of this in to practice.

There are loads of simple things that can be added in to tick off parts of the criteria. for each there needs to be 5-6 piece of evidence. 

Chartership and beyond

Tuesday I was able to attend the CILIP qualification session on the new regulations. Which first of all is a little confusing because as the trainer said achieving chartership is not a qualification. Which I thought it was, however it turns out it is actually demonstrating a level of achievement and commitment. But the day was good, I met some people I think who could be useful contact for the future. This is one of the reasons why I really enjoy these sessions, you mean people who are connected to your role or right on the edge of your role and they can be really useful in a certain situation as they have experience in a field that is not connected to your own.

The pace of the session was slow enough to write up notes but contained enough information for the session to hold the attention of people thinking about becoming ACLIP, MCLIP and the odd person like me who is thinking about becoming a mentor. 

Having completed my MCLIP, I now would like to give something back, if that makes sense and pay on the favor to another generation of librarians. My mentor was great with me, she was very supportive and everything that she made me do (which in the end I did do) was on the list of things that needed to be completed. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention at the last session which I attended. 

My next step is to register as a mentor and get trained, I have already have 4 people say they would like to have me as a mentor, which is pretty amazing.

One thing that did positively annoy me was if someone with experience in a library now wants to go an get a chartership they need no previous qualifications, I am not saying I only want people with Masters to be librarians. I am not elitist and part of the first generation of my family to obtain a degree. Actually I am the highest qualified person in my family. Getting more people in to librarianship is a good idea, but I don't think making everyone a chartered librarian is the right way forward. Personally I think there sound be different awards depending on your qualifications and experience.

Why I become a librarian

Having worked in libraries for 6 years, it's time to reflect on why I started this journey.

1. Wanted to work in education, but not as an academic
2. Enjoyed the sense of doing something worthwhile
3. Liked the variety of the role
4. Enjoy the link to technology
5. Something very British about the job
6. Outlet for obsessive behaviours, such as the ordering of items
7. "fun" of finding things
8. Enjoyment of using libraries when. I was young, plus the traditional love of books.

I am sure if you asked anyone else their reasons would be more sophisticated, but I'm happy with my reasons.

Portfolio building training session

Attended the portfolio building training session for MCILIPyesterday, I was a little sceptical about how worth while it was going to be and thought it might be CILIP trying to justify the £50 admin fee. But having spent 3 hours listening and note taking the course intersting and I seem now to have understood the 4 criteria. However I am unsure of how the event previously lasted all day, as ever my interested faltered after the break.

Content
I felt highly relevant I formation was delievered, providing additional relevant material on what should and shouldn't be including. For example, finding out that only5 pieces of evidence is needed per criterion and that pieces can represent multiple criteria, sets my mind at ease as several of my projects tick more than one box.

Trainers
Both for approachable and knowledgable, which made the session enjoyable and motivational, as half way through the session I was thinking that after MCILIP, I would like to become a mentor but in the short term my goal is to break down the task of completion in to sizeable tasks, with realistic deadlines and follow the twitter conversations #chartership chat and return to the previously engaged with #uklibchat. however if i am being totally honest I found the content of the first presenter more depth and interesting in comparison to the first half a dozen slides of the second presentor.

Overall I consider the most relevant aspect of the course to be the reinitiation of my previously dwindling motivation. Currently feeling inspired and that I could complete my chartership, as the task now seems to be in manageable pieces, unlike 24 hours ago when it felt like a bit of a drain only resources. I feel I have significantly increased my chances of successfully completing my portfolio, which I would like to do before the 11 th feb 2013, my return to work date post maternity leave.

What should an information literacy package contain

Information literacy being the seeking, retrieval and manipulation of information, in a ethically Infocorrect fashion. Regardless of the medium and format which it is presented. There are several models to explain what an information literacy package should contain- the most widely agreed upon

Content
1. Realising there is a need for information and how much information is needed
2. Research skills, both in traditional formats and online.
3. Critical thinking, the ability to evaluate and assess the information, to ensure accuracy, decency, legitimacy and validity.
4. Communication, of how the information will be presented from the reader to the audience and how the information will be collected.
5. Library skills, which is to encompass everything from finding a book using OPAC, to creating an Athens account, and doing a Boolean search within JSTOR.
6. Media literacy, to encompass computer literacy and visual literacy
7. The organisation and adapting of information. 

it's also important to work with the academics, to ensure timely delivery of the content, to soon into a new course and the information will be irrelevant, to late and it's equally pointless. 

Presentation
Regardless of the format, whether it be standing in front ova PowerPoint presentation, so it resembles a lecture,or something more flash like prezi, it doesn't matter along as the message is getting across to them. engaging  in to technology may  interest students more, or have the opposite effect of distracting from the message. However, in an attempt to be environmentally friendly I wouldn't create massive amounts of printed handouts , unless it was due to DDA. If it is, ensure enlarged font sizes, as well as printing on different coloured paper. 


Involment
To ensure learning has taken place, an activity is a excellent  ethos of testing this.vagain this can be as technologically  focused as you like from a interactive game online, to a series of activities. Or a question and answer session, participation is important, without it the above was pointless. Demonstrating certain points, for instance where the ebooks are but then letting them find something they are interested in, provides a stronger learning outcome. 

Tips for a successful library induction

A successful library induction, can have a major impact not only on the student returning to the library but also their grades and input in to the National student survey.

Timing is key, at the beginning of the new academic year with the first week
 Make it relevant, not only to there course but also there level of education
Get them to move, just listening to someone is very dull, provide a tour of the library
Give them a task
Make them laugh, or at least don't send them to sleep
Promote the service- it's free surely that must help
Group size's
Remember they will forget everything

Digital games in the academic library

Having read the article by john kirriemuir article in clip update September 2012,
which discusses academic game use mainly at US universities. It put a different
 slant on something that was introduced last term at my library. Where we
introduced the lending of 40 or so computer games, suitable for different platforms-
 ps3, Xbox 360 and Psp. Having read the article, one idea it suggested was keeping the games for archive purposes, something that i hadn't considered- the technology will change, at quiet a quick rate, so it might be worth holding to the current techology. Another point that the article raised was one university had purchased consoles, sadly this has not been something that we have been able to due, because of budgetary reasons. Within the article is discusses using gaming for information literacy, something which I could introduce in to our library, as the college teaches design for games at both further and higher education levels.  

Going to look in to the international games day @ your library for next November. 

Academic librarianship

Book review on Academic librarianship    by Camila Alire and Edward Evans.


Thoughts  
Having started reading this dense and rather heavy book, a couple of weeks ago. I have found that the majority of evidence though interesting, is all from America. Making some aspects of the book have limited relevance, which at times just leads to frustration.  The author also point out the reason why there needs to be a section on the history of the academic library, I feel it has limited impact or relevance, in particular to a English academic librarian. Especially when this takes up nearly 40 pages of the book. At times the book is too in depth, covering too many subheading, resulting in the initial point is at times lost and the reader needs to refer back several pages to ensure they remember what point is being made. On a more positive note, the chapter on services, under the heading of "the academic library today", which starts 215 pages out of 355, does provide very useful information, which is worth reading and developing certain ideas within any library. It is in this section that the authors show there worth and the relevance of the text.

Overall the coversge of topics is very good, possibly this book would have been more useful when I was  studying for my post grad, to provide a wider insight in to academic libraries. However this book is clearly written for people in academic libraries, more so than people wishing to join 


Cost 
Nearly £60.00
Understandably due to it's specific nature and detailed highly researched text. This book was 
never aiming for the mass market. 

Thing 18 part one

Podcasts I know ths is something that the college is keen to embrace and, I would like to dedicate time to using a medium to create a podcast to reinforce the students induction. However as I work at an art college, that teaches media, anything I create might look a little rough around the edges. On one previous occasion I had a media student create a podcast, but after copyright issues and grammar errors, it was deemed unsuitable for usage. Which was a great shame, as the podcast was apart from the two errors well constructed. Jing sounds great, little apprehensive over the recording f my voice, in previous occasions when recording my voice I have always sounded like I have a cold. I think i will have a greater look in more detail next week at work. As I need to download software.

Prezi- thing 17

I've seen Prezi a few times, normally on large screens, and felt sick, due to the motion. I think it provides a more interesting design concept but I the presentations can still be boring. The best presentations are the ones with decent content on an interesting topic, not ones which induce sea sickness in people.

On a more positive note, it can be great to capture people's attention, with high quality resources. I've watched the videos and maybe I'll have a look at it next time I have to do a presentation to senior management.

Thing 16

Promoting service Having recently completed an in depth year long study of item usage in the library, and presented it to senior management team, as well as additiontal important members of staff. I have needed to, explain the importance of information literacy to them. With there being connections to both grades and retention. Both of which are critical topics in education at the moment. In addition to this, I am also promoting a new cost saving service, where digital chapters from books therefore saving paper, as well as the academics time. As the service with be being supported by the IT Support software team. Advocacy As I work in a specialist library, where students have particular issues. Promotion the services in a manner which is acceptable tithe cohort is essential. In terms of advocacy, I am keen to promote the excellence of libraries In general. Interns of my own library, I promote the library during the induction process to students, continues to promote them during the course of the by either attending team meetings, or via our twitter account. We are also have an LCD screen, which we can create content, again this is used to get the message across to students about what the library can offer to them. Such as the lend of headphones, Computer games and DVD, along with more traditional resource. During the course of the following year the library will start to actively promoting itself to members of the general. In the first instance this will be promoted to people leaving from our evening courses. Getting published Having previously had two articles published, one being a letter and another being a book review, I am tempted to try for a third.

Art and Design libraries

As I work in a specialist art library, there is limited resources for myself to read, however the Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship for Higher Education, as proven to be an excellent read, Rachel Clarke’s chapter on cataloguing and classification for art and design school libraries: challenges and considerations. Where the article draws the reader’s attention to the process of cataloguing which must suit the information seeking behaviour of the student cohort. This concept has previously leaded me to have flexibility in aspects of the Dewey system to ensure that the users needs are considered. 

Some excellent points have been covered with in the chapter, for instance Artists in DDC are classified the country of  origin, not at our library, were we use their surname, this aids searching and creates less confusion for the students. Along side this there are other possible ideas for development, were the same process of the end user, a visual learner is taken into consideration.

Job description

Having to look again at my current job description, to alter in, so where I work can recruit a suitable replacement, whilst I am on maternity leave.

Wish list 
A qualified librarian, ideally with Chartership
Copyright and information literacy, so we have someone who is knowledgeable in both fields.
Experience in FE and HE education- you never kow when Ofsted are going to turn up.


Useful points to consider from Laura about the job advert.

http://darkarchive.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/writing-a-job-advertisement-that-will-attract-the-candidates-you-want/

Back to college

Having had a two week break, feeling very freshed. I've managed to work on my Chartership, starting to feel more confident, and happier with the content, to the point where I have started to remove some less needed information. I need to look in to reflective writing, and my mentor has kindly sent me some information to read up on this morning.

Other developments for the week are: read the rest of Art libraries journal, focusing on copyright, having already read two of the article and been very impressed with what i've read, as I am currently working on a digital achive for the college. pulling together all the images of students work, in the first instance it was going to be for academics to have a pool of images they can use for presentations and to demonstrate what previous students have done. However, looking in to the copyright, and consulting with other who have provided a similar service, but gone global. I am hoping that our archive has similar success.

Digitial archive

Been working, what seems like ages on the digital archive for the college, don't seem to be getting very far. The content is great, we have images of students work from 2007 to present, but I am the only one tagging and adding in details such as course and year information. As it is taking me a morning to do between 6-10 files depending on the size, I might be on the task for some time.

My day

Following the diaster of yesterday, I feel today has to be better.

Started day at 8am, ordered a pile of books for GCSE english course, must do a budget transfer later today! I'm terrible at remembering finance.

First job of the day is to re-write my CV, easy peasy, I have a completed and up to date version as a I am doing my chartership, but I am struggling with the section professional profil and creative practice section. Ok, after a cup of tea, I manage to type and drink. Finished that task and sent it to HR.

 As I have no teaching today, there is nothing major in my diary, I have a report to read on copyright and I have two reports I need to finish for SMT. Plus I could probably order a few more books and do the connected paperwork for contemporary craft.

Well my plan worked for all of ten minutes, when I relised that WilsonWeb has still not had the problem solved, needed to re-contact IT. Back to Copyright article.

Managed to last 20 minutes this time, before getting distracted- this time it was with tomorrow's display, it's on Brazil, so each member of the department has made a few carnival masks.

Finally managed to finish the document on copyright, it seems to have answered a few more questions I had on digital copyright, but created a few more.

Before lunch my plan is to work out the classmarks for the books that have arrived/ been donated to the college library, so one of the assistants can catalogue them. Will work on the SMT reports this afternoon. Hopefully.


It's 1.45pm and I have completed 2nd draft of the report for SMT, not sure how many drafts I need to create, so I think I am almost there. Very happy, once I have this report done about art and design libraries, I have managed to create a little network of art and design librarians, done some work on criteria 4 for my chartership and managed to (finger crossed) impress SMT.

Overall today has been pretty successful, managing to almost complete the report is a very big task, and doen two finance tasks, however I have broken my email account and can no longer communicate to the outside world.

the next three hours, will be spent- cataloguing books, not work on the report and giving my brain time to heal itself