Thing 12 - Social Media

I have definitely started to use social media more due to my participation in CPD23; gaining more knowledge of this area is one reason why I decided to join in with the programme in the first place. Over the last few months I have engaged with Twitter to a greater extent. I’m now following more people and organisations, including library related people/organisations and CILIP. In this sense, I’ve found Twitter to be a great way of staying informed of current activities and news in my areas of interest, and also the local area in which I live. However, I still feel like I’m not actively engaging with Twitter as I don’t tend to join in with conversations.  Maybe now I’m following more people/organisations, there’ll be more scope to join in – I’ll certainly be trying to this over the next few months, and may well report back at a later time.
 

I think social media does help in building up networks. Social media is a good way to get to know people, particularly when it may otherwise be difficult due to geographical distances. I’ve found Facebook, for example, to be a good way of keeping in touch with the lovely people I met when undertaking the MA. I also think social media helps to connect staff working in smaller and/or specialist libraries, or those working alone/in small teams, with others in similar situations. From what I’ve seen so far, groups and networks created through social media provide a supportive environment within which library staff are able to interact.

I feel social media can help in terms of career development. Again, social media facilitates current awareness and enables the sharing of skills/knowledge. Moreover, social media, enables people to find out about job vacancies and events such as conferences, connects library workers with others at the same stage in their career, or enables them to learn from those who are more experienced and so on. I think increasing my knowledge of social media via this CPD 23 programme will be of value to my career in the long term, from knowing more and being able to pass this knowledge on to library users, to my own professional development. I have definitely been encouraged to explore social media as a result of CPD 23, and this is something I will continue with once I have (eventually!) completed the Things.

Thing 11 - Mentoring

I haven’t got a mentor in a formal sense, but I do feel that I have several informal mentors. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I have worked as a library assistant for more than four years. More recently, I have undertaken the role of volunteer librarian at the same library. Over the years, my colleagues have been brilliant. I have learnt a lot from members of staff who have much more experience. Moreover, they have been supportive, encouraging, and have provided help and advice.  I’ve also volunteered/visited other local libraries since completing the MA course. Again, members of staff have been willing to give up their time to help me develop my knowledge/skills, and have provided advice and encouragement.

 As I’ve mentioned previously, I hope to begin Chartership one day, and at that point I will need to find a formal mentor as well. Beyond that, I would like to become a mentor myself, as I know how much I have gained from working with those who are willing and able to share the benefit of their experience.

I’d just like to finish this post by saying thank you to those who have supported/encouraged/helped me in any way, it is much appreciated!

Thing 10 - My route so far...

I first worked in a library when undertaking work experience, whilst at secondary school. I applied to work in a library because I liked reading (English was my favourite subject), and the local branch library was a convenient ten minute walk from home. Whilst I didn’t get the opportunity to work in the branch library, I was offered a placement at the Central Library instead. I can’t remember specific details (the placement was almost 12 years ago), but I do remember that I moved around different areas within the library, including lending, reference, archives/local studies, and the children’s library. The three week placement was enjoyable, but the thought of pursuing a career as a librarian did not cross my mind at all.

After completing my English Language and Literature degree at Sheffield University, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. I considered various careers, including teaching. As a student I had worked in retail and admin, and voluntary work focused on teaching/education. My first paid job after graduating was a temporary job in a bookshop. My next job was as a Relief Museum and Gallery Attendant within the local council. I really enjoyed the job, especially working with members of the public and customer service. When I saw that the council was advertising the position of part-time library assistant, I applied for the job, got an interview and was successful! I feel extremely lucky to have got this job, not just because I found a career, but also because I’ve had the opportunity to work with some lovely people over the years.

I settled into my role of library assistant, and began to love everything about my job. I learnt a lot, and wanted to learn more. Further study was always a possibility, and as my role was part-time (I was also continuing my work in the museum at this point), I started to look at how I could progress and develop a career within libraries. I remembered attending a careers fair at university, where someone handed me some information about careers in librarianship and the MA Librarianship course at Sheffield University. I eventually applied and was offered a place on this course. My main reason for choosing the MA at Sheffield was because the commuting distance was reasonable – as I self-funded the course I wanted to limit the amount I spent on living costs. I’m glad I chose this particular course, however, as I definitely learnt a lot during the year. As well equipping me with the skills I needed, the course encouraged me to pay attention to the wider profession and current awareness, and I began to develop a range of professional interests.

I finished the MA in September 2010. Since then I have applied for many jobs, in different sectors. I have had quite a few interviews, and though I generally get positive feedback, I often find that is my lack of professional experience that prevents me from actually getting the job. I think a graduate traineeship would have been a good way to gain experience at a higher level; in hindsight I wish I had gone down this route. As it is, I can’t get the post-qualification/ professional experience that employers want until I get a professional job, but I am unable to get a professional job due the lack of said experience. In the meantime, I continue to work as a part-time library assistant in the public library I’ve worked in since 2007, and I also continue with the temporary part-time admin job I started last year. In October, I started working as a volunteer librarian in the library where I already work. Whilst I do not agree with volunteer run libraries or replacing paid staff with volunteers (I won’t go into detail here, as this could be another post in itself), I was struggling to see how I could progress - volunteering was an opportunity when all other avenues seemed to be blocked. I feel like I am finally starting to gain relevant experience, and hopefully this will improve my job prospects.

For the time being, I will continue to look for the elusive full-time permanent professional library/information job. Sometimes I feel that I will never be successful in this aim. I often wonder if I’ll eventually have to admit defeat, and try to develop a career in another area. For now though, I’ll continue to search for/apply for jobs, gaining experience where I can. Looking even further into the future, I do hope to begin the Chartership process at some point, I just need to sort out my job situation first!