The Twitter of the birds

I take a week off from all technology and next I know I'm behind in my Rudai23 course, video and live streaming have passed me by and reflective practice appears again asking us questions about time management!
To be honest I'm not too upset about missing video and live streaming, yes it's good to know how these things work but I really have no interest in participating in such exercises.  I've decided to keep certain technologies at arms length and perhaps in time experiment with them when the need arises. At least I'll be aware of the basics now thanks to the course.

'the real Twitter in the morning'

As for reflective practice with continued professional development and time management as key topics I see the difficulties people have in juggling personal and professional lives.  I'm finding it difficult to embrace technology on an everyday basis.  I have all the gadgets and gizmos needed to have 24/7 access but I just don't want to.  I have business commitments outside of the library service, live in a rural area with responsibilities to equine and farming life also.  I love nothing more than the solace of an early morning with just the twitter of real birds and Sammy, the German Shepherd for company.

I work on any email/LinkedIn issues when the house returns to quiet after my little one goes to bed and I limit myself to one hour of my time to all things social media related.  Then it's off to a quiet corner with a book and a cup of tea and I'm a happy bunny! I think we all to often let technology dictate our lives instead of letting technology enhance our life and make it easier.  We shouldn't be tied to our smart phones waiting for the next email/twit or Facebook like. We see all too often now that teenagers and youth are more comfortable online than talking and engaging in person, this leads to communication issues, isolation and defeats the purpose of having technology in the first place.  The important thing to remember is technology is a tool and should be treated as such.

As for professional development, cutbacks in organisation mean that there are limited funds to attend courses and conferences but I do like to attend events just to keep my toe in the water.  I attended the 10th ENROAC Conference in NUI, Galway recently which is the European Network for Research on Organizational and Accounting Change. It was an International conference with lecturers from USA and Italy leading the discussions.  While the conference is a reflection on my MBA (corporate accounting),  it also had strong presentations on the importance of quality information in real time for businesses to achieve market dominance.  Interestingly, information professionals were seen as key to economic advancement.  I'm heading to the Irish Academy of Management Conference in September with the theme 'Towards Socially Responsible Management'. Looking forward to some interesting presentations.

As for every day time management?
My day does start early as I rise at 5.30am, this gives me time to have breakfast, do outdoor chores and prepare evening dinner (then all I have to do is pop things in the oven later) I'm so lucky that my daughter sleeps through the night and has to be called for breakfast - mum's out there are now killing me because I have it so easy.  I know colleagues who have a busy household from first light.

Any tips I'd give colleagues? I've no fail safe ways to time management but these work for me.  Prepare things the night before - lay out your outfits with accessories and shoes, buy a coffee machine with a timer and then fresh coffee awaits you in the morning when you stumble into the kitchen. Set aside one hour for yourself to do this course and all things social media related and when the hour is up, walk away.  After a few days, you'll get into the hang of been focused online and might even steal in a bit of online shopping...it can be classed as research, can't it??

What's a real librarian?

I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet some of the Rudaí23 team over the weekend and get to know the people behind the profiles.  It was an opportunity to discuss careers, life choices and also elements of the Rudai23 course - how were we progressing? (slowly)  were we all up to date? (no we are not) were we enjoying it (yes)

The course aims to highlight different aspects of social media, the different programs and services available, many of which are free to use.  By utilizing these programs you can develop your online professional profile or your library service and help promote yourself or your services to a wider community. Of course issues of privacy were mentioned but we are all aware of the consequences and should approach each online element with caution. 

While enjoying some delicious food a passing comment from a good friend and colleague got me thinking, she mentioned that while she was introducing me at a recent conference she described me as a 'librarian based in Westside Library' but I started my presentation by describing myself as an 'Information Professional' - so what am I, or does it matter what title I have?

When I studied for my MBA I spent many a day explaining what my role was to my fellow students who had varied and well established careers in Business, Manufacturing, Medical Industries etc.  They had defined roles, descriptive job titles that showed clearly their expertise.  Often our networking events led to questions for me like - What exactly do you do? Do you read books all day? Gosh, is there a qualification for that, I just thought you shelve books... needless to say I drank many a strong beverage to calm my ruffled feathers.  But while I was doing the MBA we had to formulate presentations, complete questionnaires, IQ tests and undergo interview skills all these elements highlighted skill-sets that I had but were lost in the librarian title.

I felt that in a non-librarian world the title is lost on people - while it is one of the oldest profession in the world (we have to be careful as another profession is older, have a guess!) trying to define our job is very difficult but we are much more than just customer service reps, a description that is beginning to creep into our management publications and mantra.  By using the 'Information Professional' title it gives me the opportunity to highlight my experience and also showcase my skills some of which are unique to the library world, others cross over to many different industry fields.  The title also allows me an opportunity to explain what my role is to those that are interested.

Other issues that were mentioned was the 'snob' attitude with the library profession with some librarians thinking they are 'proper' librarians and perhaps looking down their nose as public librarians whose service, by its' nature, is multi-dimensional.  Some would go as far as to say that public librarians read poetry all day! I would perhaps suggest that it's not a 'snob' attitude that exists but a fear - a fear of the unknown. For some librarians the idea of developing a literacy program, establishing a community outreach program, engaging with recently released convicts and assisting them in their society transition strikes fear in their heart as does the use of databases and in-depth research/terminology usage strike the fear in a public librarian that they are somewhat inadequate.  What we as a profession need to remember is that we are all in the same industry, we are  information providers but that our methods are different.  Our skills are the same, it's how we use them that's different.  If we want the profession to be recognised and acknowledged for what it really is then we all need to acknowledge our differences, respect each others methods and move forward  as a united profession, ready to stand up to those who wish to see our services reduced, re-assigned or in some cases eliminated.

 

All things Visible

'Never judge a book by its' cover' - how many times have you heard this statement?  How many times have we picked up a book just because it was attractive, beautiful and engaging?  If we are all honest we would admit that we do judge books by their covers and perhaps judge other things too, something that we shouldn't be proud of.  We as humans are visual beings, I will admit some more than others and I am a very visual person so the topic of this weeks module for Rudaí23 was of interest to me.

For many people visual engagement and interaction is essential for them to learn, I'm one of them. I can visually remember a page of text or an image, great help in exams!
For me, books all stacked on a shelf are hard to browse, I need to see the cover or illustration.  Children are best at this, picture books for children are so under-valued and always seen as only suitable for little ones, but they can be enjoyed by all ages.  Perhaps take the time to really look at some good illustrators, PJ Lynch comes to mind.

As part of my job I love creating attractive book displays that encourage people to browse books that they wouldn't normally look at, get people to broaden their horizons or challenge them in some way is part of our role I believe.  Perhaps even highlighting issues that are seen as controversial  - lives of refugees, War and its consequences, Poverty and literacy problems.
I believe in an informed society, I believe in providing people with both sides of the story - unvarnished, and let them decide for themselves. As a librarian I'm there to provide access to information not decide what information is correct for you, that's your responsibility as a citizen.

I love the very idea that social media tools such as Pinterest can open up new horizons for libraries, engage with people around the world and share experiences, ideas and help promote different genres, subjects, topics to other interested parties.  Take for example our Westside Library Pinterest, we have a board for genealogy and genealogical resources and it's gaining in popularity every day.
Sharing visual displays of libraries also helps break down the barriers for people that may find approaching libraries difficult.  Many still have ideas that libraries are intimidating, unwelcoming and daunting places to visit, perhaps many are but they are not in the majority any more.  We, as librarians have broken the mould with our industry and have reached out to our communities in ways never seen before, social media is only another way of reaching out.

And yes, I'm the librarian that can help you if you're looking for the book with the pink cover, white writing and a little girl on the front!