I have been learning a lot over the last week or so and thought now would be a good time to comment on it.
Last Thursday I attended a rather wet Heritage Open Day in Oxford with our Systems Librarian. As most of what I have learnt about Heritage has been self taught I was looking forward to learning a bit more about the system. I enjoyed being shown all the variants for different parts of the system. We also got given a Handy Heritage user guide which will help me in the areas I don't know as much about.
Once they got on to reports and global chnage/ delete it took a while but I actually started to understand just how much useful information Hertitage actually stores. This week I ran a report to see how many books we have at our Hinckley site and I was really quite proud of myself that I managed to do it (albeit with guidance from our Librarian) I think I could confidently run reports if I knew all the codes (of whcih there are thousands) and as I am a bit of a data lover I would actaully delight in all the different reports I could produce.
This week we have had 'training' on how to use the new RF system for the Hinckley Library. I do like the look of the alarm gates much more than those used for the electromagnetic system we used to use, however the procdeure to issue books is a bit old fashioned. We have a large plastic wallet in which we put in an issue card to block the Radio Frequency when issuing books. What I don't like about this system is it makes it very clear where the secutiry tag is as well as how easy it will be to lose the issue card as it stick out of the top of the wallet.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the equipment we use everyday and feel a bit knowledgeab;e aboutt he systems Libraries use - both for security and for catalouging.
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Friday 19 August 2011
13.2
Now that I have had a couple of days to play with google docs and dropbox I can give some proper feedback.
Dropbox - My new best friend :)
I managed to download it at home with no problems. I've been able to add things to dropbox in two ways. Firstly by simply copy and pasting ( if I don't need a copy I can just drag across) a document from my computer into my dropbox. The other way I have put documents in there is by uploading from a different computer. At first this came up with and error message but once I changed to simple upload mode I had no problems. I have also been able to succesfully download from dropbox - I tested this out by uploading a photo from home and dowloading it at work to add to my Blog profile so now all my lovely readers can see what I look like. So far I am quite impressed with dropbox. Later I may try and see what access from a mobile phone is like just to get an idea of how user friendly it is.
Google Docs - not so friendly
I like the fact that I don't have to remember to save the document as google docs does it automatically, which comes in handy as I am quite bad at saving I go from one extreme to the other (either saving after every line I type or not saving for ages then losing lots of work). However the problems arise when two people are viewing the document at the same time, well there isn't a problem if you are just viewing but if you are both editing it is frustrating. Myself and our systems librarian decided to give it a try earlier today - we are both at different sites so a great opprotunity to test it out. Whilst I was editing, my colleague started to write to say she could see me editing, the issue here is there is only one cursor so her message appeared in the middle of the text as I was trying to edit. We both agreed it wasn't great if more than one person is editing at the same time but would make for a good immediate communications tool (much like a "chat" facility) if it wasn't for the one cursor issue.
On the whole if you know you aren't likely to be accessing the document at the same time it is a really simple and easy way to share documents with a group, but if more than one person is editing at a time it becomes confusing (especially as you have to fight for control of the cursor and therefore the ability to edit anything) I think it would be better if there was a faciltiy to "lock" the document whilst you edit - still allow others to view the document but not edit until you exit. This where wiki's have the advantage to a degree as each person has to take thier turn in adding to the document (or thats how it comes acroos oin the video on the Thing 13 blog).
Online Storage - the way forward
I can see all three online tools having thier uses especially as more and more content is going online. I think its useful to use things like google docs and Drop box almost as online storage as they accessible form anywhere. This would have beeen handy when we had a powecut a couple of weeks ago, we couldn't use computers and we thought "aha we can use the laptops because they are battery powered" - but then came the realisation that no electricty = no servers too so we couldn't access any of our work. Dropbox would have been an ideal alternaive because as it is online it doesn't matter how or where you access it and the only electricty needed is that to power the device through which you access it (be that plugged in battery run).
Dropbox - My new best friend :)
I managed to download it at home with no problems. I've been able to add things to dropbox in two ways. Firstly by simply copy and pasting ( if I don't need a copy I can just drag across) a document from my computer into my dropbox. The other way I have put documents in there is by uploading from a different computer. At first this came up with and error message but once I changed to simple upload mode I had no problems. I have also been able to succesfully download from dropbox - I tested this out by uploading a photo from home and dowloading it at work to add to my Blog profile so now all my lovely readers can see what I look like. So far I am quite impressed with dropbox. Later I may try and see what access from a mobile phone is like just to get an idea of how user friendly it is.
Google Docs - not so friendly
I like the fact that I don't have to remember to save the document as google docs does it automatically, which comes in handy as I am quite bad at saving I go from one extreme to the other (either saving after every line I type or not saving for ages then losing lots of work). However the problems arise when two people are viewing the document at the same time, well there isn't a problem if you are just viewing but if you are both editing it is frustrating. Myself and our systems librarian decided to give it a try earlier today - we are both at different sites so a great opprotunity to test it out. Whilst I was editing, my colleague started to write to say she could see me editing, the issue here is there is only one cursor so her message appeared in the middle of the text as I was trying to edit. We both agreed it wasn't great if more than one person is editing at the same time but would make for a good immediate communications tool (much like a "chat" facility) if it wasn't for the one cursor issue.
On the whole if you know you aren't likely to be accessing the document at the same time it is a really simple and easy way to share documents with a group, but if more than one person is editing at a time it becomes confusing (especially as you have to fight for control of the cursor and therefore the ability to edit anything) I think it would be better if there was a faciltiy to "lock" the document whilst you edit - still allow others to view the document but not edit until you exit. This where wiki's have the advantage to a degree as each person has to take thier turn in adding to the document (or thats how it comes acroos oin the video on the Thing 13 blog).
Online Storage - the way forward
I can see all three online tools having thier uses especially as more and more content is going online. I think its useful to use things like google docs and Drop box almost as online storage as they accessible form anywhere. This would have beeen handy when we had a powecut a couple of weeks ago, we couldn't use computers and we thought "aha we can use the laptops because they are battery powered" - but then came the realisation that no electricty = no servers too so we couldn't access any of our work. Dropbox would have been an ideal alternaive because as it is online it doesn't matter how or where you access it and the only electricty needed is that to power the device through which you access it (be that plugged in battery run).
Monday 15 August 2011
Thing 13.1
Well so far I have created a document in google docs and just waiting to see how it works (I have added a colleague with editing rights so we will see if she can indeed edit). I have used something similar call Sky Drive in hotmail as myself and two firends are trying to plan a hen do for another friend and it seemed the easiest way in which we could all access and edit the documents. BUT we have had a few issues with it 1) if one person is in the document then no one else can view it 2) after editing it creates a new draft which does get rather confusing. If I have any success with google docs I may suggest we switch to it as will make things a lot easier.
I can also see how this could come in handy in the work environment too. Currently we have two methods of sharing documents 1) via our college extranet, which means all college staff can have access to and edit our documents and 2)we have a shared network space. Both of these have similar problems to the skydrive so google docs could be a useful alterntive.
I haven't been able to set up dropbox at work as I need administration rights to dowload it, however I have registered and will try again later at home. I heard about dropbox at the RSC-em e-fair and think it is great. I think it will be really handy for documents that I need to access both at home and at work for example the other day I wanted to add my CV to Linked-In but that is on my computer at home so will need to either do it at home or forward it myself via attachment in an email that I can open at work. So it will be very handy to have certain documnets always available. In addition to this I think that dropbox is mobile device freindly so if you take a picture on your mobile that you might want to use later it can simply be put into the drop-box.
I watched the clip on Wiki's and undertand how they work (this would have been a handy video to show to students when I tried to explain why Wikipedia is not a reliable source for info). However if everyone has to sign up simply to view and edit the page then it would be just as simple to use google docs.
Thats my views for now but will write again when I've made some progress with google docs and dropbox.
I can also see how this could come in handy in the work environment too. Currently we have two methods of sharing documents 1) via our college extranet, which means all college staff can have access to and edit our documents and 2)we have a shared network space. Both of these have similar problems to the skydrive so google docs could be a useful alterntive.
I haven't been able to set up dropbox at work as I need administration rights to dowload it, however I have registered and will try again later at home. I heard about dropbox at the RSC-em e-fair and think it is great. I think it will be really handy for documents that I need to access both at home and at work for example the other day I wanted to add my CV to Linked-In but that is on my computer at home so will need to either do it at home or forward it myself via attachment in an email that I can open at work. So it will be very handy to have certain documnets always available. In addition to this I think that dropbox is mobile device freindly so if you take a picture on your mobile that you might want to use later it can simply be put into the drop-box.
I watched the clip on Wiki's and undertand how they work (this would have been a handy video to show to students when I tried to explain why Wikipedia is not a reliable source for info). However if everyone has to sign up simply to view and edit the page then it would be just as simple to use google docs.
Thats my views for now but will write again when I've made some progress with google docs and dropbox.
Friday 12 August 2011
Library Love
whilst browsing the new LIS New professionals Network I came across the follwing question in one of the forums "How far would you travel for a job opportunity?" my inital thoughts have always been that I would be reluctant to move for a job, mainly because I have to consider my husband who works in outdoor education so I can't just up sticks for a job and either a) leave him behind or b)expect him to find a new job.
Having said that my coleagues and I went to visit Northampton College's new Library and I fell in love with it! it is a great space and learning environment, but then a 5 million investment was a big help, as is the fact that they have a prinipal who understands that the library is key to a successful college. Our new Hinckley library is half the size of our current one (which is already small as libraries go) and I think we are all somewhat reserved about how the new library is going to wok out. Furthermore they seem to be really on top of what they want their Library to offer and push to make sure thier facilities are used and are user firendly.
The later in the day I was doing job searches as I like to keep an eye on what vacacnies are available, salaries and what skills are in he job description (to make sure I get plenty of the right experience during my traineeship) and came across a full time position at Northamptonshire central Library (a rare thing indeed) I seriously considered applying for the position. The biggest issue for me was that I can't drive - I have tried and failed 3 times and just need to pluck up the courage to try again - but this means relying on public transport. Up to now I have never really had a problem with using public transport, however it would mean a train + bus commute of around and hr and a half a day, which I felt was just a bit too much on top of a full days work.
Having looked around since then I realise that full time Library positions are rare and some compromises are going to have to be made. I would comfortably be able to travel and hour each way everyday without it impacting too much on my work or home life and to be quite honest I will gladly travel for that amount of time if I knew I was going into a job I loved, and additonaly its time that I can spend reading :)
Having said that my coleagues and I went to visit Northampton College's new Library and I fell in love with it! it is a great space and learning environment, but then a 5 million investment was a big help, as is the fact that they have a prinipal who understands that the library is key to a successful college. Our new Hinckley library is half the size of our current one (which is already small as libraries go) and I think we are all somewhat reserved about how the new library is going to wok out. Furthermore they seem to be really on top of what they want their Library to offer and push to make sure thier facilities are used and are user firendly.
The later in the day I was doing job searches as I like to keep an eye on what vacacnies are available, salaries and what skills are in he job description (to make sure I get plenty of the right experience during my traineeship) and came across a full time position at Northamptonshire central Library (a rare thing indeed) I seriously considered applying for the position. The biggest issue for me was that I can't drive - I have tried and failed 3 times and just need to pluck up the courage to try again - but this means relying on public transport. Up to now I have never really had a problem with using public transport, however it would mean a train + bus commute of around and hr and a half a day, which I felt was just a bit too much on top of a full days work.
Having looked around since then I realise that full time Library positions are rare and some compromises are going to have to be made. I would comfortably be able to travel and hour each way everyday without it impacting too much on my work or home life and to be quite honest I will gladly travel for that amount of time if I knew I was going into a job I loved, and additonaly its time that I can spend reading :)
Thursday 11 August 2011
Thing 11 Mentors and Mentees
I have done some mentoring as part of a previous role as a Learning Support Assistant. The mentoring role varied dependent on the student some students needed support with homework whereas others needed help with behavioural problems. It was a great way to have a rapport with the students and I felt good knowing that I was providing support to someone.
Now this is going to sound either cheesy or very arrogant by I also consider myself as a mentor to my friends (I even earnt the name 'Grandma' amongst my small group of friends). I am currently providing wedding advice to a couple of my friends getting marrried next year, who are having a tough time with it. I am always available to listen to their troubles and offer advice, and they all do the same for me. As I have said in a previous post I like to know that what I do makes a difference which is why a mentoring position is one I comit to whole-heartedly.
I am also quite happy to be the mentee and often turn to my colleagues for advice and support especially when satrting a new job or later on when taking on a new task. I am quite a self-sufficient person and see no shame in asking for help, in my experience its much better to admit you don't have a clue and ask for tips than the awful feeling of struggling and not being quite sure about what you are doing. I've never really had a proper mentor but have had quite a few accidental or unofficial mentors usually someone I connect with and they unintentially influence the choices I make in the workplace.
I think it is a great idea to ask someone to be and official mentor, and not something that would naturally occur to me to do, however I don't think that you should depend soley on one mentor but be willing to learn from everyone you cross paths with, whether it be a good experience or not. To me life is one big learning curve.
Now this is going to sound either cheesy or very arrogant by I also consider myself as a mentor to my friends (I even earnt the name 'Grandma' amongst my small group of friends). I am currently providing wedding advice to a couple of my friends getting marrried next year, who are having a tough time with it. I am always available to listen to their troubles and offer advice, and they all do the same for me. As I have said in a previous post I like to know that what I do makes a difference which is why a mentoring position is one I comit to whole-heartedly.
I am also quite happy to be the mentee and often turn to my colleagues for advice and support especially when satrting a new job or later on when taking on a new task. I am quite a self-sufficient person and see no shame in asking for help, in my experience its much better to admit you don't have a clue and ask for tips than the awful feeling of struggling and not being quite sure about what you are doing. I've never really had a proper mentor but have had quite a few accidental or unofficial mentors usually someone I connect with and they unintentially influence the choices I make in the workplace.
I think it is a great idea to ask someone to be and official mentor, and not something that would naturally occur to me to do, however I don't think that you should depend soley on one mentor but be willing to learn from everyone you cross paths with, whether it be a good experience or not. To me life is one big learning curve.
Monday 8 August 2011
Its been a While
I'm surprised at how long it has been since I last posted! but work has been mega busy with withdrawing, reclassifying, packing ready for a move to a new Library as well as spending half my time helping out with our reprographics department.
I have got so much to catch up on, I am aware that I have still not got round to adding a photo of myself (all the ones I have are a bit outdated) or sorting out my LinkedIn profile or even managing my twitter account. However hoepfully all that will change once I get my new phone with internet access (yep thats how behind the times I am) as I will be able to keep on top of things when travelling around rather than trying to remember to do it when I get home.
For now I am going to bypass blogging Google calendar I have added it to my account but Iam not yet using it (again hopefully this will change with the new phone) and Evernote as although I read the entry on the CPD23 blog I didn't really get how to use it. Which brings me to thing 10!
I have given a lot of thought as to what I want to do. My ideal role would be either a school Librarian or a Librarian in a Public Library. Both of these positions are few and far between in my local area and so considering this the costs of doing a Masters in Library management woouldn't benefit me for quite some time (unless I chose to move which is a whole other post altogether), I do see the merits of it and if I was in a position in which I could afford to do a long distance course I would jump at the chance but at the moment I don't think it is essential for what I would like to do. having read the CPD23blog and being a frequesnt visitor to the CILIP site I think the route that would best suit me would be to work towards a slightly more senior role such as that of Senior Learning Resource Assistant and then work towards certification as this is something that I feel I can achieve alongside my other life goals.
I have got so much to catch up on, I am aware that I have still not got round to adding a photo of myself (all the ones I have are a bit outdated) or sorting out my LinkedIn profile or even managing my twitter account. However hoepfully all that will change once I get my new phone with internet access (yep thats how behind the times I am) as I will be able to keep on top of things when travelling around rather than trying to remember to do it when I get home.
For now I am going to bypass blogging Google calendar I have added it to my account but Iam not yet using it (again hopefully this will change with the new phone) and Evernote as although I read the entry on the CPD23 blog I didn't really get how to use it. Which brings me to thing 10!
I have given a lot of thought as to what I want to do. My ideal role would be either a school Librarian or a Librarian in a Public Library. Both of these positions are few and far between in my local area and so considering this the costs of doing a Masters in Library management woouldn't benefit me for quite some time (unless I chose to move which is a whole other post altogether), I do see the merits of it and if I was in a position in which I could afford to do a long distance course I would jump at the chance but at the moment I don't think it is essential for what I would like to do. having read the CPD23blog and being a frequesnt visitor to the CILIP site I think the route that would best suit me would be to work towards a slightly more senior role such as that of Senior Learning Resource Assistant and then work towards certification as this is something that I feel I can achieve alongside my other life goals.
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