The summer has flown by and we're now in a term term in a new school, but many of the old problems. Note to project managers everywhere: Please allow 2-3 days contingency time to get things all working!
I seem to apologising to all and sundry for the lack of IT and software packages that we've come to rely upon not working. I feel as if we've had a false start.
So in investigating web 2.0 tools such as Mendeley for organising and referencing, my obvious response is : make sure you have a backup of everything you save! Mendeley looks good, and could be useful to students in particular. There seem to be so many choices of different tools in this area, I would say see what suits you best. Mendeley doesn't seem to do much more than Dropbox and Neil's toolbox put together in one place, although I may be underestimating it's power having not fully explored all its capabilities. It has a fancy 'dashboard' but I didn't find it intuitive to use and had a very American 'look'. In my view simple is good. For our 6th form students , the newly launched Studyvibe from Autrialia seems better presented and a one stop shop for research tools.As ever, time is an issue with finding out more.
Conferences and presenting. Conferences are a wonderful thing, particularly for school librarians who are often one man bands these days. It's such a relief to be with one's own kind, and know that you are not alone! This is in addition to all the wonderful new things to discover and share in the profession. Cost is an issue, so go where you can! Video conferencing could be an answer, which we are going to trial within our small Independent schools librarians group. Presenting when working in a school is part of daily life, particularly at the beginning of a new school year. All those inductions! I love them, but they are exhausting if you don't do it all year round. I fully endorse all the tips from Phil Bradley here. I also believe that some of these skills need to be taught on Library and information course as they are in the USA.
This also links in with advocacy. I try by every means possible to get recognised in the school curriculum. Some teachers are more supportive than others, as are some subject areas. The full support of Senior Management is also needed. Until Information Literacy becomes part of the curriculum in Independent schools, this is a slow but steady development. Staffing to cover the rest of the library whilst you're 'teaching' however is another issue in a busy environment. There is a problem being overwhelmed with too many initiatives when you have little in terms of cover. Advocacy in the wider world is an issue that CILIP is starting to address on behalf of the profession in the UK. I strongly feel that the modern Information Professional is highly skilled on a miriad of ways and are not recognised either in status or pay. It is a stark reminder when you work in a school that an NQT gets the same pay as a Chartered Librarian with 20 years experience. I realise that economic times are bad, but employers are taking huge advantage of the situation and lowering renumeration. Not only do we need to save our libraries by investing in change to suit the changing technology available, we need to ensure that the Professional Librarian doesn't die out. I fear that the next generation with otherwise miss out on those gatekeepers (for want of a better word) to information. In short, our professional body, CILIP has a big job to do! Advocay needs to be done consistently and powerfully, getting to the right people to persuade. How many of us in full time work can actually spend enough time doing this? All we are left with is little by little on a personal level. A drip feed if you will, which in conjunction with the National campagin has to have some effect in the long run.
Here endeth the lesson!
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