Reading List and References

These are the readings and references I found most useful while I was preparing my submission for CILIP Fellowship.

Criteria One: personal performance

MK Aho and E Bennett (eds) (2013) The Machiavellian librarian: winning allies, combating budget cuts, and influencing stakeholders. Chandos Publishing 9781843347552

K Blanchard, S Fowler and L Hawkins (2006) Self leadership and the one minute manager. HarperCollins 9780007208104

C Duhigg (2012) The power of habit. Random House 9781400069286

JK Glei (ed) (2013) Manage your day to day: build your routine, find your focus and sharpen your creative mind. Amazon Publishing 9781477800676

S Godin. Seth’s Blog. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/

S Johnson (1991) One minute for yourself. HarperCollins 0007203667

S Roberts and J Rowley (2008) Leadership: the challenge for the information profession. Facet Publishing 9781856046091

E Semple (2012) Organizations don’t tweet, people do: a manager’s guide to the social web. Wiley 9781119950554

Criteria Two: organisational context

MJ Bent (2016) Places and spaces. In Practical tips for facilitating research. Facet Publishing 9781783300174 Pp.67-91

K Chad (2013) Jobs-To-Be-Done methodology. Retrieved from http://www.kenchadconsulting.com/how-we-can-help/innovation/

CM Christensen et al (2016) Know your customers’ ‘jobs to be done’. Harvard Business Review September pp 54-62

S Hoffman (2016) Introduction: a vision for supporting research. In: Dynamic research support for academic libraries. Facet Publishing 9781783300495 Pp xiii-xxi

N Potter (2012) The library marketing toolkit. Facet Publishing 9781856048064

K Tancheva et al (2016) A day in the life of a (serious) researcher: envisioning the future of the research library. ITHAKA Retrieved from http://www.sr.ithaka.org/publications/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-serious-researcher/

Criteria Three: commitment to and knowledge of the information profession

D Clutterbuck (2001) Everyone needs a mentor: fostering talent at work 3^rd ed. CIPD 0852929048

K Owen and M Watson (2015) Building your portfolio: the CILIP guide 3^rd ed. Facet Publishing 9781783300204

CILIP Update. CILIP. ISSN 2046-0406

Research Information. Europa Science. ISSN 1744-8026

Discussion Lists:

JISC-REPOSITORIES

LIS-BIBLIOMETRICS

LIS-E-RESOURCES

LIS-PROFESSION

UKCORR-DISCUSSION

Reading Challenge 2017

I have set myself a Good Reads Challenge for 2017 - read 32 books.

I managed 31 in 2016 (but I admit four of those are now on my 'didn't finish' shelf).

I already have 39 books lined up on my 'to read' shelf.

Some are 're-reads', like a couple of Harry Potter books; some are books sitting on my real shelves by favourite authors, like Bernard Cornwell and Robert Harris; some I don't own so I'm going to borrow them from the library.

A selection of children's and adults' titles; new and classic titles; long and short.

With such variety and enjoyment to look forward to, roll on 2017!

CILIP Fellowship

So why so long since my last blog post? The answer lies in the original motivation for setting up the blog, and my current aim to register for CILIP Fellowship.

I have been reflecting on my experiences of mentoring and reminded myself of the International Librarians Network peer mentor scheme which I joined back in 2014. During the program I was inspired to 'try something new' and had a go at creating a blog. Unfortunately I never seemed to have time to keep posting, although I learned a lot about the concept, and went on to create Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to explore more social media outlets.

But now, as I am revisiting various communications techniques and professional activities I have experienced in my career (so far!) I have decided to give the blog another go. As I progress through the Fellowship route and put together my portfolio this will be a good place to post a few thoughts to share.

Different libraries

Liverpool Central Library

Phone Box Library, Hatton

I attended a CILIP Mentoring Workshop this week and had the pleasure of meeting librarians from a range of different libraries - school, college, hospital, public.

This reminded me of the kinds of libraries, and librarians, that inspired me to take up librarianship as a career. I read my way through the junior then adult stock collections at my own local public library in Airedale, Castleford, whilst of school age, and attended holiday story times and craft sessions there.

When I decided I wanted to work in a library my dad arranged a visit to the library at Hickson & Welch in Castleford, where I was introduced to the world of patents, chemical information and technical reports.

One of my work experience sessions during my degree at Loughborough University was at Fisons. There I discovered medical journals, indexing for current awareness, and interlibrary loans.

My own career has been based in a Research Council library, working with scientists and engineers.

All these libraries have communities that shape and define the services, and staff that develop and deliver them. And those communities and staff have all played a part in inspiring me to join the profession.

Picton Reading Room

Spiral staircase in the Picton Reading Room, Liverpool Central Library. I love visiting 'other people's libraries' to get inspiration for and marvel at library design. This visit was arranged by CILIP's North West Member Network.

Hello and Welcome

"I want to be a librarian". That's what I said to the careers teacher at secondary school.
"No you don't. Be an archivist instead - that's more interesting" he replied.
Well, here I am 33 years later, and I don't regret not taking his advice!

Welcome to my blog about being a librarian, present, past and future.