Thing 16: Advocacy and speaking up for the profession

I feel bad because at age 38, I still haven't spoken out for the profession.  I need to do something about it. I will start by registering as a mentor to help CILIP chartership candidates obtain their qualifications. I'll try and think of something else.  I have always find it difficult to articulate myself and allowed it to be a hindrance to my career progession. I'll remember not to allow myself to take a back seat on any situation and force myself to be involved in the professional. I am ready to start!

Thing 15: Events etc.

I have attended many events in my professional career but I am still nervous every time due to the pressure of networking and getting the most out of the investment. Relaxing and trying to take in the picture is a good advice that I will try next time.

I am terrified of public speaking so being a speaker is a hard task for me. It is something I would like more practice of but don't like the idea of inflicting it on myself. I have done it twice and it's not as bad as I fear but still very stressful. I have learnt that the audience always want me to do well so I shouldn't worry about them. An advice that I received and found it very useful is "it's not about me". I'm doing it for my audience's benefit. This mantra helps me focus and pay attention to my audience and their reactions which means that I forget how nervous I am.

I am part of a CILIP CDG committee so I do help out with organising small training sessions and visits etc. It's a great way to learn new skills. I certainly recommend it. I am an introvert so being part of a group helps draw me out of my shell. I just need to work on my communication skills a bit harder especially how to talk to strangers!

Thing 14: Zotero / Mendeley / Citeulike

Three new resources that I have never heard of, which I have now explored and find that they are not relevant to me at this time.  I can see that it may be useful for those two are compiling a reading list for the purpose of writing an article or dissertation. I'll know now if anyone ever ask me about resources for researchers.

Thing 13: Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

I like Google Docs. I have a personal account where I keep files that I wish to access on more than one PCs. During my chartering process I used Google Docs to share my work with my mentor. I don't use Google Docs for work because we have other ways of sharing files within the organisation. I have access to a shared Google Calendar for CILIP related events with the East of England branch and do update the calendar with our events to avoid duplications.

Dropbox sounds like a useful site but it's something else that I don't need so I won't be signing up for an account.

I created a wiki but that was at least a year ago. Like everything else, I have not been keeping it up to date. I have added content to existing wikis but have not set up one in a professional capacity.

I can appreciate the usefulness of these resources and it's good to know that they are out there but I have no use for them at this time.

Thing 12 Social Media

I like social media.  It has many advatanges which have already been mentioned but I can see at least one disadvantage. It's very time consuming. I know many people who create accounts on many social networking sites but are not actively taking part. It's so easy to laspse even though it's a very convenient way to stay in touch. The rule I use to determine whether I am going to take part in social media is whether I will be contributing regularly or not. If the answer is no then I will not sign up for an account. I like to keep up with what's going on but I just don't have time to take part in everything that's happening on the Internet.

I have used social media a few times for professional development but I am not part of any community. I dip in and out of CILIP blogs and community forums. I created a blog but this is the first time I post regularly to it. I'll try to keep it going after cpd23 finishes.

I have a Twitter account but I don't tweet unless I have something that I think others would like to know and someone else is unlikely to tweet about. That doesn't happen very often so my account is idle most of the time. I do have a group of people that I follow to keep up with developments. Outside of work, I have a Facebook account that I use regularly to keep in touch with my family which works very well.

That's the extent of my social media involvement and I don't see any changes in the future. Although I don't use them I still want to know what they are and how to use them just to keep up to date with changes.

Thing 11 Mentoring

I am very lucky to have found a mentor who is not only supportive but also knowledgeable and very involved in the profession.  With her help I have achieved chartered status and am working toward revalidation. She's no longer my mentor but we keep in touch so she's still a source of advice and support to me. I used to have a mentor who worked in the same organisation but that didn't work out very well. It's good to have a new and fresh perspective from someone who is not familiar with what I do and my organisational structure. I think this is especially important for those who are chartering.  It encourages the mentee to go back to basic when explaining his/her situation. Chartering or not I would recommend everyone to have someone they can talk to for personal and professional development.

Thing 10 Librarianship qualification

I qualified under the ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program  in California in 1998. To obtain a library qualification in California it is necessary to first obtain an undergraduate degree and then carry on a further two years for a Master in Library and Information Science. My undergraduate degree is in Social Work. Whilst studying for my Social Work Bachelor degree, I worked in various libraries and loved it so much I decided that I wanted to be a Librarian. I enrolled with the San Jose State University Satelite programme which meant that I was able to study at Fullerton University where I can commute to on a daily basis.

I started my professional post in June 1998 at a public library in Los Angeles County.  In May 2000, I moved to England and started working as an assistant at RNIB Library Service.  I am now a Cataloguing and Technical Support Librarian. I love the system side of my job.  I would really like to become a system librarian one day in a University environment. Unfortunately I don't have a computer qualification so I am considering going back to school part-time to obtain a degree in computer science or something that would give me the knowledge and skills required for a system librarian post.

I am a member of both the American Library Association and CILIP. In 2009 I successfully completed my chartership process and become a CILIP registered chartered librarian. I am proud with this achievement and since then I have registered for revalidation.  I am a bit concerned about the status of libraries and librarians at the moment but I am hoping to stay in the profession for the rest of my working life.