A Question of Continuing Professional Development

August 2013

I see from my stats that this blog was visited yesterday, despite having been dormant for several months.  The fact that someone looks but finds nothing new, will never do! So, in case anyone else happens upon this blog, which I started when I was following the 23 Things initiative in 2012, I thought I'd just post an update.

Since completing 23 Things, my contract has changed. (The change is unconnected with 23 Things, I hasten to add.)  My working week has been modified, as I am currently 60:40 music librarian : postdoctoral researcher on an AHRC-funded project.  A new professional covers my non-library days.  Spending two days a week on music research is work, not specific, scheduled training, but it nonetheless develops my research skills, so you could argue it's a kind of Continuing Professional Development. 

Also since completing 23 Things, I've signed up to be a CILIP Mentor for new library professionals embarking upon their Chartership training.  It's time to put something back into the profession.  I already have one shiny new mentee, with the prospect of a couple more.

The most recent formal training event I've attended was the Scottish Storytelling Workshop's Stagecraft Workshop: How to be the Social Glue.  It was basically about hosting an event - being the compere - as I thought it would be a good idea to brush up my presentation skills for non-academic audiences.  And why?  Because I've done various talks for special interest groups, and I had a book-launch of my own in April 2013!  My husband has since reflected, 'You basically used that book-launch as an excuse for a full-scale concert'.  He's half-right.  I was introduced by a senior manager, then gave an illustrated talk.  The performers were our students, a former colleague of mine, and me at the piano. 

For years, I've represented the Whittaker Library at SALCTG, the Scottish Academic Libraries Cooperative Training Group, and last summer I became Convenor of the group, so that's the last piece of news in my CPD update.  I'm not just updating myself, but helping develop other libraries' staff too.  I gave a pecha kucha presentation about SALCTG's aims and objectives, at a seminar earlier this summer.

It's possible that CILIP may have a new name soon.  The voting at the AGM will be whether to accept Information and Library Professionals UK: the Chartered Institute for the Knowledge Professions, as our new name.  I'll index this update under both the present name and the potential new one, to aid retrieval.  (Once a librarian, always a librarian?!) 

A month to remember

The month commencing 15th October 2012 will have been the most unusual month in my working career.  Last week,  I began my 3-year, 2-days-a-week secondment as a postdoc research assistant.  Considering I've never had a part-time job or a job-share in my life, this 'librarianship three days, postdoc two days' existence is very novel for me.  Being a postdoc researcher is equally new.  (OK, I've continued to do odd bits of research since becoming a doc, but I haven't been paid to do it before!)

And this isn't all that's new.  Next week I shall convene an SALCTG meeting for the first time.  I've never been a Convenor of anything else before, either. And I've an engagement as an assessor, the next day.

On either side of these momentous events, I gave a talk to Glasgow Gaelic Society on Tuesday evening this week, and I'm giving a talk to postgraduates at my alma mater, the University of Glasgow, the week after next.  The ironic thing about this is that when I was a postgrad the first time round, I couldn't imagine myself standing up and lecturing.  That's why I became a librarian.  Whereas now, I've stood up and talked to so many groups that I wasn't even bothered when the computer wouldn't open up on Tuesday night.  The group moved rooms, to enable me to show my  PowerPoint, but I wouldn't have been particularly upset if I hadn't been able to.

On the other hand, I felt decidedly guilty that I couldn't pronounce the Gaelic names of the songs I was talking about.  I played, rather than sang them - that got round one problem - but I felt a real ignoramus being unable to say what I was playing!  I've made two attempts at learning Gaelic.   It's deeply humiliating to admit that, whilst my Dad was head of modern languages in a big grammar school, and I was considered linguistically able at school, Gaelic is fiendishly difficult, and I haven't remotely got the hang of it yet.  An inability to speak Gaelic doesn't make me less of a librarian, or less of a researcher, but in terms of credibility and self-respect, I can see that at some stage, I shall really have to grasp that particular nettle!

Thing 7: Getting involved professionally

This is an easy "thing" for me to write about, because I've always been professionally involved.

1. CILIP.  I got chartered (ALA) in the Library Association as soon as I'd put in the requisite amount of experience, and written my professional development report.  Actually, it wasn't nearly as difficult as some people would have you believe, so if anyone reading this is still working towards chartership, then my message to them is, 'Please don't worry about it!'.  I'm happy to be a sounding-board for anyone with any concerns about it.  Anyway, I've been a member ever since, and I also supervised my maternity cover's chartership.  Although it wasn't easy getting away to attend events when I had young children (I only had 3 months' maternity leave after the birth of each child), I tried to keep active at arm's length, and I did write a couple of articles for Personnel Training and Development, in 2001.  I've nearly always subscribed to more groups than the minimum two, though my choices have changed from time to time.  More recently, I submitted my Fellowship application a couple of years ago.
2. IAML (UK and Irl).  I joined IAML at the same time as I joined CILIP - as a librarianship postgrad at College of Librarianship Wales, Aberystwyth.  Within a year, I was working as a music librarian in South Tyneside, and at that stage I became IAML (UK and Irl)'s Newsletter Editor and Brio Reviews Editor.  This meant trips to London for Exec meetings - which I managed until the kids came along.  If you begin to see a theme emerging, I'm afraid it's that people without children inevitably get more involved in group activities and committees, whilst full-time working mothers with three young children tend to get less involved!  I was Brio Reviews Editor from 1989-1992, but withdrew slightly from involvement in professional organisations while the kids were young; there was a dip in my conference attendances, although I did get away to day-events from time to time.  More recently I've written for the Newsletter and Brio, spoken at a couple of conferences, and written a review and a paper for Fontes (the international organisation).
3. Locally, I've represented the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, since our namechange) at SALCTG (Scottish Academic Libraries Cooperative Training Group) for many years, and I've just become Convenor of that group.  It's good to be involved in something local, where you get to meet people with similar interests over an extended period of time. 
4. For quite a while I also represented RSAMD at the SCURL Disabilities Group, addressing access issues for disabled readers, but the group has disbanded now.  (I gave a paper and published an article for that, too.)
5. In 2002, I found three nineteenth century Dundonian flute manuscripts after a library refurbishment.  You might ask why I'm mentioning this here: it's because it marked the reawakening of my interest in musicological research.   In one sense, it is coincidental that this marked the start of my youngest son's school career - in another, it's perhaps just as well!  From 2004-9 I studied part-time for a PhD, alongside my full-time job.  This has led to a lot of networking in musicological circles, particularly the Royal Musical Association.  I'm currently on the Council for that, too.  I've attended RMA research students' conferences, and published a paper in the RMA Research Chronicle.  I'm also a member of the international specialist Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society - I've written a paper and a couple of book reviews for them, too - and I attend Musica Scotica conferences locally in Glasgow.  More presentations and another published paper.
6. I now lurk on Twitter, which is a great way of keeping abreast of professional concerns.  More so for librarianship than musicology, I have to say.  Maybe I'm just not following the right Twitter trends.  It's more vital to my day-to-day existence that I keep up with librarianship stuff.  I haven't given up on the research - indeed, I have a book at the publishers' right now - but I earn my daily crust as a librarian.

Sometimes, I feel I haven't made much progress professionally, having been in the same job 24 years.  But looking at this lot, I certainly haven't stagnated.  That's something I can be proud of, I suppose!

Thing 2: Introducing CPD23 to other Scottish librarians

SALCTG meeting in Dundee tomorrow - Scotland's academic libraries' cooperative training group.  I'm going to talk about the 23 Things initiative!  So - watch this space.