Growing a library

Funding a new library?

Carolin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:55:38 +0000

Today I was wondering if it would be possible to crowdfund a library refurbishment… What do you say?

My new library would have lovely things like this, take into account user ideas and wishes, and be open access. Not sure how much it’d cost but how much do you think I could raise?

My notes from Jisc RSC YH E-Learning Conference 2013: Innovate, Create, Inspire #RSCInspire13

Carolin — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:37:33 +0000

As in previous years, JISC’s summer conference was very good, and I met interesting people and learned about new things. Success!

You can find my twitter notes from the day here.

See the official Storify story here.

First session: creating an e-learning strategy, taking into account users who are scared by it all. Delivered by Val maybury and @ejarmstrong

find the gap in confidence and nurture willingness to learn
get your e-learning team involved (if your organisation has one)
people want to do what they are used to
time needed to learn about tools and develop new resources – big challenge
tandem learning helps
need to have champions/experts who are accessible and can coach colleagues
introduce little things monthly, in a 30mins meeting – bite-size
find something that is useful to the user, not what you want to teach them
have a portal (e.g. VLE) to exchange best practice and resources, run “how to” sessions
“weighing the pig doesn’t make it fat”
encourage reflective practice through filming – perfectionism kicks in and makes people work harder
build people’s confidence, let them take ownership – people need to be in charge of their own learning (coaching rather than “staff development”)
have a “sand box” where people can try new tools and equipment without being scared to break something
focus on the problem rather than the technology
don’t rely on your organisation for CPD

Second session: COOCs, delivered by @ShukieOne

COOC = Community Open Online Courses
exciting times ahead, with lots to learn
is professionalism under threat? -> no
peer-to-peer learning vs. standardisation
learning something doesn’t mean you are allowed to do it, e.g. heart surgery

Third session: Informing and inspiring to learn, delivered by two Daniels from Barnsley College

improve ease of use
students choose and pick tools that suit them – we have no influence over this but can offer tools
need for e-safety policy
involve students in decisions about which tools to use/purchase

Fourth session: using digital storytelling for portfolio submissions in the language classroom

Tools we introduced where GoAnimate and Storify. We also showed people how to edit content in YouTube.

Student example of a portfolio submission using GoAnimate: link here.

The story I shared on the day (during our Digital Storytelling workshop) is here.

We got some good feedback from workshop participants, thanks.

Twitter and Storify help sheets and link to Storify for #rscinspire13

Carolin — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:43:36 +0000

I prepared two help sheets today, to get colleagues started on Twitter and Storify. Here they are:

Storify

Twitter

And here’s my story about digital storytelling for the upcoming Jisc RSC YH E-Learning Conference 2013.

Enjoy

By the way, we’ll be using #digistoriesUoL for feedback on our session about digital storytelling for language portfolios at the conference. The official hashtag for the event is #rscinspire13.

Job seeking?

Carolin — Thu, 30 May 2013 06:48:17 +0000

Working with students I am around young people looking for jobs and waiting to start their careers on a daily basis.
I have recently been able to share my own job seeking history with several members of staff, and I have to thank the employers who employed me (obviously) as well as the ones who didn’t. The latter were right: When you interviewed me I would have not been happy working in a men’s prison, or as a library assistant responsible for storytelling in a children’s library, or a library assistant in a hospital.
Not getting certain positions opened up new opportunities that otherwise would have passed without me noticing them or giving them much thought. For example, working in a bookshop made me more patient, self-assured and marketing-savvy; working as a library assistant/librarian/supervisor in HE showed me the system from all angles; working in a public reference library and EU information point gave me new ideas for working with information, developing services and helped me understand more about people and politics. Some jobs simply showed me what I don’t want to do.

My main tips when applying for jobs and going for interviews:

Visit your potential future work place, get a feel for it and the people who work there.
Don’t apply for every job going; be choosy. A professional post isn’t everything.
Be honest, and think on your feet.
Say if you don’t know something and need clarification.
If you are not the chosen candidate ask for feedback but don’t take it personally. Learn from the feedback and try again.
And a general one: Don’t listen to what others say you should do, earn, enjoy. Switch off your social networks once in a while and be quiet. You don’t have to comment on everything.

Good luck with the job hunt!

How I learn

Carolin — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:49:51 +0000

I have done some tests over the past week and they have confirmed that I learn kinesthetically, and also visually. I think my preferred learning style out of these depends on what I am learning. For example, I find it very helpful if I can use something I have learned in a course or from a book at work as soon as possible as really helps the learning sink in. I also feel that it benefits me to go for a walk or a swim before I sit down to write a report on something I have read. But I also love diagrams, which can help make things clearer and I remember the picture (often more than the content though).

I’d like to think that teachers across all sectors and whatever ages they teach take different learning types into consideration but I think we all know that isn’t the case.

Some of the tests I completed:

What type of learner are you?

Discover your learning style

BBC Key Skills: Learning Styles

Backdating evidence for your #chartership portfolio

Carolin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:32:00 +0000

Depending on which stage in your career you are at you might want to consider backdating evidence when working on your chartership portfolio.

I get the impression that a lot of people do their chartership early on in their career (maybe that’s only because I’m on social media too much), so for them it might not be relevant to backdate. I did my chartership a few years into my career and think I actually benefited more from it because I gained experience that wasn’t solely aimed at chartering and filling a portfolio.

You might have done exciting and great things before registering for chartership that fit perfectly under one of the assessment categories, so why go out and try to replicate this experience and stress yourself out? Backdating can save you time, as you don’t have to attend extra events/training but you can draw on events you have already attended. It will further help by putting past experiences into context and shed new light on things that you have achieved in the past (and that might still carry on into the present).

Some quick tips on how to approach possible backdating of chartership evidence (All these points are also useful to identify development needs.):

Look at your CV and any training that you have attended since qualifying. There will be things you can reflect upon and you will be able to show how they have benefited you already. Maybe you can even ask a colleague or friend for help with this, as they might remind you of achievements you have already forgotten about. Also include skills that you might have learned outside library-land.
Make a list under each assessment criterion: what have you achieved already – try and get equal amounts for each. Now look at what needs further attention and add those points to your chartership PPDP. For your portfolio you should aim for equal amounts of evidence for each criterion.
And, repeating myself: If you have an example for something already, use it. Don’t waste time on creating extra evidence (which takes time) just for the sake of it. Reflection and writing up of evidence is far more important for your chartership portfolio.

By the way, CILIP says: “If you think you are eligible to backdate any experience and training, contact the CILIP qualifications office and discuss with your mentor.“

Re-blogged: I don’t need to learn languages! Everyone speaks English!

Carolin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:26:10 +0000

Or do they?

Many of you know that I have moved on to a new job but the lovely team at Europe Direct Leeds have invited me to write a guest post.

[...]

Read the whole post on Europe Direct Leeds’s website

My news

Carolin — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:16:06 +0000

I am now a chartered librarian.

Worth it?

23 mobile things

Carolin — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:46:02 +0000

For all the lovers of learning 23 Things-style: there’s a new one out! It’s called 23mobilethings, is written by people “interested in exploring ways that libraries and library staff can use mobile technologies to deliver library services, to engage with their communities and for their own professional development“, and of course is about using mobile technology.

As other 23 Things course it is self-paced, giving you a new tool to explore with each post. I’ll definitely keep an eye on what is shared and explore some of the things. This is the list:

Twitter
Taking a photo with a mobile device: Instagram / Flickr app / Snapchat
eMail on the move
Maps and checking in: Foursquare
Photos + Maps + Apps: Historypin / What was there / Sepia Town
Video: YouTube and screencasts
Communicate: Skype / Google Hangout
Calendar
QR codes
Social reading: RSS / Flipboard / Feedly / Goodreads / Pocket
Augmented reality: Layar
Games: Angry Birds / Wordfeud
Online identity: FaceBook and LinkedIn
Curating: Pinterest / Scoop.it / Tumblr
Adobe ID
eBooks and eBook apps: Project Gutenberg / Kindle / Overdrive / Bluefire / Kobo, etc.
Evernote and Zotero
Productivity tools: Doodle / Remember the Milk / Hackpad / any.do / 30/30
File sharing: Dropbox
Music: last.fm / Spotify
Voice interaction and recording
eResources vendor apps
Digital storytelling

Spring clean – ish

Carolin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:39:16 +0000

When I’m not in the office and I need to work or study I do this at the dining table in my living room. I also eat at the dining table*, which means that I keep moving my work things. Last week, to ensure that I can easily go back to my work after meal times (especially at weekends), I decided to re-arrange my “home office”. I looked at new shelving, corner shelves, coffee tables and baskets - but there is no space for more furniture in my living room.

So what have I done? I threw a lot of paperwork out. I have bought a tray to keep my stationery together. I have cleared some shelf space under the tv to keep books and magazines. I put an old satchel (which stands up by itself) into the corner of my room to keep loose papers in. Simple but makes life that little bit easier.

The websites below have inspired me:

How to create a portable home office

Small space solution: Portable office totes

Portable home office ideas

21 ideas for organizing your home office

*you might say that’s obvious but I know many people who don’t