Thing 16: Advocacy

To date, most of my advocacy has been second-hand.  Rather than reaching out to policy-makers or users myself, I have supported others' efforts.  When I have seen something, such as an article about practicing driving by visiting all the branches in a library system, I have posted it on Twitter, posted it to online discussion groups, and shared it with my friends.  I have spread others' messages. 

I used this week's Thing as a prompt to write my own advocacy piece.  I believe self-advocacy is important, but I believe recommendations from other users is more effective.  For that reason, I chose to focus on a library where my only role has been being a patron.  I contacted my college's student newspaper and asked about submitting an opinion/letter to the editor piece.  One of the staff members responded almost immediately.  He answered my questions and shared a few loose guidelines.

Writing the article was much less difficult than I had imagined.  I was not sure what to say or how to say it.  When I sat down to write it, however, I had plenty to say.  I began with a short story of how the librarians caught me just as I was about to give up and showed me resources targeted to my topic.  I then mentioned other ways the librarians had helped me.  I encouraged current students to take advantage of the libraries' services.  The entire piece took at most half an hour to write.  Submitting was also a breeze.  Now, I will wait to hear if it will be accepted.

I debated whether I should add a note about sending feedback to the libraries.  I know that the library where I work welcomes feedback and uses it to plan future services.  I imagine that these libraries would react similarly, but I did not want to promise anything without checking with the librarians first.  I decided to leave this section out.  Next time, I will plan ahead and ask before I write. 

In writing the article, I also explored the libraries' website.  Much has changed in those few short years!  I enjoyed seeing some new features, such as video tutorials and a chat service.  I mentally compared their website to the site for the academic library where I work.  I have a few suggestions now for my own library. 

Advocacy of all sorts promotes the library's existence.  Resources, such as space and funding, are in high demand.  Advocacy helps libraries show decision makers that the library deserves these resources.  Advocacy allows libraries to reach out to new users and encourage current users to continue to use library services.  As I discovered, advocacy can also be a way to become inspired.  All of this energy serves strengthens the library, allowing it to continue to be a vital part of the community.

Thing 15: Conferences and Workshops

Conferences and other career or topic-oriented events form one of the backbones of professional development.  I have attended only one official in-person library conference, but I have also participated in several less-formal events.  I have watched archived versions of Web Conferences and have another from YALSA waiting in my inbox.  Whether or not the event is live, conferences introduce valuable new topics and provide opportunities for making connections.  Such benefits come with some cost, however.

Here are the lessons I have learned:

For in-person events:

Plan ahead.  A true conference has an abundance of events going on simultaneously.  Choosing the ones that appeal to you takes work; depending on the size of the conference, weeding through the offerings can be overwhelming.  It is better to take the time to look through all the options beforehand than to waste valuable time trying to find things the day of the event.  Inevitably, more than one event that appeals to you will happen at once.  You must choose to either attend part of each one or to skip some altogether.  Knowing this ahead of time helps you coordinate with others to share notes.

Be flexible and open to serendipity.  In spite of all your planning, you may discover an event you did not know about or which suddenly interests you.  You may meet someone you want to converse with further.  Last minute changes to times or venues might interrupt your plans.  You may simply need a break to let yourself think. 

Schedule a few breaks.  Although conferences are exciting and stimulating, you need some time to reflect on the experience and to catch your breath.

Bring extra bags.  Conference programs, presentation handouts, business cards, vendor information, and swag can add up quickly.  An extra bag helps you manage all of the items you acquire throughout the day.

Speak up.  Conferences are as much about meeting people as they are about learning new things.  Participate in discussions at the events you attend.  Introduce yourself to the other attendees and strike up a conversation.  If nothing else, stop and ask someone for directions or offer to help someone else find their destination.  You will meet interesting and helpful people. 

For on-line events:

Plan ahead.  Oftentimes, you need to register for these events.  You may also need to have certain software or hardware capabilities to participate.

Check to see if the events will be archived.  If the event will be archived, you can relax a bit more and focus on enjoying the experience rather than on taking notes.  You can visit and revisit the archive later to brush up on anything you forget.  Also, if something suddenly comes up and interferes with your attendance, you will still be able to get something out of the event.

Find a quiet space.  If you are in an area that is too public, outside noise might drown out your conference or you may become distracted by other people and events.

For both:

Check to see if there are social media conversations related to the events.  Twitter discussions, blog posts, and other sources add context to the conference.




I desire to continue attending library events.  The next big event I wish to attend is the Public Library Association conference for 2012.  I am open to attending other events before then, but PLA is the event that has drawn my interest most in the past.  This year, I will not have to work around classes to attend either!  I also hope to be able to attend a YALSA or webjunction event synchronously.  I have enjoyed archived versions, but would like the added interactive piece.

Conferences here I come!

Thing 14: Zotero, Mendeley, CiteULike

I am one of the odd people who actually prefer to create my citations by hand.  I have become familiar with a few different citation styles and do not mind taking the time to plug the information in by hand.  I am confident that I have cited my sources correctly.  I would rarely use any of these tools myself.

That said, however, I know the students I work with and many other people dread citing.  Citation programs, such as RefWorks, Zotero, and Mendeley simplify the process and allow these people to focus on the content of their papers.  Even if I will rarely turn to one of these programs myself, I know the value of them for others. 

RefWorks is a proprietary citation software.  The schools I have attended subscribed to RefWorks and the college where I work also subscribes to it.  Although the software has many useful features, and has unlimited size, the students I help find it a bit overwhelming. 

Zotero, an open source extension for Firefox, is much simpler to use and works with a wide range of source types.  When I used it for class, I appreciated its versatility and its ease of use.  In addition, up to a certain size, it is free.  Creating group folders was another highlight of the extension.  If the college where I work allowed students to download programs, I would recommend it to them.  For the moment, I will reserve it for future patrons.

For this Thing, I downloaded Mendeley, another free (to a point) tool.  Mendeley works with a variety of browsers and is compatible with PCs, Macs, and Linux machines.  Unlike Zotero, the focus of Mendeley seems to be on the user's own work and collaboration through that work.  It is possible to use Mendeley to gather sources for documents, just as it is in Zotero and RefWorks, but this option seems secondary to the purposes of content creation and content sharing.  Adding documents to Mendeley, provided they are in PDF format, is easy as well.  The drag-and-drop feature simplifies the process of adding documents you have already saved.  Searching within Mendeley also works well.  I especially appreciated the ability to limit a search to open access content.  Other useful features were the ability to highlight text in a document and to add sticky notes.  Mendeley has a lot to offer.

None of these tools is directly comparable to another.  Of these three, I would turn first to Zotero for my own research needs, if I were to use one at all.  I would recommend Mendeley to those carrying out academic research.  Seeing as both require downloads, however, I will reserve these resources for future use.  For the moment, I will continue to promote RefWorks to my library's users.

Thing 13: Google Docs, Wikis, and Dropbox (Belated)

Sometimes, coincidences are fortuitous.  In the past week or so, I have used all three of these resources, but I only had to make a special effort to use one of them.  I used the other two in the course of my regular work. 

One of the libraries where I work uses wikis frequently.  The staff recently begun brainstorming ways to make the wikis more attractive to our users.  Following one of the ideas, our wiki administrator set up an experimental page where my colleagues and I have been exploring some of the additional features, such as embedded videos.  Although these additions take slightly longer to load, I believe that they enhance the content in way that our users will appreciate.

One of my colleagues and I are also using Google Docs to create a draft of a new page for the wiki.  Due to many changes at the library as well as in our own lives, we needed a way to collaborate asynchronously as well as from different computers.  A shared Google Doc seemed to be the perfect solution.  Although Google Docs do allow us to easily work together, I find that some content is not as easy to add as it is in other, proprietary, programs.  I appreciate the transportability of Google Docs and do not hesitate to recommend it to others, but I await additional features for ease of use.

The option I determined to explore was Dropbox.  Through a children's programming course, I had already contributed to a shared folder with pre-made storytime programs.  I had declined, however, to download the application to my desktop.  For Thing 13, I chose to go back and upgrade to a full Dropbox account.  Installation went smoothly.  The quick tour of Dropbox swiftly explained the main features and demonstrated how to use them.  From these start-up pages, it appeared that Dropbox would work similarly to the student account provided by my college.  I was excited to begin.  Many of the most useful features, such as drag-and-drop, were not functional on my computer, however.  I could still add content by choosing to save a document in the Dropbox folder, but I lost the ease-of-use that made Dropbox so popular among my classmates and professors.  I will try using it again later, in case today was just a fluke.  Dropbox, I am withholding my final judgement.  Hopefully, you will not disappoint. 

Thing 12: Putting the Social into Social Media

Apologies to all:  I had written this post, but apparently clicked on "Save Now" instead of "Publish Post."

Although I had already used a good number of social media before this project, I had not used them in the context of professional development.  I had a LinkedIn account, which I used to link with others in my library school program or with previous connections.  I had a Twitter account, which I used enthusiastically for about 6 months and then let gather dust.  I had a Google Docs account, a Dropbox account, a Zotero account, and a few other accounts that I had used for various class projects.  Through this program, however, I have begun using them intentionally to increase my skills and to gain ideas for the future.

With the focus of this week on being "social," I made an extra effort to use some of my social media accounts.  I reconnected with people on my LinkedIn network, contributed to a group discussion on Twitter, posted new status updates on Facebook, and commented on others'  walls in Facebook.  With how busy the past few weeks have been, I might not have connected with all of these people if it had not been for this week's Thing.

Thing 11: Mentoring

I have had many mentors over the years.  Here are just a few of them: 

I participated in a long-term service project in a local school and relied heavily on the two teachers overseeing the program and on my colleague, who had been a paraprofessional in the school the year before and who was taking classes.  These ladies taught me more about the context of what I was doing, passed along tips and articles, and offered general life advice.  The experience was far richer for their friendship and input.


The staff members at the academic library I have worked in the past two years have also acted as mentors.  Through this position, I have been able to work on projects, such as copy editing for an open access journal, filling interlibrary loan requests, and researching the history of the college.  Through every day conversations, the staff members have related their stories, given advice, and listened to my thoughts.  Many of them have also passed along position advertisements that fit my future plans.  My supervisor has been a particularly valuable resource.  Knowing that after graduation I would be searching for my first professional position, the staff members have ramped up their efforts.  I am grateful for all their help!

One of the ladies at the public library where I recently began working has volunteered herself to be one of my mentors.  She frequently reminds me to tell the administration that I am interested in professional positions and to sell myself to them.  She has also discussed my future with me and has been very supportive as I have been applying to positions.

Seeking a more formal mentoring, I used this Thing as a prompt to sign up for the American Library Association's MentorConnect program.  As I have been applying to various positions, I have discovered areas in which I have little practice.  I found one person whose experience covered almost all of those areas-to-be-developed.  She cheerfully and promptly agreed to mentor me.  I look forward to getting to know her better.

Thank you to all my mentors--formal and informal, long-term or short-term; you have made me who I am!

Thing 10:Graduate Traineeships, Masters Degrees, Chartership, Accreditation

I started in libraries while I was in high school.  I volunteered in my school's library for a few years.  Regrettably, I passed up an opportunity to be an audio-visual page at my local public library in order to focus on my school work. 

Like many of you, I studied English/Literature in my undergraduate program.  The idea of librarianship was floating around in the back of my mind, but I did not commit to the idea until I was graduating.  I used my college's alumni career network to find people for informational interviews.  The people I interviewed shared their enthusiasm for librarianship and provided insight into what the positions would entail.  One of them even gave a course-by-course evaluation of her library school experiences.

I was hired as a page in the bookdrop room of the local library and worked there for two years before I entered graduate school.  I knew I wanted to work in public libraries, but I was torn between reference and children's services.  The classes I took reflected both of these interests.  Some of the highlights of my coursework were a class about underserved populations, a children's services and programming class, and a class about management in public libraries. 

A few months after I began my program, I was hired as a reference assistant in an academic library, a position I still hold.  Although I knew public libraries are where I belong, I wanted to explore other possibilities.  The librarians and other staff members have been wonderful mentors!  I have been able to  apply what I learned in my classes and have also taken on projects that supplement the formal learning experience.

Since graduation, I have begun a second part-time position at a branch of the local public library.  Although much of what I am doing overlaps with my duties as a page in my hometown library, the experience of working in a small branch library rather than one large library has been worthwhile.  I see more of the big picture. 

Now, I am applying to professional positions across the country.  I hope to work in either reference, which is fascinating and allows me to learn just a little bit about a wide range of topics, or in children's services, where I would be able to help children develop their natural curiosity.  Wish me luck!