CPD23 - Thing 23 - Final Reflections and what next for this blog?

It's impressive how much we've covered throughout the CPD23 Things programme which has involved learning not just about new tools and services but also crucially about ourselves and our impact on others.

Throughout the progamme I've tried to be thorough and reflect as fully as possible on each topic, hence some exxxxxttttreeeeemmeeellllyyyy long blog posts (must surely have won the award for the longest posts!).

Overall, I'm pleased to have kept up my personal commitment and to have seen this through to the end of the programme. Surely that stands for something good!

As a specific result of CPD23 Things: I'm now using LinkedIn and Twitter more, have signed up to Google+, have created my first Prezi presentation, used Screen-o-matic and advised others to do the same, reflected (no stressed) over the concept of 'personal branding' - so there's a lot to answer for.

CPD23 Things has also helped make me feel more engaged with other information professionals (sometimes can feel isolating in my current role).

But is it really an end?

October is now mid-year appraisal review time so seems like an appropriate time for the programme to end.

However, I feel that there is much that CPD23 didn't cover and should have done - for instance, such as accessing information via mobile apps and analysing modern search engines - so potentially there is much that could be covered in a follow up programme.

I'm also quite sure that the CPD23 programme could be rolled out much further to other organisations and sectors. For instance, there is room for a dedicated CPD23 Things programme just for government information professionals.

My personal next steps though, are to follow the suggestions and do a SWOT analsyis which will hopefully make my thoughts clearer on where to go next (really don't know). I'm also still planning to revalidate, for what it's worth!

Now that CPD23 Things has come to an end, the question is should I carry on blogging?

For lots of reasons, the answer is yes. As I am increasingly coming to appreciate, blogging is a great (although scary) form of self-expression and dialogue. Being part of the CPD23 Things programme has felt like a community and I hope to continue with this feeling and sense of support.

In continuing to blog, I want to post meaningful thought provoking posts, so I've been thinking about some future topics to blog about on both personal and work related issues:

• Government consultations
• Stakeholder management
• Preparations for Government Libraries Conference 2012
• Managers - the good, bad and the ugly
• Internal communications
• Alpha.gov.uk project

As writers say, the best advice about writing is to write for your own pleasure first and from that everything else will flow....so onwards and upwards.

CPD23 - Thing 22 - Is volunteering in libraries the answer to all our prayers?

Volunteering is universally considered as one of the best activities that you can ever get involved with (a potential win/win for all with a supply of willing motivated workers). It is therefore not surprising that libraries and volunteers do cross paths and that volunteering is a focus for discussion and debate within the information sector.

For instance, the issue of volunteering in libraries was considered during one of the sessions at the 2011 Umbrella Conference on New Structures, New Technologies, New Challenges - How Can We Adapt To an Age of Austerity?  which was held at the University of Hertfordshire on 12 – 13 July 2011. During this session held under the 'Libraries in the Big Society' strand, presentations were made by Mike Brook about Volunteers in Libraries, Tracey Long spoke about Using volunteers in libraries - the Dorest experience and Tracy Hager spoke about using volunteers as part of the Summer Reading Challenge.

What I sense from these presentations, is that volunteering and libraries do mix and now is an important time to consider volunteering in libraries in a consistent way. As Mike Brooks says, we should use the current economic context in 2011 as an opportunity to truly consider the use of library volunteers and look at what is benefical for both libraries and volunteers themselves.

In assessing the topic of volunteering in libraries I have two questions:

1. Why is it good to volunteer?
2. Is volunteering good for libraries?

before providing some general concluding thoughts.

---

Why is it good to volunteer?


Being a volunteer has the potential of providing a range of benefits for both the volunteer and the organisation involved.


For individuals, volunteering offers the opportunity amongst other things to:


- meet new people and make new friends
- experience new opportunities and challenges
- gives you a greater sense of well-being
- get a legup in your career (or to grindhop according to Bronogh McCrudden)


For instance, in a survey conducted by the charity Community Service Volunteers (CSV), the following benefits were apparent:

• More than 50% of volunteers perceived health and fitness benefits
• 62% said that volunteering reduced stress

For busineses, there are also benefits.  For instance this is indicated by a survey among 200 of Britain's top businesses, carried out by TimeBank a national campaign inspiring and connecting people to give time, which found that 73% of employers would employ candidates with volunteering experience, more readily than those without and 94% of employers believed that volunteering could enhance skills.


I am a volunteer myself (currently volunteering once a week at an Age Concern day centre for people with dementia together with my dog as a Pets As Therapy visitor) and know first hand the satisfaction and value it brings to the people and staff as well as myself from something as simple as putting a smile on someone's face and speaking to people.


Is volunteering good for libraries?


YES

As highlighted in the introduction to Thing 22, library volunteering can be invaluable to people looking to find a professional post and to solve the universal catch-22 of needing a job but lacking practical working experience.

The benefits of being a library volunteer are also highlighted by Sally Hughes, guest blogger on the Voices for the Library blog. Sally speaks of being a volunteer at a museum library.

Where library volunteering is beneficial is when the volunteer's role is well defined (maybe as part of a defined project) and not acting as a wholesale replacement of paid staff. Examples might including chairing reading groups, helping to catalogue specific collections or supporting running events such as the Summer Reading Challenge.  

There are many examples of libraries using volunteers in successful ways, such as in Gateshead and Kent Library Services. Kent, for instance has had a formal library volunteer programme since 2008 which outsourced to Community Service Volunteers. Kent Libraries benefits from over 37,000 volunteer hours and volunteers work in 93 of Kent's 101 libraries. Gateshead has had a volunteering programme since 2002 and now benefit from help from around 100 volunteers involved in tasks like heritage guiding or digitising records.

MAYBE
The Public Library News website provides a factsheet on Volunteer-Run Libraries, which summarises the current list of UK public 'community libraries' and outlines the pros and cons of using volunteers to run a library service. Volunteer-run libraries are a step further than using volunteers for specific projects and tasks.

Proponents of these community run libraries see them as part of the trend to more localism in service provision (the so-called political agenda of a 'Big Society'). Specific benefits highlighted by the Community Knowledge Hub website are that volunteer-run libraries offer potential for:
NO

• Reduced running costs for local authorities
• Increased community involvement in and control over local services
• Increased take-up of library services
• Library service innovation and diversification
• Improved access to a range of public services 

However, as the factsheet points out only 1% of current UK public service library provision is available via 'volunteer-run' libraries and this approach is 'not for the faint-hearted'.

I wonder if such volunteer-run service provision became more widespread, could these benefits really be replicated everywhere (including in less affluent areas of the country)?

Despite the personal benefits of volunteering, there are potentially many risks in relying on volunteer-led services. For instance, like it or not, volunteers come and go due to life circumstances and volunteer management is a role in itself. In the case of libraries there would be a risk of service provision and hours diminishing.


There are many people who have publically stated that volunteers shouldn't substitute the work of library professionals and I agree with them.


For instance, Liam Godfrey, Press Officer of Surrey Libraries Action Movement has said:

"Librarians are professional people and professionally trained. You wouldn’t ask volunteers to take the place of Doctors, Teachers or Civil Engineers so why would anyone think volunteers can replace librarians just like that?"

The Women's Institute, who are actively campaigning for public libraries, also share this opinion ('WI slams government over volunteer-run libraries' - The Bookseller article ). Ruth Bond, the Chair of the WI has said:


"Whilst volunteers have an important role to play, they should not be a replacement for a trained, professional library service, and local communities have real concerns about their assumed ability to take on the running of local libraries, particularly around their ability to raise sufficient funds to keep library premises running and replenish book stocks."


Final thoughts


It is so sad that we are having this debate about library volunteers but due to the economic situation and the pressures and cuts in public library budgets, I am sure that librarians/information professionals will continue for some time to come to voice the Bethan Ruddock's question of Could we all be replaced by volunteers?


I can't really imagine the UK's public libraries being replaced totally by volunteers (and as referred to above, only 1% of UK public libraries are community led at the moment so there is a way to go yet before the current public library changes totally) but who knows what some councils might try to do to libraries faced with budget cuts by 'sleight of hand' (eg Islington Libraries: The Battle Begins - 7 October 2011).
 I also believe that library volunteering should remain a personal choice compared to people faced with the threat of library closures and being forced to "volunteer" with a gun to their heads. As Liam Godfrey states "This is not volunteering, it is blackmail: taking advantage of people’s desire to nurture and protect their local community, and not wanting to lose one of the key hubs of their communities".


I also share the views of Sally Hughes (a library volunteer, herself, remember) who imagines a library closure scenario and considers volunteering:


"if my local library were to close I don’t think I would be the first person at the doors to be a new unpaid employee because without the guidance of the professionals it wouldn’t be half of what it was".


For me that says it all and why volunteering in libraries is not always the answer to our prayers either for organisations or personally.....

CPD23 - Thing 21 - Promoting Yourself

The activity as part of Thing 21 is to consider how we promote ourselves in the job market and it really daunts me....so I am going to make an attempt to face these job promotion and hunting fears.

Paul Mullan is one particular careers consultant among many whose advice I've stumbled across online. His advice makes some sense to me at this particular moment in likening job hunting to tackling fear. He says that FEAR stands for “Fantacised Events Appearing Real”.

Paul talks about what to do when you are afraid - that you need to challenge the fear and the fact that you are creating a fantasy. You need revisit past experiences when fear was present and how the reality was very different. You need to relive the highs when you overcame fears. By facing your fears you can start to have a more positive impact in searching for a job.

I can't absolutely say I think this way positively yet, but I do understand that my current approach to job hunting is beset by 'fear hurdles' which need to be overcome.

Part 1 is to look at our own career and identify strengths and weaknesses


"Tell us about your greatest strengths" is a very common interview question. Why then that so many of us find it so difficult to answer?

Book title says it all!

Like many others, I probably fall into what Paul Mullen describes as the 'the pit of self promotion'. In other words I have an under performing CV because I tend to hold back on highlighting key achievements or successes because of a lack of appreciation of the bigger picture and fear of being boastful.

To address this will take some time and as a first step I need to develop  an achievements log (maybe as part of an extended Revalidation portfolio activities log.


Part 2 looks at CV writing


I have a CV and it works (or has worked) adequately, but after over 3 years in my current job it definitely needs a dusting off now. I'm aware that the approach to presenting CVs has changed in recent years and it is interesting to learn of new techniques and approaches rather than the chronological work based approach that I continue to use. Presentations about CV writing such as Really Ugly Resumes and Resume Zen provide food for thought.

Did you know that in general it can take recruiters as little as 10 seconds (not surprising given CV filtering software) in some cases to judge what you are like from your CV?

It's therefore important that we take the time to think very carefully how we present ourselves in the best light and in a way that stands out from the crowd.

Part 3 looks at job interviews


As Paul Mullen states, the final task in job hunting is the 'dreaded interview'. He advises that the best way to tackle this fear it to PREPARE. This is also the advice from many other people and sources including CILIP which provides Going for an interview - Top Tips.

I've been to a couple of interviews in the past year or so and I find them more nerve-racking than ever. However one thing that does keep me going is an awareness that the interviewers are just as nervous as the interviewee. I've been fortunate to sit on an interview panel and to see first hand how the process works from the other side of the desk. As an interviewer I have found myself willing candidates who are under performing to explain themselves more and show themselves in the best light possible.

Lastly, I found the attached skit from the BBC 2 TV show "Mock the Week" funny. It's all about what not to say at job interviews......

CPD23 - Thing 20 - Library Career Routes and Wisdom

Career Paths

If you are anything like me, then anything to do with career planning, career pathways, careers guidance and careers advice seems very daunting.

This is where both the Library Routes Project and the Library Day in the Life Project are such great ideas since they help to demystify some of the nature of what working as a modern day information professional involves.

Our perceptions of careers and jobs are built by our own unique mixture of experiences and by talking to friends, family, parents and teachers, learning from the media (TV, newspapers) and from reading online and books. Existing perceptions and prejudicies can be very hard to shift. Therefore these two website resources are as Laura Woods says in her overview to Thing20,  "intended to shine a much-needed light on the types of jobs and career paths available within the information profession".

I have previously contributed to the Library Routes wiki already - see my blog post to CPD23 - Thing 10 - Routes into Librarianship.

Do you think your own path was typical or unusual compared to others?

Having a nose around at other contributions, I'm probably one of the few people who actively pursued a career in library and information work, compared to most other contributors who seems to have stumbled a lot more into this career path.

I'm also one of very few contributors from a government or special libraries background (not because there aren't people like me out there but presumably because less people working in these areas are aware of the wiki).

This raises the question of what we can all do to actively promote what it really means to be an inforamtion professional and the value of information management and libraries beyond what Ned Potter and Laura Woods call the 'echochamber' of talking about being a librarian and libraries to ourselves.  That battle is not yet won!

Words of advice

True words of wisdom!

My first top tip is that if you get the opportunity, do try to find a job via the CILIP graduate traineeship scheme.

This is beneficial to both employers who are seeking enthusastic graduates looking to find experience in information and library work. It also works vice versa for those same graduates who are looking for real-life working experience to demonstrate work commitments and to start to earn money. CILIP clearly indicate that those who are successful in securing a traineeship are looked on favourably if they then decide to apply for a CILIP accredited course. You have to be organised in applying for these roles, but opportunities do appear throughout the year and they are very varied to suit all personalities and backgrounds (and maybe get your foot in the door with an employer). They are also a competitive job-seeking process, so be prepared for submitting your CV and interviews. To get an idea of some graduate trainee schemes you can check out the websites run by graduate trainees working at Cambridge University (CATALOG), OWL: Oxford Website for Library Trainees and the Albert Sloman Library Assistant pages. Remember these are only three possibilities from around 70 opportunities advertised annually.

Being a graduate trainee definitely helped me with Plan A - ie applying for a Masters in Information Management and finding a full time job.

However, you should also always be prepared for a Plan B (or even C or D) as you come to appreciate the older you get that life is not always straight forward and plain sailing.

By the time you have been around for longer in an organisation and you get associated with a particular job, position or role (particularly if you work in a larger organisation), the more closely you are associated with your existing skillset. For all the talk of the possibility of changing sectors, I personally think that unless you move around when you are a 'newer' or 'younger' professional, the harder it will be disassociate yourself from your perceived skillset later. Be prepared to reach an invisible 'glass ceiling' mid-point in your career and plan for that.

Whatever propelled people into their current situation, I'd also advise everyone to:

• continue to keep flexible and current with new technologies and ways of working
• volunteer to undertake new work and activities
• be positive as long as possible and avoid listening to cynical voices

  

  Wish I had one of these!

Also be open to all the wisdom of others. Here are some words to ponder:

•  "Analyzing what you haven't got as well as what you have is a necessary ingredient of a career" - Orison Swett Marden
• “I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordon
• "What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love, give it the best there is in you, seize your opportunities, and be a member of the team.” - Benjamin F Fairless

CPD23 - Thing 11 - Mentoring

Like most people, I think that mentoring is intrinsically a great idea.

For a mentor it can be an opportunity to give something back and for the mentee, it can provide a sounding board, exposure to different ways of thinking. A mentor has been described as 'a wise and trusted professional advisor' and this sums up the role very well.


Also, its been analysed that it actually pays to have a mentor.

For instance, in 2006 Sun Microsystems conducted a survey to assess the effectiveness of its company mentoring program. It found that 25% of employees who took part in the program had a salary grade change, compared to only 5% amongst those who did not participate. In addition, 28% of participating mentors had a salary increase, compared
to only 5% of non-participating mentors.
When it works, mentoring can be very helpful for both individuals and organisations - for instance it can help to improve employee retention, build morale, reduce stress, build teams, increase commitment, and accelerate leadership development.

In a nutshell, mentoring is the secret weapon of success in life. Indeed, it is recognised as such by schools and colleges who have successful, active alumni departments and by businesses and individuals who seek a support network.

Unfortunately, personally I've not had any luck with developing a long lasting mentor/mentee relationship until now. I'd be willing to explore  approaching someone who is willing and able to act as a mentor for me, but not exactly sure who that might be at the moment.

Probably the reason I've not succeeded in finding a mentor previously is that I've not been ready. You need to be in the right place emotionally to get the most of a mentor/mentee interaction. For a mentoring relationship to work, you need to be able to answer YES to all the following statements:

• I'm responsible for my career goals and would enjoy the benefit of a mentor's guidance to create a plan for success.
• I'm ready to listen, but I'm also ready to share my ideas so it's a give and take relationship.
• I'm ready for objective feedback to consider new ideas and new approaches suggested by my mentor.
• I have realistic expectations for my mentor relationship. No one is perfect and good relationships take honesty, effort and time.
• I'm busy with school and/or work, but I'm ready to make a commitment for my future by communicating with my mentor.

To expand on the words of wisdom in the CPD23 Thing 11 blogpost and the referenced links such as the inspirational words of Dr Seuss found in the article on 'Sharing Program:The Big Boy Boomeroo of Mentoring', I have done some further research into the importance of mentoring.

One source of reference is a guy called Bud Bilanich from Denver in the United States who brands himself online as the 'common sense career coach'. He has blogged about the link between mentoring and career success. One of his top tips for success is to find a mentor - and he is not alone. Most career professionals advocate the same thing.

Bilanich helpfully highlights what to look for in a mentor, namely:

What makes for a good mentor? A good mentor…
M Motivates you do accomplish more than you think you can.
E Expects the best from you.
N Never gives up on you or lets you give up on yourself.
T Tells you the truth – even when it hurts.
O Occasionally kicks your butt.
R Really cares about you and your success.

This is a very helpful mnemonic and something we can all use to find the right mentor for us. In this process of finding an appropriate mentor he also emphasises that the relationship is built around confidence - with confident people around, you will be well on your way to career success.

This is one of the reasons why mentoring is particularly powerful for young and more disadvantaged people in helping them to succeed.



Until I am clearer about what direction I want to go in with my jobs and career, I am going to be careful about finding a new mentor.

In the meantime, I am mindful that is just as helpful and you can learn just as much by being a mentor, so I want to take the opportunity to give back myself and become either a CILIP Mentor or a Candidate Support Officer for the Career Development Group (whose role is to support people through the Chartership process).

To quote fellow CPD23 Things blogger, Infopromom, says - "being master of my fate will require impetus and proactivity on my part – I cannot be passive but must step out of my comfort zone to continue to grow and learn". Powerful, beautiful and true words!