It’s been quite a journey to follow this course, and I’m sad to have come to the end. It’s time now to reflect, though – how have I applied what I’ve learned and what would I like to be able to do with it?
Blogging
I’ve learned to develop a professional voice of my own and to gain confidence putting forward my opinion. Until this course, I’d never posted on a blog or created one of my own. I’ve been able to put into practice what I’ve learned both technically and in terms of confidence into blog articles for the MmITS group and as part of GUL’s 23 Things Mobile, which required participants to post on a communal library blog. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a prize for a post regarding the environmental impact of Cloud computing, first developed as part of this course.
Photosharing
My own institution has its own Flickr account, so it’s clearly a skill useful to marketing and promotion. Library assistants are not involved in these types of projects, though, so it’s been important to me to understand photosharing programs beyond my working environment. I would like to put it to use for my committee and volunteering activities.
Due to the prevalence of Facebook in our personal lives and now in the workplace, this course made me take the plunge to find out more about it. My own institution has it’s own Facebook account, so again it’s a skill now associated with library promotion and marketing. I’m still very reticent to use Facebook on a personal level, but it’s been very useful for me to understand how it works and I’m confident that I would now be capable of managing a library Facebook account.
This has been one of the most useful tools to come out of this course for me. Networking via Twitter is very instantaneous, with a wealth of information immediately available from the person or group you are following. It gave me the chance to be involved with the Glasgow Library Tweetups group, visiting specialist information services in Glasgow. I was very inspired by the talk given by Breast Cancer Care as part of GLTU and this gave me the idea to look for volunteering opportunities in the charity sector. Twitter was then the means by which I discovered that Macmillan would be launching the Macmillan @ Glasgow Libraries project, so I was able to contact Macmillan right at the start and began training only months later. I doubt that I would have been aware of this project without Twitter. Although I still lack some confidence in posting my own tweets, it’s been very useful to gather followers from different library services and to use my Twitter feed to promote MmITS and Macmillan events. I hope to be able to develop a wider professional network through Twitter and to post on a more regular basis on professional issues.
Social Bookmarking, Tagging and Wordle
Although I’m glad to have learned a range of different online tools, I can’t see a direct application for these within my current activities apart from Wordle, which now seems to be the default embelishment for every presentation I’ve attended since this course.
Legal Aspect
This is such an important topic and this course has helped to highlight just how many aspects of my work, whether for the Institutional Repository, at the Lending Services Desk, in Book Acquisitions or for the Document Delivery Service, rely on an understanding of corresponding laws that I have a responsibility to know. Despite this, I have been turned down for the staff training offered at my own institution on Copyright Law, Freedom of Information and Data Protection on the basis that this training is not directly relevant to my job, a mindset that I believe sets a dangerous precedent within the library. This course, and my attendance at relevant seminars in my own time, has at least allowed me to fill in the gaps and I hope to keep up with developing issues such as the Digital Economy Act and any other changes to the existing laws as I go forward in my career.
Searching and Q&A Forums
As an information professional, any tool that develops my skills in being able to discover quality, relevant information is of interest to me, and I am now far more aware of the range of websites and online tools available to categorise web content for this purpose. My current job does not require the same kind of search skills that would be required of a library assistant in front-line activities such as enquiries or lending services, but it is my responsibility to be prepared to step into those roles whenever required, so this topic has given me a better foundation for those tasks.
RSS Feeds
In terms of current awareness, I was glad to learn how RSS feeds work and I’ve been able to put them into practice on the blogs that I’ve set up for this course. Although RSS feeds serve no purpose in my main role in Book Acquisitions, I am hoping to apply RSS feeds to the website I maintain for the CILIPS MmITS group to create closer links with the main MmIT group and the wider CILIPS community. As the interface is fairly basic and I have limited administrative rights, it may be a challenge to find a way to do this, but now that I’m aware of how simple this technology is, I’m confident I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned for this purpose.
Wikis
I love the idea of collaboration between different libraries and information services, so I was really glad to learn more about wikis and how they have been used for this purpose. Although I don’t believe they serve a purpose within a shared location, I had nevertheless offered to create a wiki for my department due to the lack of group staff meetings and poor communication in general. My idea was to create a space for staff to raise issues related to work flows and practices as we often find that we all do things slightly differently but with no way to really discuss the best solution. My offer was declined, but perhaps with good reason. The university library instituted its own wiki via Sharepoint within months of my suggestion and the staff have never used it. I could certainly see a place for wikis in the voluntary work that I do for Macmillan, though. I would like to see a wiki forum where the volunteers from different shifts and services could put forward their ideas of how best to develop the services. There is a huge focus on making the services predominantly volunteer led. Without a regular way for us to collaborate in person, a wiki could be an ideal way for volunteers to achieve this virtually.
Start Pages
As these have been largely phased out, evolved into speed-dial pages, or been superseded by other social media tools, I didn’t find start pages to be relevant to the tools available in my own library.
Cloud Computing
I’ve become far more aware of the Cloud since studying this part of the course and found that certain aspects of my library that I had believed were utilising cloud computing were in fact reliant on off-site servers. It has been essential for me to understand what constitutes Cloud computing, especially as there are so many programs that I’m using in various parts of my job now that rely on Cloud programs and websites, especially those for document delivery and sending electronic articles to international institutions. As I develop in my profession, I need to be aware of the various tools available in the Cloud in making informed decisions regarding the kind of services my library provides and the method of provision. This has become even more apparent to me following my involvement in my own library’s ’23 Things Mobile’ course, which looks at mobile technology and its application in libraries. Although sometimes imperceptible, it’s important to be aware of native apps on mobile devices as compared to Cloud based apps. Syncing across several devices is made possible with Cloud based apps that store data externally. If I am to be successful in helping to develop mobile library applications, it is essential that I know all the variations that Cloud computing offers.
Online Tools
This part of the course introduced me to Google Docs, which the MmITS Group that I am part of has since used to share documentation. Due to access issues experienced by some members who work for local authority organisations, however, I organised for a private area to be created on the MmITS pages of the CILIPS website to be used in a similar way to Google Docs. Although the functionality is more limited with this solution, we can nevertheless upload, store and edit committee documents and we also have a dedicated forum for group discussion, all without any of the access restrictions associated with Google. I have also been able to use Dropbox as part of my work in Document Delivery when sending electronic articles to other institutions and to backup my Chartership documents. This has given me the option to make those folders available to my mentor, which will be a much more effective way of sharing my development and receiving feedback.
I was also able to discover that Meebo in my library was discontinued due to the acquisition of Meebo by Google Inc. I’m glad to hear that the library is now investigating alternatives as I believe instant messaging is still a valuable way to provide enquiry and lending services to library users.
Youtube and Video
I’ve benefited very much as a Youtube user, even though I would very much like to have the chance to create multimedia content of this nature, keeping in mind copyright issues that I’m continuing to learn. I see Youtube and similar sites as providing two invaluable functions in terms of library services and my own professional development – that of promotion and as a training/information resource.
As part of my professional development, I volunteer with Macmillan providing cancer information and support in Glasgow libraries. This is a pilot project and promotion is vital to success. Macmillan have their own channel on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/MacmillanCancer), and as I progress as a volunteer, I’d love to create content for the channel based on the Macmillan@Glasgow Libraries services. This would be a relatively economic way to raise awareness of what the library-based services offer, as this has been a particular issue for new services opening within the last year – many library users see the Macmillan brand and believe it to be a findraising activity, not realising that we are providing a drop-in cancer information service. The link could be forwarded to stakeholders, hospitals, GPs, other cancer charities, Glasgow councils, carers and patient groups as a means of getting the word out.
Training is very difficult to obtain and I would love to see professional training videos offered by CILIP as part of their support for continuing professional development. Although there is a CILIP channel on Youtube, I was very disappointed to see that the training playlist has been deleted and can only hope that there are plans to update this facility. As part of the MmITS committee, we’ve also been looking into providing training in multimedia tools for MmITS members regardless of location, so I’d like to see CILIPS groups such as ours fill this gap using visual tools such as Youtube to reach dispersed members in a cost effective way.
Audio
Audio tools such as podcasts serve similar functions as that of visual tools, although I think they edge towards the educational more than the promotional and this is certainly true of my own academic institution. I’m enthusiastic about the ease of which podcasts could be produced for the activities I’m involved with e.g. training material for MmITS members and promotional material for the Macmillan @ Glasgow Libraries services. I think that podcasts and audio tools may prove more limited than visual material for promotional purposes, but they could still offer an ideal way to easily embed Macmillan information into the Glasgow Libraries website. Similarly, although I believe training is best in a real-time face to face situation, I would love to develop podcasts that would provide MmITS members with a quick overview of the latest topics in multimedia and information technology, at the same time raising the profile of the group. These could easily be made available on the MmITS blog and website.
DIY Library
Since this part of the course, I’ve become very much more involved with book-based community groups such as The Library Thing. I’m still a bit of a lurker, but that’s more to do with the wealth of comments and reviews to read than my previous lack of confidence on social and professional networking sites. The DIY library is much more applicable to my own development than to anything I could apply it to in a work situation, although a fellow Macmillan volunteer recently suggested that book groups focussing on various cancer support themes may help to convince reticent library users to approach our information service. Creating an online library of materials and forums to be made available on the library website could also be an option, particularly with the increase in public library users who have expectations of mobile services.
Google Maps
Within the sphere of by position in Book Acquisitions, there isn’t a call for any kind of maps-based application. Following on from my discovery that Google is developing software to map library buildings, however, I’m interested in how this could be applied. A discussion with our Mobile Strategy Co-ordinator revelealed that my library is keen to investigate library mapping options that would enable a scheme similar to that of the University of Warwick, whereby enquiries staff are no longer static but roam the library, dynamically responding to enquiries by pinpointing the source via mobile technology. As a library assistant with responsibilities to the lending and enquiries desks when we are short-staffed, this is a project that I would certainly be required to help support. Wi-fi has been specifically reinforced throughout the library building to support mobile technology over the last year, so this is a scheme that I can imagine being piloted in the near future, hopefully giving me the chance to experience first hand what can be developed from mapping software.
Ebooks
Ebooks have become very central to the work within my department, so it’s a topic I’ve been aware of for some time. Although it could be argued that the academic ebook landscape is less volatile than that of public ebook lending, there are still inherent problems and constantly shifting terms and conditions. I receive updates fairly regularly to say that a particular provider can no longer be considered when we are checking for ebook sources as prices may have gone up in comparison with other competitors, or perhaps the library has signed a deal to purchase a set list of titles from a particular publisher, or purchasing of certain titles may be dependant upon Patron Driven Acquisition for a set amount of time. Monitoring is constantly required with regard to the purchase models provided by each supplier as this can quickly change from multi to single user access per purchase.
A recent CILIP Update article commented that Academic Libraries are leading the way in terms of ebooks, and that’s perhaps due to the sheer quantity of ebooks now being purchased and also the relative ease with which access can be provided to students. In this regard, I have been able to apply my increased understanding of ebooks to the job I do every day. It’s important that my knowledge extends beyond the academic sector, however, as much of the debate surrounding ebooks centers upon public library ebook lending due to publisher concerns that revenue will be lost if a single purchase can then be accessed by multiple library users. I’ve always believed in a holistic approach to my work so that I understand complete processes, even if I function only as a part of that process. Consequently, although I apply my developing knowledge of ebooks to my everyday work when providing purchasing options to supervisors, final decisions are made without the involvement of library assistants, and it’s incumbent upon me to learn those aspects of ebooks that are missing from the practical experience I have of them if I am to become a well-rounded information professional. This course has allowed me to do that.
Leigh 2.0 