Thing 16: Collaboration Tools

Collaborating positively...

Collaboration tools are really useful examples of how cloud based sharing can be used to facilitate collaboration and communication.

Although, I have never had to use Google Docs myself for work or otherwise, I can see how it has the potential to make working together so much easier for groups of students or colleagues.  

The fact that you can now work on and edit documents together at the same time without the old fashioned e-mailing back and forth is a great break through.   

Google Docs can make working together a truly collaborative process.  Not only can people work together in real time and from any location on the same document but you can also leave comments in the comments box or in the margins for others in the group who may be working on it later. 

When it works, it is a great way of working together on reports or projects.  The other side of all this collaboration is the need for moderation.  I have never worked on a collaborative Google Doc myself but I can easily see the potential for conflict arising over the final edits if there are strong personalities with opposing opinion about what should go in and what should be left out!   

Doodle was something totally new to me before reading the blog but it also looks like a really useful and time saving application to use for scheduling meetings.

Because, I work with a relatively small group of people and everybody is based in the same building, old fashioned e-mail works just fine for us when we need to arrange meetings.  However, if you working in a much bigger, more dispersed organisation, it could save loads of time on making arrangements.  The poll option for scheduling meetings would be really great if you were working on a big project where people are working in different organisations and different time zones and need to arrange the most suitable time to meet either virtually or in a particular place.  Organisations like NGO’s with offices and projects in different countries would really benefit from using the tool.  And the fact that Doodle integrates with Outlook, Google Calendar or iCloud makes the whole process even more seamless for the end user.

Both of these tools make it easier to communicate and collaborate and anything that can help people save time or take some of the stress out of working with and relying on others can only be a very positive thing.

Thing 15: Advocacy

Advocating for the profession.

Although advocacy for libraries is not something new, with the recent economic downturn and the increasing competitiveness for limited resources, it has become more important than ever.

Everybody working in the library and information sector needs to be able to show the value and importance of their service to their users, organisations or the wider societal benefits.

Advocacy is not a one off campaign. It needs to be embedded into our day to day work.  We should be always advocating, demonstrating how many people benefit from our services, how varied and diverse those services are, how our organisations benefit, what added value a library and information service brings, how the wider public benefits. 

We need to ensure that our stakeholders understand the value that we bring to the table and the importance of what we do so that funds continue to be made available.

Every interaction we have every day, with a student or with a member of the public is an opportunity to promote the important jobs libraries and librarians do. Ok, so it’s not in a showy, banner waving, loudspeaker hailing type of way but can be very effective as well. 

With a general election coming in the next few months, now is the time to make our voices heard in the political arena. With all the wannabe politicians knocking on our doors, engage with them and find out their views on providing funding for public services like libraries and make them aware of the issues.

There are lots of advocacy awareness campaigns being done in the UK and its really interesting to see their approach.

Being so upfront about the value of our work might not be something that comes naturally to everybody but it is important to take every opportunity that comes our way to demonstrate the important contribution that librarians make in our organisations. 

Thing 14: Augmented Reality

I can see the future..

I had never really heard the term Augmented Reality before reading the Rudai blog and had certainly never heard of the two applications Layar and Aurasma. I had a vague notion of the concept but had never wondered what the technical term for it was.

My closest brush with augmented reality was when I was used the Word Lens app.  This app translates text from one language to another.  It is a really useful app to have on your phone when travelling abroad and not familiar with the local language.

So while Word Lens is one straightforward example of augmented reality, after reading up about it and seeing the ways that some libraries and other organisations , musicians, medical professionals and even surfers have put it to use to practical effect, I have to say that I am really impressed with the possibilities.  There are an astonishing number of ways that this technology could be put to use to enhance services and improve users’ interactions in a library setting.

In academic libraries, there are lots of areas where AR could be used to enhance the user experience.

It could be really useful to use with literacy training, providing information for students with different languages, to help students find their way around the library environment.

At the moment, because of dodgy Wi-Fi coverage and lack of familiarity with the technology, it might take some work to get mass buy-in in using it but as smartphones get even better and Wi-Fi coverage becomes fully embedded, the possibility of creating added content in different library services is huge. 

Some of the AR apps have been a little bit gimmicky. QSR codes have just never taken off in a big way.  We have tried it in our library and the interest and use from students is very low.  However, there are loads of really impressive AR apps out there and the way companies and organisations have used them to boost their business have been really inventive.  Definitely, something to keep an eye on for the future.

Thing 13: Professional Organisations

The benefits of membership.

For several reasons, I haven’t, up to now become a member of any of the professional library associations. 

Cost was definitely one of the factors and the feeling that it was somehow only for the more senior members of staff.

However, I can see the benefits for staff at any level joining and becoming active in the professional library associations.

If you are looking to change or move jobs, the access to the information and resources of these organisations could prove invaluable. It also shows prospective employers that you are serious about your career and your professional development.

They are a great place to network, share ideas and knowledge, develop and broaden your network and become more actively involved in your profession.  It is an investment in your own career and future. 

And you can’t really place a price on that! 

Thing 12: Attending Conferences

Networking and Learning

The last conference that I attended was the Academic and Special Libraries Conference held last February in Dublin. The theme of the conference was inspiration, collaboration and transformation.

I was only able to attend the conference on the second day but nevertheless found the experience both enjoyable and valuable in terms of learning about some of the thinking currently going on in the library world and some of the different collaborations that have taken place between libraries and other departments in their universities or institutions.

In terms of the practicalities of being able to go to the conference, we were alerted about the upcoming AS&L conference and expressions of interest in attending were sought.  Then, it just came down to the practicalities of how many wanted to go, on what days and the need to keep our own library staffed as well.  The fact that my library is only an hour from Dublin makes it straightforward to go for the day.  We have a budget for Staff Training and Development and all conferences and away days are funded out of that.

At the conference, I met a mixture of new people and old.  As everyone has said, most people working in libraries are enthusiastic and friendly and make it easy to drop into conversations.

I like to get meet people that I have worked with before just to have a quick catch up but it is also nice to get to meet people for the first time.  At the conference, I was amazed at all the different special libraries that are staffed.  Because, I have worked for a long time in academic libraries, I forget that there are libraries in so many companies and government departments and other organisations.

I didn’t really approach the conference as a networking opportunity and maybe this is what I should change in hindsight.  While I spoke to lots of different people, I didn’t take down their names or formalise contact with them by swapping information. Do people do that?

I totally agree about the need to make notes on conferences.  I always find most of the talks so interesting but never make detailed notes at the time and then you forgot the substance of what they were about.

The next conference I attend, I will definitely keep try to keep better notes and be more mindful of the people that I talk to.

Thing 11: Reflective Practice

Reflecting on how far behind I am..

I can’t believe but I am delighted to be at just about the half way point of the course.

It has been challenging and enjoyable and sometimes frustrating – Thing 9 comes to mind - but very rewarding in different ways.

I started this course just before I went on holidays for a few weeks.   I enjoyed the break but it has meant that I really feel like I have been trying to play catch up since I started in earnest with the tasks.

It is a little bit alarming to feel always (more than) slightly behind what everyone else is doing and seeing a new task being posted when you are 4 or 5 tasks behind.

Approaching the tasks and writing the blog posts, I definitely could use a little bit more structure.  Procrastination is very definitely a good friend of mine and bouts of activity followed by lulls is probably not the best way to keep on track or to keep myself motivated. 

As for completing the blogs themselves, I also definitely fall into the trap of writing and rewriting and editing but ending back up with basically the same post anyway but lots of time wasted.

I do try to keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be perfect and it is better to just write but it is hard to leave clumsy phrasing or half expressed thoughts on your blog no matter how few people are reading it.

It’s going to be even harder (am I already making excuses for myself) to keep on track now that we are coming in to a really busy time of the academic year but this catch up week is going to be a great help in getting up to speed (hopefully)!

Thing 10: Live Streaming

Looking down the barrel of Periscope

I was behind starting this Thing so I missed the Rudai 23 Hangout on Air but I have used Hangouts once or twice myself so am a little bit familiar with the application.

I decided to take the option of looking at the Periscope application from Twitter.   I had never heard of it before reading about it on the Rudai blog but since then, I have actually had it mentioned to me by a couple of people so its reach is definitely spreading.  It is quite a new tool but I think the fact that it is used in conjunction with Twitter will mean that it has huge potential for mass use.

Having downloaded the app to my phone and played around with it a little bit, it is very easy to use and join in the broadcasting fun.

There is obvious potential in using it as a marketing tool and the fact that the broadcasts can be played later means that it could also be a useful way of broadcasting conferences or seminars.

It is definitely a great way of allows its users to be “present” at events that otherwise just would not be possible.

So yes, Periscope is a useful, easy to use, interesting tool.  However, it is also easy to see how it could be used in not so positive ways. Now anybody going to a concert or a sports event can effectively broadcast a feed live to whoever has the app and wants to view it. Because the technology is so new, privacy and piracy laws will need to catch up.

The other query I would have about it is how much of your data plan would be used with substantial use. Maybe that’s not a concern for people with “all you can eat” data plans but those on fixed data plans might have more of an issue with cost.