Thing 5  - Reflective Practice


My approach to reflective practice - in all honesty, it's something I haven't put quite as much thought in to as I should. It needs to improve! Having to think carefully about this has led me to the conclusion that I really need to create  more of an online presence for myself. My Twitter account for example, has become a bit of a mish mash of personal ramblings, messages to friends, and the odd library-related tweet! In this respect, I want to give my Twitter account a bit more focus career-wise!
I would like to give this blog a little more care and attention too. I feel it would be a waste to just leave it hovering in cyberspace once I had completed CPD23. It will take some time getting into a routine with it, but I feel it's a good habit to have - it will teach me to continue with self-reflection as I progress in my career.

Thing 4 ....  Twitter/ RSS/ Storify


I have used Twitter for a while now. Although I don't tweet as often as I should, I look at it regularly, following various journalists, librarians, and a few institutions and organisations. There are always tweets to interesting articles and news features, and I feel it helps keep me up to date with library updates and news in general. 


RSS - I have now subscribed for a few RSS feeds for various library related sites, and it's good for having this information in one place. Whether I would use it regularly is another question, as I get a lot of library info coming through on Twitter, which I check frequently. 


Storify - This seems a really fun, neat website. Unfortunately, I don't have a story or idea to pitch yet! This is something I want to come back to, and work with in more detail. 

Thing 3 - Personal Branding

In all honesty, this was the 'thing' I least wanted to look into.I struggle with the idea of seeing myself as a 'brand,' however, I understand the importance of giving an accurate impression of yourself to colleagues and prospective employers. 

I am perhaps not as organised when it comes to my social networking spaces as I should be; my name is not the same on my blog as it is my Twitter account, I do not have a continuous background/theme on either profile, and despite checking them both often, I don't write/tweet enough as I probably should. This is something that I should be doing more often, otherwise I may end up coming across as a bit of a lurker! Besides, I have enjoyed reading other people's blogs and articles, and found many to be really insightful. 

Having an online networking presence has become so commonplace now, but I also feel it is equally (if not more) important to be active in meeting other librarians face to face. After all, I am based at the service desk of my library, and converse with other college members (be they students or staff) constantly throughout the day, and I love this aspect of my job. Creating a friendly and comfortable environment for people to study in is incredibly important, and having helpful, approachable staff in the Library makes this happen.

So, to sum up, whilst I'm happy with how my 'brand' is on a day to day basis in the actual work environment, my online presence needs smartening up! 

Thing 2 - being nosy!


So for thing two, I've been having a good old snoop around the other blogs that are signed up to CPD23. What has been great to see is that there are people doing this course from all walks of life, different countries, all ranges of experiences, and from all kinds of libraries. It's also reassuring to see that I am not the only nervous blogger!
Another thing I've noticed is that so many of the blogs look very professional and smartly designed....although I've been mucking around with colours and backgrounds, I think I'll need to get to grips with all the tools on here!

Thing 1


This is my first blog post - ever! This is something that will take some getting used to, as I've always found self-reflective writing very unnatural (something that will hopefully go in time). I wanted to do the 23 things as there are various bits and pieces on the list that I've never delved into. I am hoping, most of all, that I will be a better equipped Librarian by the end of it!


I'm currently working in a graduate trainee role, but have worked previously in a University library and as a volunteer for a specialist library. For me, what I love about working in libraries is the opportunity to help people research, to help find what they need, to give them a point in the right direction. To make a library an environment where people want to study, don't feel overwhelmed, and to know help is available is important. A librarian can make or break a library -and in doing CPD23, I hope to be that bit more useful!