Thing 23: Reflection

Participating in Cpd23 has been a learning journey for me. I have enjoyed learning about the different web 2.0 features.  Some of them are very useful, some not so but it's good to know about them nonetheless.  Many thanks to the organisers, their hardwork is very much appreciated.

I've done my SWOT analysis and set some SMART goals so will be incorporating them into my appraisal next month. 

Thing 22: Volunteering to get experience

I believe in volunteering for experience.  I have done it since I was very young.  I have learnt a lot over the years and would recommend it to anyone.

I don't think it devalues our profession.  The skills and knowledge gain from volunteering can be diverse which are useful to cement the gaps of skills and knowledge that we obtain from our day jobs.  I have recently volunteer at an NHS library.  I was amazed to learn how an health library works.  While I was there, the library moved from manual circulation to RFID so that was an eye opener. I was also given an opportunity to give a presentation to a group of library assistants about my library and how we can can help them.

Whilst the experience really helped me grow as a librarian, the library also benefited from my presence.  I was able to share my cataloguing knowledge with them when they were moving from an in-house cataloguing rules to the mainstream standards.

To get the most out of the volunteering experience, I would recommend that you have clear objectives and SMART goals. These objectives then need to be agreed by the organisation and yourself and they need to be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are being achieved. I would like to volunteer at a university library next.  Please get in touch if you know one that you can recommend. I am opened to new experiences so happy to do anything.

Thing 21: Promoting yourself in job application & interview

My dream job would be a library database administrator or system librarian. My knowledge and skills are limited to what I picked up from my current job. I have done a little bit of configurating cataloguing tables etc. on a unix system but can use more experience and training on the subject. I think there are two ways I can obtain this skills.  One is to attend courses on computer programming or something similar. Two is hands-on work either on the job or as a volunteer. I am not doing a lot to achieve my dream because I don't know where to start and it's very costly. Perhaps a session with CILIP career advisor would be helpful. I am not so sure but it could be a start. In the meantime, my CV database can definitely benefit from an update. Does anyone have one that work that they can share? I find that I have too many files and sometimes end up deleting the wrong in an attempt to tidy up.

Thing 20: Library roots/routes

I grew up in Vietnam without reading a story book until I was 11 years old.  I did not know there was such thing as a library or books that are not school textbooks.  One day I was chatting to my lovely neighbour, who turned out to be a librarian at my school, about having to write a story for my language class. I told her that I had no idea what to write and she suggested that I visit her at the school library where she can lend me some books to give me some ideas. I did exactly that the next day and borrowed Cinderella.  I have not stopped reading since.  I borrowed book after book and after I read them I told the stories to my little sister.

Years later, after we migrated to America, I visited my local library and knew instantly that I wanted to work there.  I applied for a job as a shelfer and started part time work while I was attending college.  By the time I got my bachelor degree, I knew I wanted to work in libraries for the rest of my life.  I enrolled to study for a master degree in Library and Information Science and qualified in 1998.  My first professional post was reference librarian in a public library.  In 2000 I moved to England and started working for a charity as an assistant cataloguer.  I am now a cataloguer and technical system support librarian at the same organisation. 

That's my root/route and I'm hoping to continue working in libraries for a long time to come.

Thing 17: Prezi and slideshare

Just signed up for an account on Prezi. Had a look at some demos and tutorials but cannot for the life of me figure out how create a prezi.  It seems very hard to use.  I can add shapes etc. but cannot add text.  It's very strange.  I don't like to give up but I just don't have the time and patience for Prezi at the moment.  I'm going to go back to the last task and create podcasts instead.  I might give Prezi another go some other time.

Slideshare is great.  I have viewed a few presentations on slideshare before and found them very useful. I much prefer to learn through viewing slides than reading documents.  I have never presented with slides before so will try and create some instructions using Powerpoint instead of Word.

Thing 19 integrating

I have learnt a great deal since I joined the cpd23 programme. The things I found most useful so far are RSS feeds, Evernote, Google Docs and podcasts subscription. I have been able to make use of these instantly and will carry on using them. They are tools that enhance my Internet experience and help me with my personal and work life.
Pushnote, Google calendar and citation are tools that I will not be using in the near future but might come in handy some day.

It has not all been smooth sailing however.  Many of these web based tools are blocked from my work PC. Some are frustratingly unreliable. Nevertheless I feel more knowledgeable and proud that I have achieved so much in 13 weeks.

Thing 18: Jing / Screen capture / Podcasts

I had fun playing around with Jing. Only managed to capture an image, added an arrow and a text box but it's still an accomplishment! I was unable to share it at this time but hopefully it will be working by the time I finish this post, in which case I will include a link to it. It's a useful screen capture tool. It saves us time re-creating things but we have to think about the copyright implication when using something like this. Is it enough citing the source or is it necessary to obtain permission? I suppose it all depends. We just need to be careful when using someone else's work to check their copyright statement.

Unfortunately the free version is a bit unreliable so I can't get a link to the screen capture that I did.  I had a look at the other screen capture tools mentioned but didn't find anything suitable for me.

Podcasts: now I know why I haven't been able to listen to any podcasts. I need another software! I am pleased to report that I can now subscribe to the New York Time book reviews that I've been wanting to listen to for ages.  Thank you so much for showing me the light!

I now have the facility to record a podcast but still have to learn about creating feeds for them so people can subscribe. Podcasthost.com seems to be a chargeable service so I'll be searching the Internet for a free equivalent.  Soundcloud.com will host sound files for free but there's no mention of creating feeds to them. The search continues.