at the intersection of 23rd and Thing

CPD23 completed. A six word story as requested:
Gotta Plan; gonna use my Things.

Which is code for: My Chartership PPDP is underway. Several of the 23 Things filled gaps in my knowledge and have been incorporated into my work practice with desired outcomes. Score! Still more gaps, but mainly in library operations.

I do have several technical Things - Prezi and screen casting - which I wish to wrestle with and demonstrate to my colleagues. Refining the PPDP and meeting with my Chartership mentor in November is top priority for professional development, then I will return.

I confess, I volunteered!

Ah, this is almost the last item to be explored and written about for CPD23. A hot topic locally and nationally - volunteers.

In December 2007 when I had recently moved to the UK from the US I wrote:
"On volunteers in Libraries Based solely on my inquiries, the London libraries do not use volunteers to help complete routine responsibilities (shelving books, making up labels etc). Given the library funding crunch in many councils, I wonder why? Some reasons may be: fear of further deprofessionalizing library work, UK socialist desire to pay everyone, concern over the management of volunteers."

Flash forward to October 2011: the issue of volunteers in libraries is being forced at the same time as huge budget cuts. I've gained respect for the (endangered) UK social welfare practices which show respect for human lives and potential. Other than that my views are the same - good idea, bad timing: .

I have worked as a volunteer in libraries three times:
1) in a public library in the USA., doing shelf-reading on a weekly basis. This was prior to starting my Master's degree and just after I'd moved house. The library seemed a good place to reconnoiter my new town and I made friends with other volunteers. The schedule was based around the volunteers' availability and we checked the shelves to make sure the books were in correct order, also pulling out books that needed repair or replacement. There were a number of volunteers doing this task, so it was not an inconvenience to the library if one or more of us couldn't work as planned. As it was a small library the manager trained and supervised the volunteers.

2) as an intern in a larger public library in the USA, during my Master's degree.  While this was work experience and a requirement of my Master's degree, I consider it volunteer work. I was not being paid, and I carried out three projects which the library had outlined but did not have staff available to complete. I surveyed teens on social media and used the result to create a teen blog. I wrote and taught a teen class on creating web pages and researched foreign language collections at area libraries. These projects were all at a professional level of work and helped me to win my first professional library job.

3) in a primary school library in the UK, after my Master's degree - while trying to find a public library position. The school library had 80 boxes of books starting to mold in a storage shed while they waited for staff to find time to merge the Key Stage 1 and 2 collections. A crash course for me in early education curriculum and school libraries, with lots of reading and consultation with the local public librarian. My work was primarily behind the scenes; weeding, repairing, working on displays and ordering furniture, as well as training other volunteers. The funding from the parent association covered materials but not staff and although I recommended it the school did not want to hire the local Schools Library Service. I put a great deal of time into the project and earned a reference which was a fantastic help to me. The improved library saw much more use; when the funding improved a part time staff position was added to maintain and develop the collection.

I think volunteers in libraries are a fine idea if there are well-defined unmet needs in the library, organised infrastructure to support volunteers and the net effect on resources and services is positive. Having benefited socially and professionally from my volunteer experiences I would be hard-pressed to deny others unless it was endangering jobs in the foreseeable future. In a public library, the community-building mission of the library can be supported by including volunteers. My pessimistic (perhaps short-sighted) view is that given technology and social change, the future of libraries is too cloudy to worry about five or ten years hence.

covering the gaps in your employment history

Gaps in employment are tricky to handle in job applications and interviews (from both side of the desk). Your prospective employers want to understand your work history, but they certainly don't want to ask any unlawful or inappropriate questions. And their curiosity is understandable - one thing I learned in  interviewing training is that past actions are the clearest indicators of future actions.

So how to satisfy the reasonable concerns of the employer, without getting mired in the details of your personal life? Here are my tips:

1. Don't lie.
2. Make sure your employment history is a story with a plot that the interviewers can follow. The activity during employment gaps may provide needed information about your career moves and ambitions. 
3. Keep it simple: child or elder care, education, illness, relocation for family or financial reasons, travel. You and you interviewers may both be uncomfortable if you share too many details and it will likely take the interview off-track.
4. If you can (without breaking rule #1) reassure the interviewer that this situation is unlikely to recur.
5. Non-chronological CVs highlight employment gaps, rather than hiding them. The CV reader will immediately start trying to assemble a timeline in their head, which is annoyingly hard to do.
6. When possible, insert a line or two in your cover letter or personal statement explaining the gaps. Some applications will require you to do this, but otherwise imagine the shortlisters scratching their heads when they read your employment chronology.
7. If you did something during the gap that is worthy of note, try adding it to your CV in the correct chronological space. Worthy of note activities include formal and informal volunteer work and professional development/education. Now take another look at your CV and decide if the new version is stronger or weaker.
8. Bottom line - you can't hide them, so take initiative to present gaps in the best light.

Other suggestions?

Add it up

 Here are my cpd23 inspired behaviours:

• organized a social/networking event for library staff from two different types of libraries (public and academic) located near each other. Event happens in November, so will report back on its usefulness. This required a bit of courage and carefulness over workplace political issues. Hopefully I have negotiated them correctly and if not will fall back on "bull in a china shop American" excuse.
• tweeted and blogged regularly, rather than only taking information from the stream. I will probably discontinue the blog, but will continue tweeting. The experience was valuable as I will become active in social media on behalf of my organisation this year.
• not sure about the chicken and egg here, but cpd23 encouraged me to apply for an Umbrella sponsorship as I was aware of Twitter cpd23ers who planned to attend.
• reengaged with podcasting. Armed with knowledge from Thing 18, I've worked with my manager to map out a way to build organisational expertise in creating quality recordings from live talks in the library.
• went back to my Google Reader account. I will add and delete feeds regularly and read weekly as I enjoy the mixed bag of mail on my doorstep - Succentorship without Sneers' writing, the cartoons of BitBookish and ridiculous high heel fetish of The Sartorialist among others.
• shared the good news about cpd23 in my workplace. At least one person has started cpd23 since then and I've been approached about mentoring.
• become more feisty and informed about library-related political and regulatory issues. I've enjoyed listening to newer voices in librarianship and educating myself through the open debates around advocacy, volunteers and publishing.

While cpd23 distracted me a bit from working to the letter of my PPDP for chartership, it has pushed me into exploring technology and testing practical library applications for technology. The other aspect of cpd23 is social; cpd23 has encouraged me to connect virtually and face to face with a wider range of library people.

Thing 18 - getting back on the horse

Having failed earlier this year in my attempt to make a podcast of an author talk, I am glad Thing 18 is here to help me back up on the horse!

Thanks to travelinlibrarian's six steps to podcasting I've been able to find a solution to one of my podcasting woes. Full disclosure requires that I share all the pits I fell into, in hopes of sparing someone else.

• lack of background in A/V and failure to consult experts (such as the Communications team at my organization)
• not enough time set aside to research and test recording and editing process with the actual equipment
• wrong microphone set up: tried to use a standard microphone set on a table near the author
• hadn't heard about Levelator, which travelinlibrarian uses prior to editing recording in Audacity. Because my audio levels were so up and down it was impossible to filter out the bad noise from the recording when I went to Audacity.

Luckily when I asked the author for written permission to record and distribute the recording of the event, I warned her that it was a trial run. Back up I go and hopefully will make a satisfactory podcast in November...Audacity is a great program.

Love Jing as well! Did a quick test and again there are microphone issues to be aware of. I am going to make a screencast for PC users who have trouble setting up the scanner software...

it's not easy being early

Isn't it fun to be an early adopter? Other people stand on the street near an Underground station, wondering which way to go while you stride confidently along with your smartphone showing the way.  Or your app ensures that all the pubs you stop in have a fabulous selection of real ales. Or perhaps the audience for your presentation is tickled by Prezi and your content glows in the reflected glory.

Early adopters have their ears to the ground for what is becoming possible.  Some of the possibilities may cost money (i.e. iPhones), other require a time investment to get through a steep learning curve and some ask for both. The early adopter inventories resources and needs, estimates the potential payoff and then places a wager.

23 Things has been a great way to trail around some early adopters, though I find my resources aren't always comparable. After spending several hours working on a Prezi it still did not satisfy basic design criteria. I think a background in design or a better spatial sense would help. On the bright side, there may be some evil application for a presentation that causes nausea!  In the case of Prezi, while the software is free, the time investment is too high for me to try adopting it. My work doesn't require many presentations, so I don't estimate a high payoff.

Isn't it hard to be an early adopter? Wagering your time and money on possibilities that are often dead ends. When you succeed, you bring other people along, demonstrating and teaching the useful new technology. Then you start testing the next possibility.

Shout out to all the early adopters in the library world who've been sharing their knowledge in cpd23.

Getting the Money - how to pay for conferences

Most of us work in libraries, right?
a hugely remunerative field, leading to the acquisition of country homes, right?
so we can pay up front when we want to go to a conference of our peers, right?

Let's get real and talk about how to get to money for conferences.
(You know you want to go! If not, read Mind Matters cpd23 blog)

You're going to have to ask for money.

Ask your employer.
Try this first. I know it sounds crazy as most of our employers are strapped for cash, but it worked for a friend of mine. Take a look at your goals for the year,  think of three reasons why attending the conference will benefit your employer and help you meet your goals and then share those reasons with your manager. Even if the boss says no, the conversation highlights your interest in CPD. If you're able to come up with the cash from another source, management is more likely to be onside with helping you get time away.
Remember that the ways of Management are mysterious and miracles do happen, especially at the end of the financial year.

If that fails, you need to take a look at yourself and pick option a or b. If you're an outgoing type or excited to share success stories or research with your peers then:

a) Ask the conference organizers
Try this if you want to present a paper or a poster or live near the site and can volunteer to work at the conference. Read the conference website and see what the opportunities are, then telephone the contacts listed and tell them you're interested. Don't skip this step as contacts are hoping for lots of valid submissions and will be glad to give you insight into the selection process and timing. Check out the cpd23 posts on submitting papers and preparing presentations by thewikiman and others. Good luck!

if you want to network and learn, but aren't ready to present at the conference, then:

b) Ask the professional organizations you belong to, your religious institution, your parents.
Okay, maybe not your parents. But do think who else might have a vested interest in seeing you succeed. Do you work in a special library supporting accountants? Maybe the Association of Chartered Accountants will sponsor you, or maybe your CILIP/ALA special interest group will sponsor you.
Keep in mind that your sponsor will expect you to thank them profusely and publicly. Your pitch to a sponsor should include 1) how the conference will help you meet your goals 2) how your conference attendance will help meet the sponsor's goals and 3) how you will report back to the sponsoring organization. Be sure to follow through.

Best of luck, and if I can't get money for conferences from now on, I'll know you've been busy.
xx

hardcore cpd23'ers only - Thing 14, referencing software

Doggedly devoted to each and every Thing, I surveyed the blogs of academic librarians and student cpd23'ers and decided to download Mendeley. It took an hour or two to understand the options in Mendeley. By the end of my trials I was able to import PDFs and their reference data from the web at large and academic journals (via CILIP). I could also collect reference data only by copying the DOI (digital object identifier). The Watch folder makes the procedure seamless as you can toss anything you're reading into the folder on your desktop and Mendeley picks out the reference information while running in the background.
There was a payoff - I've realized that Mendeley is a good way to organize my chartership background reading and then pop out a reference list when I'm ready. While I don't plan on having 100+ references in my chartership portfolio, now I understand how other people have amassed such lists!