update

Just rereading some of my older posts and my shake up is still on, I have nearly finished round my computer and by my chair at home, work is down to 4 boxes which I should get done over the next few eeks and first week of hols! my clothes have been shaken but not fully sorted, that needs some more of my friend Heather to help me vet things, may ask both her and Sharon over for a weekend of sorting!
So work is moving and I am still keeping my reflective journal (not sure I am doing it right but its happening) and so am not missing work things, home is not quite as organised but there are 4 other people to sort there...
Kittens now small cats and very fun but hard work. they are all jagged and chipped and well, poor smudge still growls at them but they do like to stalk her! poor love.

Things #15, #16 and #18

Thing #15 #16 and #18

I see thing #17 got postponed, such is life.

I have a bad wrist so my typed work is short at the moment, no reflection on cdp23! Just me!

Thing #15 is about going to and participating in conferences and events, I did go to umbrella this summer and got heaps from it. I need to know more about advocacy (yes thing #16) and to be more open minded (as well as open posted, I didn’t always open my Cilip post if I was busy!) I plan to set up a mash up in the winter/spring when our own work has settled, new jobs fun but hard work esp. as my other side has problems and I was in the works depot at 8am looking at the state of the library van! After the 1^st of October we become a ‘private ltd co’ and we hope to have the bulk of our training done by the end of the year, so I shall be organising one for after that in the highland capital Inverness. So yes I will be attending, organising and even plan to give a paper for the next Umbrella on how life has changed for us and how to get the best from it! Big plans but I hope to live up to it.

Thing #16 is one I need to do more of, I shall be changing my groups or adding it, I didn’t know what was covered by this and I need to know more. I shall be following more links and doing more work, and I think this for me is tied in with thing #15. I need to get my blog out to a wider audience, and I need to get more of my own interactions into the wider professional community. I shall be looking into the links and doing more commenting and I shall be linking my blog to the cdp23 for this thing as it is potentially the most important one so far. As a profession we can only stand a whole, no one else will ride in to save us (and we shouldn’t wait for it either) We need each other and if we all work together we can make changes, we can show a need. One voice isn’t much but when its many we have more chance, and we need to say more and do more (when we have time!) and the best tool for this is advocacy.

Thing #18 I already do to a bit of an extent, I have film of the kids on world book day and other things saved but not yet used! I spend part of my day watching podcasts and news clips, and I make power points to catch and keep kids attention already, but to step into podcasting is a big one, I am looking forward to making a podcast of my library skills so other kids can do it as they get time, or to brush up on them. As I am part of a group looking into best practice in this I am hoping ot get the best and podcast it, sadly I don’t have all the technology yet but I have plans and hope to be more savvy next term when glow to meeting get running more.

Over all I am finding that the CPD23 is helping but I will be going back and doing things when they more fit in my time, I plan to take some work on holiday at Christmas to write and do when not online!

Thing #14

I seem to have stalled on thing 14, I find I currently don't have a need for bibliography's, I know this is just my current situation so will be looking into this more but I don't use FireFox, so can't use zotero, I haven't had time to download Mandalay at home, and sadly am still working out what delicious is!

The start of the new term for school librarians is taken up with the library skills for the new first years and as I am over half way through (as of 30 mins ago!) I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel and hope it isn't an oncoming train (like normal).

I now realise that thinking at glacial speed has meant that I haven't done thing 15 or 16 yet but I hurt my arm at the weekend and have spent last 3 days in allot of pain, mehh, I live. I am still keeping my reflective diary which has done me some good but find I cant keep it over the weekend as I am too distracted! but now I know! I can do so much and achieve this much and more isn't realistic, for that alone I think the CPD23 is a winner!

I must go and sort out the next Library skills class and the next things! while keep track of other things in planning, I need a secretary not a diary! applications accepted, pay nil, hours awful, conditions ad hoc! lol.

Thing 13

Well I am finally following my lists again and find a note to self to do thing 13 :-) which I have done last week and I have been using the google docs to upload and download info I need at home and school with out losing the flow of it. Sadly I have found the format it changes it to makes it impossible to take back and forwards the way I need and I have just been back to my Glow to use it here instead.

The council it moving towards shared folders and cloud storage, so Ultimately I can save in one place and open in another, luckly I have the same spec at home as at work so can transfer seemlessly!

I can't add software to my work mahcine and part of the good of drop box is file share, so that isn't an option for work. I shall be trying and useing it in other circumstances but for now I have tried and won't keep using google docs.

This is a problem that needs to be solved as printing and posting things gets less practicle and my last job application was compelety electronic!

Head back to front

I have had a rough few days, I am not sure if the sad death of Kevin finally hit or the new job moved too fats or if lack of sleep hit, what ever it was I didn't get more than 6 hours of broken sleep form Thursday until Tuesday evening, and last night I spent a few hours trying to sort out my world. I took up my reflective journal and wrote screeds, I replaced my lost Kindle after reporting it to the Police as I lost it in Town! Husband recons it will get sticky one day and I shall put down the new one and find both together when I pick it up! took time to sort that out and get my books back and running again!
Hospital appointment went well, and consultant was happy. Funeral had gone well and Husband was able to tell me who all had gone. Had a nice supper and online play and an early ish bed, asleep by midnight! so when I woke at 7.30 after a good rest I don't know which of my things helped but I shall keep it up!
Stress filled am as I had my first lib skills with new 1st year and not all was in place! but it ran okay I just have to iron out the bumps! next is tomorrow! Just checked the book and I cant get to the roadshow and get the library skills done! I shall see if I can get to another one. So I must go and do work.
Roll on UFO day this Saturday, I need to peace!

Thing #12

Thing #12

Before I came back into Libraries and just after my return I had a very large and very supportive online group, they were based all over the world, form Australia to the US to Asia and Africa, we had a basic interest in common but beyond that we were just chatting and helping each other get through each day and week, some had dependants others had long, hard or no jobs. We chatted whenever we were online and had much fun, but I noticed as I got more into the online group I had less and less real life contact’s until I wasn’t going out and my day was spent sneaking online or waiting impatiently for time to go online.

I do like social networks but I am aware that for me they are an addition and must never be a replacement for real life links, They can help keep links and contacts alive, they can add depth and value to your work and friendships and keep distant ones closer. They are a means to an end not an end in itself and while they have a lot of value they are only a tool like the majority of the Things have been to use as much or as little as suits you.

Being so remote I do find that social networking helps keep my professional awareness up, I was at one time the only qualified, employed council librarian for nearly a hundred miles with one academic librarian in the next town and a few retired and one self-employed one in the whole of the county. We all know of each other if we needed help.

Drawbacks to social networking is the vast differences between situations, There are very few Librarians in the same situation as me and even my colleagues are different. This led to limited help and only those who also use the same network’s as me, e.g. Facebook, yahell, etc. Also the hardware I had has changed and some would not let me in to some chats or networks, while others ran fine for me but not others.

I have been following The CPD23 and have made some new links though it and will hope to keep that up, I am aware that I could ‘friend’ everyone but never know who was who or why I had them in 2 or 3 years’ time! I have added a few new people to my networks and found a few new networks, I will be adding more as I get to know them through blog or RSS feeds etc.

I did use social networks for work before but wasn’t sure what is the best and the sheer number available needed me to be helped through it, and that is the joy and best of CPD23 for me. I plan to keep using and developing my own skills long after this has finished and I shall be redoing this in a year or so’s time to refresh all these skills and to help me re-find any lost aims and interests!

Final question is the easiest and the hardest, my opening paragraph about my obsession with online group and not real life shows that I found a community there, the problem for me was if the Internet was down I was bereft and as it wasn’t any work side I didn’t keep up with the work I needed to do. Yes you can foster and keep a community alive but it takes commitment that you must put in to get out. It is easier to not bother if you have never looked a group of people in the face than if you know they are sat in a hall without you and wondering what has happened to you today! Tomorrow is my favourite craft groups’ monthly meeting which I missed due to holidays last month and I can’t wait to get in and share new things and ideas, and take fresh baking and have fun.

Social Networks are good and can help and keep things alive, but nothing beats a good old sit and chat, face to face. Body language makes up so much of our input and emoticons don’t fill the gap J.

Things #8 to #11

Things #8, #9, #10, and #11

I have been working away in the back ground and getting things finished and sorted but not always blogged about. I did Thing 8 which is the Google calendar which set me off thinking about making one for the library to allow staff to book the library and see when things are busy etc., but that needs to be separate from me as I need the calendar to keep track of me!

I am still keeping my reflective diary from thing #5 and week 4 and I have filled in where I have been, what I have done, how good it was and what I plan to do. This was fine when I was at home more days than work but now I am back to work full time I find I need somewhere to put my plan notes and calendar helps me keep track and mark off I have done or not!

When I first read the 23 things I knew I may get lots out of this option and have been looking forward to it, I was right it has opened new vistas for me and I am working much more efficiently. If I stopped now I am already showing the benefits of this CPD and must thank you for it, and the chance to participate.

I did like thing #9 Evernote and will be using it on-going but I also can’t download it to my work computer and so can’t use at work, I am hoping if it is good and very useful to make a business case for its inclusion in our software bundles. Here’s hoping.

Thing #10 and #11 are Training options, #10 is the courses and accreditations you could do, I looked into an MA/PG course distant learning, which is done by one of the university’s up here, which would fit in round my work, I would love the chance to do a PG and being a bit of a student again would be fun, sadly the cost was very high at over 7k for the 3 year course, current family circumstances means that my children are just off to college etc. now and in the next 3 or 4 years, after that I may go and get an MA of my own J But currently being a mentor for chartership is fulfilling my need to keep active along with cpd23.

Thing #11 is a good one for me as I have been doing this without planning it for years, I tend to find people who I can ask questions of and share that with others newer than me, I am currently just starting buddying a new network librarian who is taking on a big post not far from me (in highland terms) and am just getting my first mentee ready to submit! I have a semi-formal mentor who has been a great help to me for nearly 20 years and as I have moved up and on so she has ahead of me which makes our connection very strong. I also have had informal mentors over the years in many areas, some over lapping but all have been who and what I needed at the time. I have never had a formal mentor, even my chartership mentor was very hands off, so I may have not always gained here but my semi-formal one has always been there and has taken an active interest in my work even when I worked for other companies and places.

Other issues have been back to school which is a big thing, but staffing changes meant the library timetable is torn up and I shall have to start again. Sadly we also lost a dear friend and colleague last night, while driving home with another colleague they were hit by an oncoming campervan on the wrong side of the road and he was killed outright and declared dead at the scene, the driver who had to be cut out is not being sent to a bigger hospital to get her arm put back together and this is all very sad to us.

My thoughts are with his wife and sons.