Thing 23 – Making It All Work Together

 

I can’t believe it’s all over. Rudai 23 was a fantastic experience and I learnt so much from it. My first experience with social media was Bebo, I even had a My Space account but that was short lived. I’m not sure why I took the plunge and finally gave in to Facebook in 2008 and that was pretty much the only social media I used until I did the MLIS and particularly the Rudai 23 course. As social media has become an integral tool for both work and my social life, it can sometimes become over whelming. I’m still struggling with the 140 character limit on Twitter.

I have only recently started using Hootsuite so I haven’t yet fully integrated it into my routine but it is an invaluable resource. It’s always difficult to post content at the optimum time when you do it manually but with Hootsuite I don’t have to worry about it, I can schedule all the notifications in the morning and spend more time engaging with the content and the users.

Thank you to everyone on the Rudai 23 team, it was a fantastic experience and I hope you can run this course again.

Thing 21 – Creating Infographics

The task for Thing 21 is to design an infographic and write a reflection about the process. Prior to starting Thing 21 I thought that the most difficult challenge so far was making a video but I think creating an infographic was definitely the hardest things I have done so far. The reason why it was so difficult was because I found it difficult to find a free template that matched the content I wanted to share. In the end I went with a timeline template from HubSpot but if this was something I would have to do on a regular basis I would definitely invest in a subscription to a site with a wide variety of templates.

In November 2015 I wrote a blog post about presentations in order to complete the requirements for Thing 20. This infographic is a visualisation of the strategies I use with some tips on how to present at conferences and will hopefully encourage more people to take on the challenge.

Thing 18 – Communicating Through Photographs

The task for Thing 18 is to set up a Flickr and an Instagram account in order to explore ways of communicating through photographs. These are two of the most popular forms of photograph based social media platforms that can be used to curate photographs. Its taken me a while to get around to writing up this blog post because although I can see the benefits of using these platforms in a library they aren’t relevant to what I was doing and I didn’t really want to set up personal accounts. However, I didn’t want to give up on this task and after exploring my options I gave into setting up an Instagram account as it was near impossible to view profiles with out having an account.Most public institutions that use Flikr have set there profiles as public so they are easy to view without an account.

I only have my Instagram account a few weeks now and at first I found it quite difficult to use but I’m staring to get used to it. At first I was planning to use my account to get over with Thing 18 and then delete it but I’m starting to get used to it and might keep it for a little longer.

Flikr and Instagram are both very different platforms, one is practical and the other is trendy but using a combination is a great way to form connections with clients and potential clients of a library. Flickr is a better option if you want to curate images on line as you can set up different folders. The National Library has uploaded large amounts of its collection onto Flikr which has proven as an effective way to crowd source metadata on its photograph collection. From a users point of view Flikr allows clients to access the collections with out needing to be on site making it easier to access and also assists in preserving the original documents.

Image from here.

IS40370 FINAL REFLECTIONS

Beopjusa Temple and Munjandae Rock, South Korea

This is my final blog post for IS40370, I will reflect on this module under the following headings:

About your thinking and practices…

I used to think that you would need a lot of library work experience to be a manager but after doing this course I realised that my previous work experience is very relevant for this profession. I used to lack the confidence to write a blog but now I think I will be more confident about setting up another one.

About your learning…

I didn’t know what to expect before this I started this course. One thing I was surprised to learn about was how to develop a blog as part of my assessment because my previous academic experience preferred paper based assessment. Its hard to pick only one skill that I learnt from this course as everything was interesting and relevant but the blog posts was my favourite. If someone asked me what did I learn five years from now I would probably answer with the skills to develop a case study but also this class gave me the confidence to set up and write a blog.

About the module…

I was a bit skeptical about this course before I started as I didn’t think it would be very relevant because I hadn’t had much work experience in a library. If given the option I probably wouldn’t have selected this module but I am really happy I did it as it far exceeded my expectations. The course was very interesting and practical, I developed a lot of different skills that I can use in the workplace. The only suggestion I can make to improve the course is o have a class on how to develop and write a case study along with samples and templates. Overall this is one of the best modules on offer in the MLIS course.

THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES

OAIS Reference Model

This article focuses on the digital preservation plan implemented by the British Library in the late 1990’s and how they turned their talk about preservation into action. In this article the author highlighted the goals of the project, what skills were needed and how they were sourced, what aspects of the project worked well along with what didn’t work well. Thus, the readers were able to get a better sense of the management issues at hand and what is needed to solve these issues in future projects.

One of the key elements that the author raised as an issue was the jargon and specialised language used during the project. It was over fourteen years since this project was implemented but I’m sure that general staff in a library today would still have some of the same issues without specialised training. Throughout the article the author mentioned the need for ‘homegrown’ staff. Since it has been many years since the article was published, it would be interesting to see if they were able to act on this and if they still continue to provide special training in this area at the British Library.

The importance of looking after or curating ‘born digital’ files has only been realised in recent years. Practitioners these days can learn a lot from projects which took place over the years. This article supports the other readings I have done and is an ideal introduction for newcomers to this field. I have just completed a module in digital curation and can relate to a lot of the issues staff had with the jargon and the digital preservation model used in the British Library project. At first the OAIS Reference Model can be intimidating but after seeing it implemented in detailed case studies it starts to make sense.

Shenton, H. (2000). From talking to doing: Digital preservation at the british library. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 6(1), 163. doi:10.1080/13614530009516807

EVIDENCE BASED RESEARCH

This weeks readings are based on articles about evidence based research (EBR), even if they don’t carry out the research themselves, many librarians use this method in the workplace and it is called evidence based practice (EBP). In this blog post I will focus on the article by Eldredge, this was primarily a literature review of published and unpublished works in this field. This article was very useful as I wasn’t familiar with EBR, the article outlined where this methodology derived from and how it is implemented in the workplace. I think this article is pretty straightforward as easy enough for a new comer to the field to understand but I think it would be even easier to follow if it had some models like the picture above were used at the beginning of the text. The author does give an example of when librarians used EBR in reviewing its collection but I think it would be better if they included another example. This article extends on what I have already read however, I would have to do more reading on this subject to be confident in my ability to use this management methodology. Overall, I found this subject interesting and would like to explore this subject in more depth in the future.

Eldredge, J. (2006). Evidence-based librarianship: The EBL process. Library Hi Tech, 24(3), 341-354. doi:10.1108/07378830610692118

LEADERSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

The two chapters we read for this weeks reflection focused on two different but interrelated issues. The focus of chapter thirteen was the differences between leadership and management and how you can foster and develop both of these skills. Chapter fifteen focused on diversity within the organisational structures as well as within the collection and services the library provides. It is difficult to define diversity in one sentence as it a much more complex issue. A simple way to break down what diversity means is as follows:

D – different styles, disabilities

I – individuals, intellegence

V – variety, veteren status

E – education, economic status, ethnicity

E – race, religion

S – sexual orientation, social class

I – immigration status

T – thought process, traits

Y – youth, years (Evans & Alire 2013 p. 370)

This model can act as a useful checklist when trying to plan a project to check that it will be successful with the diverse clientele that visit any institution or library.

Overall, these chapters support other readings I have done on these topics but chapter fifteen gave me a deeper insight to how the public libraries in the USA try to incorporate diversity into the management system. I found the chapter about diversity more interesting because it raised a lot of questions related to the library sector in Ireland. Up until the start of the Celtic Tiger, Ireland was a very homogeneous society and in some ways has been resilient to change. Gender and sexuality issues are now being discussed openly as well as an increase in the number of foreigners living in Ireland. These are just two examples of the many things that have changed in Ireland over the last ten years but it is not clear how these needs are being incorporated into the management systems of our public libraries or other institutions.

While working on projects in the future I will be more conscious of addressing diversity in the planning and implementation stages of the project.

Evans, G. E., & Alire, C. A. (2013). Management basics for information professionals. London: Facet Publishing.

Chapters 13 and 15.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The two articles we read for this week focused on the skills needed for effective project management in the IT sector. Bouraad summed up his article in the conclusion by claiming that it redefined the role and responsibilities of the operations manager. His article sums up these roles in such a clear and concise manner that it should be mandatory reading for any operations manager, especially at the beginning of their career. Randolph’s article was a more detailed case study of how effective IT project managers at utilising knowledge reuse within an IT consulting company.

Both authors addressed critical issues within a project management environment. Bouraad clarified the responsibilities of the operations manager, which always need to be clarified no matter how much experience the person has to maintain efficient running of a project. Randolph highlighted that knowledge repositories generally didn’t address the needs of junior project managers and that more needs to be done to address their knowledge needs.

In Randolph’s case study it seemed that the people in the case study were working as individuals even though they were part of a team, it would be useful if the author addressed this issue in his recommendations for the company. However, I think this article highlights that practice makes perfect, as senior project managers used company resources more effectively to find solutions to their problems.

Both texts support other readings I have done on this topic. Bouraad’s article clarified what I need to do to fulfill my role as project manager in future projects.

Bouraad, F. (2010). IT project portfolio governance: The emerging operation manager. Project Management Journal, 41(5), 74-86. doi:10.1002/pmj.20083

Randolph, A. B., & Petter, S. (2009). Developing soft skills to manage user expectations in IT projects: Knowledge reuse among IT project managers. Project Management Journal, 40(4), 45-59. doi:10.1002/pmj.20130

UCD SYSTEMATIC REVIEW LIBGUIDE

For this week’s post I am reviewing the UCD Systematic Review Libguide. As I mentioned in last weeks post, I wasn’t familiar with libguides before this assignment and I have never carried out a systematic review before so it was my first time to look at this particular guide.

If I was asked to carry out a systematic review tomorrow I wouldn’t have a clue what to do. In the past I would have used Google to help me find a solution to my problems but really the UCD Systematic Review Libguide is the best place to start. As you can see from the picture above, the guide defines what a systematic review is and gives the students step by step instructions on how to carry out their own research in a clear and concise manner. The best feature of this guide is that it defines what it is in the introduction, thus making it more accessible for first time users who are not familiar with what a systematic review is.

The guide has multiple links to useful sources under the ‘Guides/Manuals’ tab. These are excellent links but I think it would also be useful to add some links to social media sites related to the field, such as blogs. I think this would make the libguide more interactive and its a good way for students to follow whats going on in the field.

At the bottom of every page in the guide we can see that the web page is regularly updated meaning that the contact information is up to date if you should need to get in touch with any queries. Overall, this is a very comprehensive libguide but it feels a bit static compared to the UCD Applied Social Science Libguide I reviewed last week. That guide had links to the UCD Library and department Twitter news feeds, even though I’m not a Twitter user it gave the guide the impression of being more up to date.

http://libguides.ucd.ie/systematic/intro

http://libguides.ucd.ie/appliedsocsci/intro

UCD APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE LIBGUIDE

For this week’s post I am reviewing the UCD Applied Social Science Libguide. This was my first time to use a libguide and to be honest when I first clicked on it I wasn’t sure I was in the right place. For some reason, I thought a libguide must be like a manual you get with all your new flat pack furniture and electrical appliances. When I had finally figured out I was looking at the libguide, I was really impressed with the comprehensive coverage.

I think more should be done to promote the departmental libguides as they are an excellent source for new students. As you can see from the picture they have a tab to cover any possible resource a student studying applied social studies might need as well as video tutorials to improve their academic skills. I found the whole guide very informative and useful for my studies at UCD especially the link for ‘our tutorials and guides’. These tutorials are invaluable to students of any discipline at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The libguide was well laid out and is regularly updated, it also has links to both the library and department of Applied Social Science Twitter newsfeeds. I think the best feature of this guide is that it is clearly laid out. On each tab there is just basic need to know information and they also use a good mix of media types.

This is an excellent resource but if I was given the task to add to it, I would probably create a space on the home page for a journal of the month. A link on the home page would increase the number of users for that resource and make it less intimidating for first time users to access. Blogging is also a tool used by many academics and practitioners, so it would be useful to have a link to some blogs related to applied social science.

http://libguides.ucd.ie/appliedsocsci/intro