a day in the life...

I want to share my day with those of you who wonder how librarians spend their time.

We started with a scheduled visit from a lovely group of students from the college nearby.
The students are young adults with learning difficulties. We introduced the students to the library, focusing on their interests and pointing out other things they might enjoy such as the Graphic Novels and Quick Reads. Then we invited them to join the Six Book Challenge and most did, result.

(The Six Book Challenge is a project from The Reading Agency which aims to get people into reading. So if you've never read much, hated reading at school, think books are boring/too long/not for you, we are using the 6BC to open your mind to the joys of reading,.)

The library has just been refurbished and as well as looking stunning now has an even better range of services . Using some storage and office space has allowed us to include the Official Publications and Business Information collections and have some of the Enquiries Team available on site.

Time to check my emails before heading off for a quick early lunch

The wonderful Joanna Trollope unveiled the plaque at the official opening ceremony in the afternoon. This gave us the opportunity to invite our excellent local volunteers who deliver the Home Library service, Reading Group organisers and past members of staff as well the local great & good. In between helping with refreshments we had a chance to catch up with some of the guests.

Joanne Trollope returned in the evening to talk to an audience of over 80, about her latest novel, The Soldier's Wife. She is a great speaker and we were enthralled to hear how her stories are created. She kindly signed copies of the book afterwards. Finally it was time to tidy up and close the library for another day.

23 Things: Thing 5 Reflective Practice

I first came across reflective practice when working towards Certification. Then I had to consider what I had learned from training and work experiences and how I could put these skills learned into practice. I also thought about areas where I needed to develop my skills or knowledge and plan filling these gaps. I've tried to retain this reflective approach and use it after training or work activities. For example, last spring we arranged for groups of ESOL students to tour the library to be told about the facilities and the Six-Book Challenge. After each visit I thought about what had gone well and any issues and made changes to the plan for future session. It occurred to me that it would benefit the students to introduce them to the library earlier in the year and follow up with the Six-Book Challenge in January. I discussed this with colleagues and my manager and we decided to use this plan this year.

A more structured reflective practice is also part of performance appraisal. This is an annual review of  the previous years' work and a plan for the next year, updated after six months. The appraisal gives an opportunity to consider what has gone well or if not so well, why, and how performance can be enhanced.  Prior to meeting with my appraiser I have to think about my work, how it could be improved and training requirements.

I also have regular meetings with my manager and preparing for these involves reflecting on recent tasks. As well as updating my manager on activities completed and coming up, it enables me to consider what I have learned and how to develop and improve.

Now that I have reflected on this blog, I realise that I need to create a structure to my reflective practice. This will have to be a simple and fast way to record my thoughts which I can return to afterwards to see where I could make improvements to my work. I use a notebook to keep track of the things I need to remember and do. The back of the notebook will be the ideal place to jot down my reflective thoughts which I can transfer to a learning journal later.

Thing 4 Winging it on Twitter

 Another challenge, which this time involved changing to a smart phone to access twitter as my home laptop has been taken over by keen students and I don't have time at work.

I think it will be really useful to be able to keep up to date with developments both in the news and the library world. It's been interesting checking out other tweets. I now need to decide who to follow and then send a tweet.

Although initially I couldn't think of anything to tweet about, I realise that I can talk about the 23 things so I'll go and do that now....

Thing 3. Consider your personal brand

Although it seemed a bit weird, I searched my name on Google to find out how I might be perceived. Thankfully there was nothing really bad. Just a report from the local press about an  event I organised for the launch of our Youth Consultant Collection. This is stock aimed at young adults and teens, and was selected by a group of young volunteers. So far so good, but my quote sounds rather confused, not exactly what I was trying to convey. Which makes me think that I should be ready with a written comment next time, to ensure the correct message goes out.

I used the photo of the Library of Clesus as it reminds me that libraries are part of history and of civilisation. The picture symbolises the importance of curating and providing access to a wealth of material, not just the building itself.

Thing 2: Investigate other blogs

 How slick do some of your blogs look! This is a steep learning curve, but I'm pleased I've taken the plunge. I feel rather in need of a life raft as I find navigating between blogs tricky. I found some by clicking on links but I think I should be using something to search for others, maybe using key words like cpd library public etc. In Blogger I can click onto others but they seem to be quite random, mostly sales sites.

The ones I did find were really professional, entertaining and informative. Exactly what I'd expect from people with a keen interest in libraries and professional development.

I will keep trying till I get to grips with it, or tea time, whichever comes first.

cpd23 things Thing 1. Setting up a blog

I am a Librarian in Hertfordshire working towards Chartership.  I decided to do the 23 things to learn new skills which will help me to connect with other library professionals.

I am also interested in developing links with people in the community who may be unaware of what the library has to offer. Blogging and other social networking will be a great way to do this.