Thing 17 Reflective Practice

Coming from a teaching background I have a strong sense of reflective practice and responsbility for my own CPD. It was actually part of my PGCE and teaching practices to reflect on lessons I had taken: what went well, what was learnt, what would I do differently etc etc, and I think that I have carried this over into my library work. I think it is good to be open to learning new things and considering new possibilities and new ways of doing things. I love the autonomy within my role that allows me to look at different ways of sharing what we do in the library within the community, and providing different ways to access our resources. Although I am only a very small cog in a huge machine, I have found the Rudai23 course has given me lots of ways of connecting with other professionals and expanding on the work of our library. Reflective practice, like learning itself, is a continual process and very relevant to the expanding needs of library users. I will continue with my blog as I use all the new tools (such as streaming, collaboration & professional organisations) to connect with the bigger questions whilst trying new ways of expanding what we do in the library.

 

Thing 16: Collaboration Tools

I have commented on the shared Google Doc and added to the main body of text. It seemed easy enough and I think it could work well for working with colleagues from other libraries. I do wonder if it is possible to maintain a version of the original for comparison, but perhaps this is just up to individuals to keep a hard copy if they want to.

Doodle meeting is something I can see myself using very soon. The last meeting I had to organise involved referring  to peoples google calendars and then e-mailing all via group e-mails or individually. It got a little frustrating at times as people would say that they couldn't do dates that were clear on their diaries. A very messy, inefficient way of doing things I thought. My only question is whether it would be easy to get others to sign up to doodle initially?

Thing 15: Advocacy for Libraries

For Thing 12 I spoke about attending a Speak Up for Libraries  conference In London which I found very helpful in putting me in touch with advocacy professionals and campaigns. Through social media I have kept up with them and been introduced to others in an organic kind of way which is very satisfying.

Although I had heard of most of the other campaigns, through further research I found out some things I didn't know:

1. Over 10 % of UK Public Libraries are under threat
2. The duty of a local council to provide a “comprehensive and efficient library service” is a legal obligation under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act. The Act also prohibits charging for book loans.
Although I know about the Act (and how the words 'comprehensive and effecient' can be widely interpreted) I didn't realise that we are not allowed to charge for book loans in law!

I do like the way this charity becomes a main stream of other debates and campaigns going on, many of which are not main headlines.

This was an organisation I had not been aware of before doing Rudai 23. I like the way it looks and speaks for Europe as a whole and the campaign 'Libraries Change Lives' says it all.
The fact that Illiteracy in Europe affects 73 million adult Europeans - that is 1 out of 5 - is shocking. School and public libraries play a large role in possibilities for learning and reading for pleasure.

Although I have not directly been involved in an advocacy campaign I do collaborate, network and develop partnerships on TwitterFacebook/LinkedIn and now google+, and I do share resources (such as the Library A-Z) within and outside the library

I think it is important to keep libraries in the headlines and celebrate widely all that they offer. I do worry that they idea of using volunteers is often mooted as a way to save money yet maintain the service; to my mind it short changes the public and denies professionals a job. On balance advocacy is necessary and important, and it gladens my heart that people Care; I  have to believe that it can make a difference.

Thing 14: Augmented Reality

Augmented reality, how exciting! I just had to have a go on Aurasma and create something.It's MO was not that obvious, but now when I scan the book I am reading at the moment the app plays Humpty Dumpty! This is not as random as it sounds as my next step will be to do the same on our library posters advertising rhymetime. I am very happy at this small achievement.

For the Summer Reading Challenge we had a treasure hunt with poster pictures supplied by the Reading Agency. By downloading a Solars app children could then scan the posters and see the characters moving. It was very popular and I think that a lot of our posters could be more interactive with maps and further information. Although this seems a bit gimmicky it could soon expand to information portals without initial overcrowding of information. One of our remits is to have an uncluttered Environment, good in principle but not always easy as a public library!


http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

Thing 13: Professional Organisations

Although I had already heard of CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)and SLS (School Library Service) it was really interesting to discover important groups like IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutes) and see what they had to offer. I created an on-line account with IFLA so that I could receive their newsletter and access some of their talks. Before this course I had pondered joining CILIP and SLS. The access to training opportunities/CPD and special interests groups are particularly appealing, as well as the feeling that I would be more in the loop with developments within libraries. The cost has put me off, as I would have to fund membership myself, but I am slowly coming round to the idea. Sometimes working in Public Libraries feels like being the poor relation to other professionals but I do love the variety of my job and feel acutely the need for access to local libraries for all.

Thing 12 - Attending conferences

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As I work for the local council, conferences are neither tolerated nor paid for! However, a couple of years ago  (23/11/13) I did attend 'Speak Up For Libraries' organised through CILIP at their offices in London. I had to take the day off as annual leave and pay for the ticket & travel myself. It was worth it just for the speakers and contacts made, although it did leave me a little disillusioned about the future of public libraries.

 

The speakers were:

• Yinnon Ezra, Advisor for Libraries at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
• Brian Ashley, Director, Libraries at Arts Council England (ACE)
• Janene Cox, President, The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL)
• Alan Gibbons, author and founder of Campaign for the Book
• Phil Bradley, President, the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP)
• Heather Wakefield, Head of Local Government, UNISON
• Steve Davies, Lecturer in Social Sciences, University of Cardiff

and through linking up with some of them on Linkedin/Twitter I now have further insight into current issues and agendas, which has been really great. This actually proved more helpful than the scribbled notes I had made on the conference handouts. I remember distincltly the speakers that inspired me, and my subsequent research on topics they spoke about was very helpful in understanding the overall picture of public libraries.

There were tea breaks and moving to different rooms for different speakers so it was quite easy to just chat to people and everyone was very friendly.

Next time I go to a conference I may take some business cards with me and do a little research before hand so that I can ask more specific questions.


 

 

Thing 11 - Reflective Practice

Reflection - Deep thinking

I am doing this course as part of my personal CPD. I was really lucky to find out about it through one of the library groups I follow (I think it was SLS on google?). I work in a public library so there isn't any money for training outside of that which is deemed integral to the role or with new ways of working, and much of this is done inhouse. I have relished the chance to connect with other professionals and learn about things that could expand the work I do in the children's library and promote my library in the wider community.

I started the course a little late but find the reflective sessions helpful both as breathing spaces and as consolidation tools to deepen learning, My advice to other participants would be to do the work little and often; even if it is just to read the notes or look at one link it all helps and means that you have done something on those busy days.

I have contacted the Rudai team once with a technical question via email and they replied quickly and succinctly without making me feel daft! It does feel as if there is an invisible wall of professionals supporting and willing us on which can only be good!!

This is a picture of one of the craft sessions I did this summer; from high tech wizardry to paper chains & origami dogs :-)

Thing 10- Live Streaming

This has been an amazing week for learning new skills and having fun. If there were a prize for most expanded head in one week I think that I should get it!!
I have;

1. Had a google hangout session with my son who is in Finland. Really lovely
2. Downloaded Periscope on to my ipad and as well as viewing other live videostreams from the Canaries and London I also did my own live broadcast this morning! Before the library opened I did a tour of the children's library with commentary. Surprisingly easy.
3. Not forgetting of course the video of the bike meet for the last thing, which was the hardest challenge so far.

Now that I know how easy  streaming live events from the library is the possibilities seem endless.. When we have events or speakers it might be nice to publicise that people can also watch from home (particularly valuable for the housebound). It would also be nice to link with local schools; it could even be something as simple as linking for a storytime from the children's area with Harry the Bear and Dingle Dangle Scarecrow!

I look forward to looking at online conferences etc for my CPD and own interest.
I have really enjoyed this Thing 10.

 

Thing 9: Video

At last, I have managed to upload my 2 minute video. This has been the most challenging part of the course so far, not least because of a combination of ipad use and outdated windows! I am on a bit of a roll as I also used google hangouts this week :-)
The video shows the beginning of a rally I was on last week, just to dispel any expectations of library bods.
I would like to explore further the possibility of connecting with local schools, perhaps over projects like the summer reading challenge or chatterbooks, to expand notions of learning.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw2u_J5F7tc0YVdnelYwR2hfeDQ