Library visits - how useful are they?

Since I started my library career several years ago, and particularly since I've been living in London, I've been on many different library visits. However, few if any of them have related to my current job as an Information Officer working with a VLE. Places I've visited over the years have included the Wallace Collection, RADA, St Paul's Cathedral, the British Library, Conway Hall, ZSL London and Shakespeare's Globe.

In fairness I'm not sure there would be any point in a visit focusing on an institution's VLE. I don't think sitting in front of a computer would make for a particularly fascinating day out, and I feel I can learn about this sort of thing from user groups, conferences and online discussions. I don't feel that I learn anything particularly related to my everyday work from these visits.

My job is focused on technology and e-learning, and that's something I enjoy and find interesting. But I have a strong interest in special libraries, involving rare collections or history or heritage, and these visits allow me to explore that. Furthermore I have visited a school library and some academic libraries, which also allow me to experience the breadth of library services and the variety of roles that are available. Library visits help me to feel part of a profession; they help reinforce there is a whole world of libraries out there and help me to see the bigger picture.

My ultimate conclusion is that, even though there is no immediate practical benefit to my visits, I get other things out of them instead. So for me they are definitely worth it.

Copyright: Reflections

One of the Chartership categories I've chosen is "Copyright". Copyright is one of those things that I know is important, but which I've always found difficult. I decided that I needed to learn about copyright for the following reasons:

1. In my current role I work with the VLE, and occasionally get emails asking us to put certain documents on the system for students to access. This is rare, because most of our courses are planned in advance and the resources decided upon well before time, but it does occasionally happen. We have a specialist copyright officer, but she isn't full time, and works in another centre, so I thought it would be a good idea to get some extra knowledge.
2. In the future it's possible that I may move on to another role where students or staff consult me about copyright issues. I want to be able to help them with confidence if this does happen.
3. In today's Internet-dominated world, where things are shared online regularly, copyright is an important topic to know about in a more general sense.

Once I'd decided to learn more about copyright, what did I do?

• I read the Facet Publishing book about copyright, Copyright: Interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services. I also read a textbook available to me at the university I work at, originally written for law students on the Intellectual Property module.
• I completed a film copyright course on FutureLearn, which allowed me to look at at copyright from a different angle.
• I also investigated a number of websites, including the Intellectual Property Office, a blog post on the LSE Impact of Social Sciences site, and assorted blog posts including Joining up the dots: copyright and digital literacy by Jane Secker.

How do I feel about copyright now?
I feel I have a much better knowledge about copyright, what it is and what it does, the reasons for its existence and how it can apply in a university setting.

What next?
I would like to be able to apply my new-found knowledge in a real setting, able to assist with queries from students and staff. I would like to chat with our copyright officer to find out more about what she does on a day-to-day basis.

Chartership - the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base

Towards the end of last year I finally took the plunge and registered for Chartership. I found a mentor and began to make plans. After many years of procrastinating, I was finally about to begin the process.

My first task was to go through the PKSB (Professional Knowledge and Skills Base) and pick out areas I thought I might like to develop. The PKSB looks really daunting at first, but remember, you aren't expected to do everything! I found blog posts about the process by WoodsieGirl and Steve Carlton, which were really useful in helping me work out exactly what I needed to do.

I began by going through the entire PKSB and giving myself a score for each area, as well as a score for my ideal skill level. I ended up with roughly three categories: areas in which I feel my skills are up to scratch; areas in which I don't have much expertise but which are not immediately relevant to my role and projected career path; and areas which are relevant but which are in need of improvement. This last category is certainly the most important in terms of Chartership.

Area of PKSB

3. Using and exploiting knowledge and information

3.3 Information retrieval

5. Information Governance and Compliance

5.3 Copyright, intellectual property and licensing

8. Literacies and Learning

8.6 Teaching and training skills

8.8 Virtual learning environments

11. Customer Focus, Service Design and Marketing

11.4 Service innovation, development and design

Other PKSB elements

Ethics and Values

Wider Library, Information and Knowledge Sector Context

Wider Organisation and Environmental Context

After some thought I settled on the categories above. I discussed them with my mentor to make sure I was on the right lines. I wanted to make sure I chose a variety of skills and knowledge areas from different areas, with a good mix of concrete skills and general awareness.

I already have some ideas of how I'm going to develop my skills, and I have made a plan of sorts - it's just a matter of sticking to it! One of my objectives was to attend the 2016 Blackboard Users' Conference in Durham, and I did that at the beginning of January, so I can tick something off my list. I've also completed a MOOC about literature searching. Next  up is a write-up of the conference, after which I need to tackle some reflective pieces.

My tips for the initial PKSB assessment are as follows:

• Try not to get overwhelmed: remember, you don't need to aim for a 4 in everything - you only need to select up to 10 areas.
• Ask for advice, or at least, try and and find out how others coped with the assessment: as I mentioned, I found the blog posts mentioned above very informative.
• Discuss it with your mentor: either before, during or after your self-assessment. They can help reassure you that you are on the right lines.
• Don't worry about getting your initial scores completely right - they are just estimates and you will not be tested on them.

Now to put my plan into practice...

Registering for Chartership

It seems fitting that I mark my 100th post on this blog with the announcement that, after months of thinking about it, I've finally registered for Chartership. I've found a mentor, attended a Professional Registration Workshop at CILIP, and paid my fee. I had my first telephone meeting with my mentor this morning: she seems lovely and I'm confident that we will have a good working relationship.

My first task is to complete the PKSB before our next meeting at the end of October. I'll write another post then on how I found the process.