Saturday, September 26, 2015

Rudai eighteen : Communicating through photographs



Say it with Pictures


I will not be setting up a flickr account. I don't want to give Yahoo! my phone number. Google, Facebook, Twitter, and MSN doesn't have it (to my knowledge though they are sneaky) so no. Also I have enough passwords to remember as it is. I can't set up an instagram account as I have a windows phone and I couldn't do it on google play on my laptop.  

So doing the tasks this week has been tough. 

Looking up some instagram sites such as New York, San Francisco, and Boston libraries it reminded me of Pintrest. The New York library site tended to be full of pictures of people holding books over their face or people holding their favourite book or witty photographs. I loved National Gallery of Ireland site it had lovely photographs but not much interaction from the patrons. The comments are very few on the any of the pictures. 

I can see the use of this in libraries especially in holding events for children and teenagers. It could be a great way of getting young patrons to interact and be inspired by the novel they have read. It could be used for Christmas events such as the polar express program to interact with the children and publicise the event. 




Although I didn't sign up to Flickr I did use the search facility. I used it to find some photographs of my hometown which were very old, possibly Victorian and they included now demolished buildings which is great for an amateur historian. It also includes details about the photograph and you can interact with the owner or poster of the image. These would be a brilliant way to showcase a collection and aid researchers. The drawback being you must register. 



  

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Rudai seventeen : Reflective Practice



A few thoughts on the course

I started this course so that while I was unemployed I wouldn't be wasting my time. I would be helping out with this and learning new things. Learning about online tools was something I had fallen way behind in. A lot of the examples covered I had thought were just for teenagers or were different forms of Facebook. I now know better. This course isn't just about learning new things however.

I never liked the reflective practice part of modules on the MLIS but they generally counted for a good part of the marking scheme so I got on with it. I found the Gibbs cycle quite difficult to get a grip on as it seemed to be based on a emotional connection and I am more rational.  

The fact is too I still don't particularly like writing and reflective writing especially. If its a report that's fine I can do a good job of that as it generally deals with facts, describing problems, suggesting solutions, etc. 

The Gibbs cycle is a very academic approach to evaluating situations and skills and I don't know if its appropriate in a workplace. An emotional interaction may be important for a module in university but I think the similar STAR (situation, task, action, result) method would be more appropriate for a professional workplace. The two parts of Gibbs that I personally disagree with are "feelings" and "evaluation". I think ones feelings for a task does not matter so long as it is done to the best of your ability. When using either Gibbs or STAR a personal work diary is essential and should be kept by everybody.

Where these methods come into their own is in job interviews or personnel evaluation. I don't think that managers or employers are interested in how staff felt or how the experienced the task. Whichever method is chosen being able to describe a problem or project at work is the first step. The next step is to describe the task at hand. That is what the project entails, how many stages there will be, etc. The action plan or how the project was completed and your role in it. Finally describing the result did your actions work? 

It is important to remember to emphasise YOUR role in the project or task. 

I think being concise and factual in recording your work makes it easier to remember for reference to combat similar problems that may occur in the workplace in the future.









Saturday, September 19, 2015

Rudai Sixteen : Collaboration tools




Setting Dates and working together

I tried to comment on the page with the weird writing that Rudai had set up on Google drive but I couldn't see it. When I made a suggested revision of the text that did come up. I don't know if I am doing something wrong? 

The fact I don't know how to use it properly didn't detract from my opinion of it. I think this is great. I really wish I had known about this when I did my Graddip, it would have made life much easier for some of the group projects where some of my team did not live or stay in Dublin. 

I can see the google docs being really useful for LAI committee work or for groups who use the library such as local history societies. 

I have taken part in doodle polls before but this was the first time I created one it was very easy to set up and best of all I didn't have to create another profile. So I set up a poll for a meet up in Athlone. I created the dates the 3rd and 10th of October and invited the Rudai gang along as these are the emails I had. I thought it interesting that there was a limit of 20 emails and that you could not paste emails addresses into the participants box. 

you can see the poll here my rudai doodle poll

There is no obligation to fill this out or come as I did it to have a go at creating a poll but if people fancy it I'll arrange something. 



Thursday, September 10, 2015

Rudai Fifteen : Advocacy




Power to the library...


What do I think of when I think of advocating for libraries? asks Rudai 23. Answering this was harder than some of the previous things including video streaming! 

What do I think of when I think of advocating for libraries, I think of:

  • Trying to get our communities to support and use the facilities
  • Trying to get the attention of those in power of the purse strings to what libraries can offer the population. 
  • Trying to get some recognition and respect for the qualification and the profession.
  • Trying to get involved in library organisations

what do we do?


We as a profession are intelligent, highly skilled, and probably over qualified for the job we do as a whole.  Our patrons and overall managers generally don't know what we do. I often wonder do we know what we do? Our profession is so varied no two workplaces are the same. It is not like a academic or an engineer where workplaces and skill set can be similar. Librarians in health have a different work practice and skill set to a public librarian. 

The most common perception is that of cardigan wearing, book stamping bespectacled shush-ers. Some People don't seem to realise that we are managers, event organisers, researchers, teachers and more all rolled into one. That's why I really liked the Why librarians? website .

Margaret Thatcher famously said there is no such thing as society and this thinking is still the predominate mindset in our politicians who control the purse strings of most of our workplaces in someway or other. However I honestly think the people of our communities get how important the library and we are to them. The recent protests in Sligo hopefully show this.


Photographer Seamus Finn from Sligo Today

Advocate to Whom?

We are not the most mouthy of professions or individuals as a rule of thumb. We need to get more assertive though if we want to survive. We have to show our worth to our greater organisations and ourselves. All the things we do should have a "brought to you by" stamp 

Proving to managers that library's are worth keeping around is very difficult they are seen as low hanging fruit that can easily be dispensed with. In some organisations the departments that spend more money are seen as more important. Libraries don't cost a lot to run generally so maybe we should stop being frugal?!

In public libraries the deprofessionalisation of our workplaces is part of a greater centralisation scheme that at this stage cannot be stopped. The attack on rural Ireland is manifestation of this. Volunteerism is here to stay but if we can turn these people into advocates for the library maybe its no bad thing.

Linkedin and Twitter offer great ways to advocate. To show to ourselves that we are important and can contribute a different perspective on finding solutions to work problems. The work swap too is a brilliant way of advocating the profession among ourselves and also to management who have to sign off on it. 


Campaigns


Many of the campaigns are great and show libraries at their best. But I sometimes feel that some like Library Week are preaching to the converted. Which is important too we need to remind people we're still here. 

Knowing ourselves and showing those who look we can help with the effective running of the our organisation is one thing, maybe we need to start demanding to show we can do it.  






Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Rudai Fourteen : Augmented Reality




Remember when things were just.. things?



First impressions


I was at a seminar a couple of years ago and the topic of augmented reality was explained by one of the speakers. They were very enthusiastic and excited about it which was to be expected as it was their project. I was left unimpressed.  I still am. At the time I had a old battered old phone but it had a great battery life and signal but no apps. So this new technology immediately excluded me form participating.  Which I think is a big drawback for this technology. The devices to use this have to be up to date. 

The reason why I was unimpressed was that they just seemed like a new form of QR codes. The thing about QR codes for me was that I have never seen anyone scan them even though they were everywhere! I eventually managed to try and scan a sample poster with the extra embedded information at the seminar with a borrowed iphone but found that it wasn't anything a simple google search wouldn't have found for me. I also asked myself did I need the extra information such as games, pictures, and videos? When is there information overload?



Changing behavior 


The photo at the beginning of the post actually made quite depressed. The person aiming their tablet at a painting to get more information. Can they not just look and enjoy it. Interpret the meaning for themselves instead of trying to read up on more information. Just enjoy the pretty pictures! Museums are places where you can switch off and enjoy exhibits without the noise of technology. In other words be a bit old fashioned. Is this on the way out do we now always have to be on?





Opinion on AR


I read the articles recommended in the post such as educational and mobile learning website. I thought some of the apps were more like gaming tools. Looking at others I felt they were going to be used at some stage to sell people stuff or advertise products Here's information on Big Ben sponsored by : insert a Fast Food Chain/Insurance Company/Phone Company. This saturation of advertising already annoys me on other online media. I felt that some seemed to be created with the (thankfully) failed google glass in mind. 


I also read the other recommended article library of the future. Of the eight technologies two and four were augmented technology. The little video I thought showed the main thing I distrust about this technology. The man walks in to his library takes out his tablet and scans the shelves and finds his book. Yet the article about libraries 2020 says 18% of EU citizens have not been online. How many have smart phones or tablets? even more?


I do agree with Naimh that its a good way to introduce children to technology and it is important that they start young to get to grips with the quickly changing world. Its good too that parents keep abreast of developments and this technology is a good simple way to ease in it. I can see too that it makes posters a bit different and more fun. 

Number four in the above article however might convert me to AR. Combining the print and digital technology with accompanying extra data. I thought this would a fantastic piece of kit for any library with a research section as it takes the cost away for the patron. 

As might have guessed I'm not the biggest fan of AR I think it can add expense to the patron, can be excluding, and I think may in future be may used as another channel of advertising for corporations. 








Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Rudai Thirteen : Professional Organisations



Joining the Club.

I have been a member of the Library Association of Ireland for at least five years.  I am a member of several sections or groups. This tends to change depending on what my job is at the time. When I had a short internship at the Midlands Regional hospital in Tullamore I joined the the HSLG for the LAI. In my last position I worked in the Department of the Taoiseach so I joined the government libraries section. 

I have currently signed up to several groups the Cataloging and Metadata group, the Career Development group and the Western Region section are the ones that stand out. 





The reason I am member of the association is

  • It puts me in touch with a wide field of professionals who I can all on for advice.

  • The mailing list tells me about upcoming seminars and conferences.

  • The LAI publishes an online magazine which has advice, book reviews, interviews etc. It can offer an opportunity to increase my profile by giving me a chance to get published. I am currently working on an article which I will hopefully submit sometime. 

  • It increase my working circle. Often requests will sent out via mailing lists so it gives me a chance to help others and be helped in return.

  • Being a member of a group gives me discounts into the seminars. 

  • And not forgetting holding a countdown card (LAI membership) gives you discounts for a certain shoe brand



I do find that the groups do tend to be Dublin based and are slow to leave the capital which I think is a weakness and doesn't help with advocating the library cause. The WRSLAI are countering this by offering seminars and networking opportunities away from the east coast. As I live in rural Ireland that's why I joined the group. I'm a committee member with them now so hopefully I can work well with them and help out in running events and meetings as best I can. 

The groups may also conduct meetings several times a year the government library section meet about 4 or 5 times annually. These meeting were an opportunity to network and share information about current library work related issues that I felt was arising. 

The Library Association of Ireland does a good job considering its a volunteer run. The people behind the groups do so on their spare time so responses to emails and sending out membership cards may take time. Most groups however will reply promptly. The only exception in my experience was CONUL who seemed to ignore any queries I had about their last conference. 

I feel advocating may be a not as strong as it could be. During the recession library restructuring and closures were not condemned by the LAI as loudly as they maybe should have been.  However as said above their is no professional clerical staff which hampers and increases the workload on people. Also as most libraries are in some way relying on the State for funding it might be seen as biting the hand that feeds.

The LAI is very strong in CPD. Offering a Fellowships and Associateships. As well as offering bursaries to attend conferences overseas. 

The other associations mentioned by the blog are more expensive to join. I find following them on social media discussed in Thing 3 and 5 can be a good way on keeping in contact with them. CILIP are regular tweeters posting advice, article links, library news, etc. The other way I follow and connect with members of other associations like the ALA, IFLA and CILIP is through Linkedin. I have got involved in several debates and discussions on the forums on that site. I have "met" some of same people on twitter chats so its a good cheaper way of building relationships without joining the actual body.

So my goal for my time being a member is to hopefully get published in an leabharlann, and work towards becoming an associate member


...Well actually my goal is to get employed again then everything else.