A day in the life of a Systems Librarian

Hello! Here I am at the library helpdesk

In recent years I enjoyed taking part in the Library day in the life project. This ran from 2008-2012 and saw library staff from all disciplines across the world record and upload their daily diaries for a week. I found it invaluable and really interesting, and was quite sad when the person who organised it announced there would be no more. You can read my participating blog posts here.

The library in which I work has a very active blog and this year I decided to introduce a series of posts based on the idea of a daily diary. There are 11 of us in the team and we each blogged about our day at work; these posts were uploaded once a week over a period of 11 weeks.  We publicised it within college as the chance to see what goes on behind-the-scenes in a library. Whenever a new post was published we would highlight it on the staff intranet and the library's social media profiles. They were by far the most viewed posts on our blog! It was mentioned at regional JISC events and we even had another FE library say they enjoyed reading the series so much they were planning a similar one for their blog. A huge compliment!

As a rule, I tend not to link this blog to my workplace blog, but on this occasion I'll make an exception. If anyone fancies reading about a day in the life of an FE systems librarian, here's the link to my post. Enjoy!

Study Visit Participation

A poster detailing the visit

During May, I spent a week in Warsaw, Poland, on a Transversal study visit. The visit was funded by the EU and focused on ‘new media in education and theprofessional development of librarians’. Each year, hundreds of places are offered on study visits through the Ecorys / Transversal programme. To qualify, participants must live within an EU country and work in adult education. On this particular visit, there were 13 participants from Iceland, Spain, Italy, France, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Aruba, Bulgaria, Romania and the UK. The types of libraries represented included college, university, medical, school, public and national.

I was thrilled to discover my application had been successful, but as the time grew nearer I became increasingly nervous; being very under-travelled, I was worried about travelling alone with a language barrier.  A member of the college Estates department is Polish and gave me a basic language lesson which helped put me at ease.
During the visit, each participant gave a 30 minute presentation outlining the educational system in their home countries, as well as the organisation of libraries services. It was interesting and reassuring to realise that, despite living in different countries and working in different types of libraries, librarians throughout Europe face the same issues. We were able to exchange elements of good practice and useful connections were made.

Fingers Crossed

Image by Discoodoni

Well, it seems that bloggers all over the universe are posting about what they hope to achieve in 2012. I’ve read several posts like this and have enjoyed them all (I’m far too nosey for my own good!). So, with this in mind, I’m taking a running jump on the bandwagon and doing the same.

1. Kindle: I had the new Kindle model for my birthday a few weeks ago. I’ve only used it to read fiction on, but would really like to utilise the other features it offers. I find it handy, portable and convenient, and by the end of the year I hope to be fully conversant with all aspects of the Kindle. Not a major resolution, but it takes me ages to get be comfy with new gadgets.

2. The work-related aim: As Systems Librarian, I administer and maintain Heritage LMS. However, at the moment I am unfamiliar with the majority of the modules. I’d really like to get to grips with the reports and stocktaking options. I’d feel much more confident with my Heritage knowledge (and performance at work) once I’ve got these nailed.

Blog Stats

Have just checked the stats for the blog and visits to BtB have passed the 4,000 mark! Hurrah! Am so chuffed and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit and browse BtB. I know popular blogs reach 4,000 visits in no time at all, but when I started BtB I didn’t think anyone would ever look at it so I’m really quite taken aback.

I find looking at blog statistics really interesting. Here’s a general breakdown:

CPD23 Thing 13

Thing 13: Google Docs, Dropbox & Wikis  

Image taken by Chrissinjo 

I’ve never used Dropbox or Google Docs before. Always meant to, just never got round to it. I don’t know much about it, but I find cloud technology very intriguing. So, with CPD23 in mind, I’ve used Google to creat a document and shared it with our Graduate Trainee based at another location. It worked quite well actually and I was impressed. It simple and user-friendly. Likewise, she also shared a doc with me and receiving it was very straight forward. Both of us viewing the doc at the same time was quite amusing, although it turned a little messy when I 'comandered' the cursor and inserted text into the very sentance she was already working on. A little problematic, but perhaps there are ways around this when you know how to utilise Goofle Docs properly. Definitely a useful tool and one I'd like to explore further.

Dropbox looks like it may take a little longer to master. Don’t really have time at work so I’ll grab a look at it sometime at home. I am the queen of memory sticks and always have one on my person at almost any given time. In my last employment post, my memory stick was stolen by a pupil and I lost several documents. I can see Dropbox providing a convenient alternative to the perils of memory sticks.

The other element of Thing 13 is wikis. Finally – something I do have a little experience of! I’ve never had cause to establish a wiki myself, but I have added to various ones in the past:

The library routes project

Library day in the life

UK library blogs

If anyone knows of any others please drop me a comment to let me know. I enjoy adding to library-related wikis, it’s nice to participate and make a small contribution to a library initiative. These wikis have brought to my attention several blogs which I now regularly follow and a large proportion of BtB’s traffic is directed from these three sites. It’s an easy way of sharing experiences and I really do recommend joining in. Wikis = FTW!

CPD23 Thing 5

Image taken by Rosmary

Thing 5: Reflective Practice

I quite enjoyed the reflective chapter of my dissertation a few years ago, which was my first real attempt at reflective writing. I started this blog a few years later when I was going though the chartership process, thinking it’d help me record my thoughts and impressions whilst also giving me a greater web presence. Earlier this year BtB was accepted as part of the Cilip Landscape. I applied for this with the intention that it’d help to keep me on the reflective straight and narrow.

Regarding CPD23, I feel it’s really encouraged me to ponder things that would never have occurred to me before. It has raised my awareness of certain tools, spurred me on the get to grips with Twitter and think seriously about my personal brand. I’m really appreciative that so many CPD23 blogs have been created – I love browsing them. I haven’t looked at RSS feeds yet but I’m hoping to do so when I have a bit more time.

A large part of CPD23, for me, is helping the other members of the library team find their feet with blogging. Several were unfamiliar with Blogger as a platform or wary of the idea of blogging altogether so I sit down and talk them through it. I hope they find it helpful! It’s also helping me get to know the other members of the team, which I’m thankful for as breaking the ice with new people is something I struggle with on a personal basis. So thank you CPD23!

CPD23 Thing 3

 Thing 3: Personal Brand

I’ve considered my personal brand a few times in the past and have blogged about it here. It’s a topic I’ve given much thought to and I’ve yet to reach a ‘brand’ I’m finally happy with.


In April 2011 I changed the layout of my blog, and went for a pink and pale grey colour scheme. I wanted something cool, sharp and uncluttered. I like the contrast between the colours and feel they reflect the different aspects of my personality, but I’m aware that pink isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and may turn off some people (particularly men). I’ve stayed with it because I like it, but it’s a constant dilemma for me. Recently, a few CPD23-ers have commented on / referred to BtB and the appearance has been complimented no less than 4 times! Those comments put a huge smile on my face as it’s something I’ve pondered long and hard.

Image taken by Jim Donnelly

I’d feel happier about my ‘brand’ if I had an image of some sort, which was instantly recognisable as belonging to BtB. Several blogs use images in this way (Wikiman, Joeyanne Libraryanne, Organising Chaos) and I think it adds a certain something. I’ll have to put my thinking cap on though – maybe the letters BtB in some sort of fancy arrangement?

Generally, I try to keep my personal and professional online profiles apart. I don’t usually mention BtB on Facebook and vice versa. I do have a Twitter account but I’ve never really taken to the mechanics of it and generally tend to ignore tweeting. It’s a powerful tool so that’s something I need to address – thankfully it’s one of the ‘Things’ to come!

I Googled myself, as advised by CPD23, to check my online visibility. My first search (‘Cara Clarke’) resulted in people with the same name on various social networks, plus my Race For Life sponsorship page. My second search (‘Cara Clarke library’) produced more refined results. The first page of hits included BtB, my presence on other library blogs / wikis, Cilip WM branch's Flickr photostream, Cilip’s Update with Gazette editorial panel and finally some Twitter remarks. The search produced a general summary of my library-related activity. I found it quite an interesting exercise to do and the results were quite surprising. It made me realise that although it might be a bit patchy, I've somehow developed more of an online presence than I thought!

CPD23 Thing 2

Image taken by Tim Green

Thing 2: Stalking blogs and commenting

Spent an hour browsing various blogs from the CPD23 Delicious bookmarks. There are sooo many to choose from, loved looking at all the inventive names folks have given their blogs. I’ve selected seven to follow. The majority are from the same sector I work in, but this is a good opportunity to mix it up a little, so I’m also following a couple of non-FE library blogs, and one from another country.

I’m hoping that following the blogs will be a good way of eye-spying what it’s like to work in a variety of libraries, but I didn’t want to follow too many in case I’m inundated with updates. Most were new and quite empty, so I selected those particular seven purely because I liked the blog names and backgrounds. While I appreciate they are each a work-in-progress (as is my own), it really makes you think about the importance of first impressions.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone gets up to over the next few months. Hopefully, fingers crossed, a few fellow participants will look up BtB!

CPD23 Thing 1

Image taken by drcorneilus

Well, today is the day that cpd23 kicks off, so here I am blogging about Thing 1:

Thing 1: Blog and blogging
I created Behind the Bookshelves back in 2009. I was going through chartership at the time felt I needed to be more proactive and have an online presence (other than Facebook!). The frequency of posting has been sporadic – sometimes several each week, other times nothing for months – but I’m not too fussed about that. BtB is an informal record of my musings and that’s how I like it – a casual, drop in place people can visit whenever the fancy takes them.

My line manager at work suggested cpd23 to the library team, and of the 12 of us I think there are about 8 taking part. I thought it looked a fun way of learning new things, rather than attending a rigid course. I’m looking forward to Thing 3 (personal brand), Thing 4 (RSS feeds) and Thing 13 (file sharing). These have all been on my ‘to do’ list for a while but I never seemed to get round to them. Hopefully cpd23 will be the kick up the backside I need!   

CPD23

23 Things has been around for a few years now, during which time it has grown massively in popularity. I've never followed it personally, but I do find it quite interesting. It's a fun example of self-directed learning, a way of increasing a person's online knowledge, profile and activity.

Found this rather fab blog today, 23 Things for Professional Development, which draws inspiration from the original 23 Things. I shall definitely enroll on it! CPD23 describes itself as....

23 Things for Professional Development is a free online programme open to information professionals at all stages of their career, in all types of role, and anywhere across the world.

Inspired by the 23 Things programmes for social media, this new programme will consist of a mixture of social media "Things" and "Things" to do with professional development. The programme starts on 20 June and will run until early October 2011.

Each week the CPD23 blog will be updated with details of the next thing to be explored. Catch up weeks and reflection weeks are built into the programme, so it's not a problem if you’re going to be away for a week or two!

If you’re on Twitter follow @cpd23 and tweet with the hashtag #cpd23.

Librarians with Lives

Dear Library Fans,

One of my favourite library-related blogs to read is Librarians with Lives.  It's an informal blog discussing ways of fitting CPD into busy lives, and often features guest posts. I've written a post for it which has been published today, entitled Cilip Update and CPD. As the title suggests, I discuss how to use Cilip's Update with Gazette publication as a CPD opportunity. I hope you enjoy it.

Cilip Blog Landscape

Cilip Communities is a section of the Cilip website which helps bring together the activities of Cilip members. One way in which this is done is via the Blog Landscape, an aggregated collection of blogs written by various Cilip members. It is similar to the UK Library Blogs wiki but entries are specific to Cilip members' blogs.

I am pleased to say that, as from last Friday, 'Behind the Bookshelves' is a member of the Blog Landscape and now proudly displays the Cilip Blogger button. BtB is link #74 in the long lost of blog sites. In the 4 days since the BtB has been included, 5 people have viewed the blog through it. Hopefully, joining the Blog Landscape will not only increase the number of visitors to the blog, but also help encourage me to make regular postings. I am an avid reader of blogs and enjoy posting, but must admit that during times of particular stress / enjoyment / rushed off my feet it tends to be one of the activities that gets relegated from my 'to do' list. It's ironic as these are the times that most demand to be recorded. I maintained a diary thoughout my teenage years but during similar such times my entries would become increasingly sparse. Here I am aged 32 saying exactly the same about this blog; I wonder - will I ever change?

New-Look Blog!

I spent this afternoon helping a friend set up a new blog and guiding her through the 'dos and donts' got me thinking: how do people perceive my blog? What does its appearance say to viewers? Is it too cluttered? Unprofessional and too amateur? With too many additional gadgets?

Those amongst you with sharp eyes will have noticed the change in theme and layout here at BtB. I've decided to go for cool colours and clean lines. I've looked at the themes adopted by other blogs, in particular two renowned local bloggers Joeyanne and David Viner; the first opts for lilac flowers whilst the latter prefers blacks and greys. It's such a personal decision but hopefully, the choice of colours I've plunged for (notably the addition of pink) will reflect my character, but the theme is general enough to appeal to the majority. Have also removed several gadgets which made the page a little too busy. It is now uncluttered and easy to understand. So, welcome to the new-look blog. Whadya think?

iPhone App

Testing! Testing! First time blogging using the iPhone app 'Blogwriter'.

What will it turn out like? Will it have naff formatting? Will it have a signature from the app? Oooh so many questions! Let's press send and find out!

New Follower!!

Last night I noticed the blog has attracted a new follower! Welcome, Gems, to life here at BtB!

The blog only has 3 followers at the time of writing. I've not yet dedicated any time to promoting the blog and trying to increase its audience. Maybe that's something I'll have to look at in the not-too-distant future. But, in the meantime, Gems tell us a bit about yourself.... How did you stumble across Behind the Bookshelves? To write interesting and relevant posts, it helps to know who reads them.

Oooooh a new follower - it warms the cockles of me heart, so it does!