Thing 20.... the Library Roots Project

Thing 20     The Library Roots Project

I left university knowing I did not want to go in the area I had studied for 3 years. I spent a lot of my time reading books I should not have even found time to read, and decided that my best possible route for employment was in libraries.

I began working as a temporary register assistant with one of my local councils, and covered hours when needed in all the branches in my area. I learned valuable experience in the day to day life of how a public library service runs, and then one day I noticed on the local council website there was a vacancy at the local prison. I knew the council provided a library service there, and this was one of the areas temporary register never provide cover for. In need of a permanent position I contacted the head of the service and asked if I could have a visit to the establishment before I decided to apply for the post.

On visiting the prison, it was an eye opener to firstly be on the wrong side of the wall, but once inside the library it was unlike a branch library I had worked in previously. It had new book covers advertised on the walls, of course local prison information, but it was homely and had well stocked shelves, and the staff I met was lovely. So I applied!

I have been at the prison library for 3 years now. We have had a major refit, and we have doubled in floor space. We look better than we did before, and our borrowers are keen to use the space. The library is open from 8.30 in the morning till 4.30, and each visitor is allowed 30 minutes visiting time each week. We are well used, and on a whole we are an invaluable, but often over shadowed service. Working in a prison library can be very isolating and is at times quite frustrating, and although we do provide a wonderful library service, we are at the mercy of prison politics and regime.

From going to a Prison Library training day in 2010 I have started my ACLIP qualification, which brings you into contact with other wonderful library sectors and provides brilliant networking opportunities. It is also, depending on how curious you are a great way to find skills like using 23 Things for Career Development, which I don’t need to use in my current job, but is a way to learn new skills to take to your next job. I am a member of CILIP Northeast and I am a committee member for the Special Interest Group of Prison Libraries.

If I was to give any advice to anyone new in the job, it would be, be prepared to get frustrated, so long as you are there providing your service, that is all that matters. DO get involved in CILIP groups; it is good for one’s moral and future professional development to get involved with different courses, events and training days. You never stop learning in this career! Enrol onto JISCmail as this provides an email service to activities currently going on and you get contacted when things are happening. Use Facebook, it isn’t just there for social networking, many library sectors have a page on there, and it is an easy way to get involved.

I guess to sum up my Thing 20, I fell in to my job I guess by accident, been there at the right time, but still knowing what I wanted. My advice to new professional would be: try and get as much out of yourself as well as your job. Don’t stand still, be curious and be brave enough to want to venture out in to new things. All library sectors have a lot to offer, and you can learn a lot from talking to other professionals. Good luck in library world, it’s a wondrous place!

thing 16 ...speaking up and getting published...

I wrote this for the SIGPrison Libraries. it was published in one of their magazines this year...  i think i speak up for prison libraries and their future....  

The future of prison libraries, from someone new in the job.

I have been a senior library assistant within holme house prison for just over 2 years, and I thoroughly enjoy the challenges and satisfaction of what the job brings.

With virtual campus been integrated in to libraries, moving  computer access forward, I feel we are going to be in a better position for the future as we can use the attendance figures for this  to our own advantage.  It will give us the opportunity to be able to promote events and reader development to the wider population who may not get to the library on a regular basis or at all. This will in turn, I believe, show that the prison library is a necessary part of prison life and prisoner resettlement and it won’t take up too much officer time in the process.

Personally, for the future of my prison library I will be giving 100% of my enthusiasm and commitment to make my library have worth and value on what it provides, and not let it be recognised as an unnecessary waste of prison time. To use my abilities of communication I will be making myself noticeable in all areas of my prison, to make sure the populous know that the library is here and it will for years to come!

THING 19..... CATCH UP

 I have found doing 23 Things for professional development a really easy to follow exercise. I wasn’t a novice in using the internet, I use face book and research constantly on the net, but this opened new doors for me while doing my ACLIP. I have had a go at all the exercises except for Thing 14, I had a dabble with Thing 17 and I have totally omitted Thing 18. I have been doing this in my own time, at home, so if anything required been downloaded or bought, I declined the task. Also due to my job, I do not want to broad cast myself for all to see, for personal and employment reasons.

My favourite articles to do and what I am still using are Twitter, which keeps me up to date with CPD, CILIP, and other professionals, along with Google and Evernote.  Twitter is and  can be seen as what it is, just a lot of famous people twittering but from a career development point of view, it has opened new doors to other library professionals, feeds into relevant news items and keeps me up to date with how all library sectors are doing in the current climate. Google I used just for email before, but now I use it for calendar reminders, and also for dropping my word articles in to it for my projects. Evernote I use for bibliographical references and I find once saved they are easy enough to find. All these items are beneficial to me, for my career development, where previously I never would have known they were there to be used by someone just like me.

I first heard about 23 Things at a Prison Libraries Group training day by Helen Leach, Virtual Content Manager for Surrey Libraries.  She had encouraged her staff to take part in this exercise and seen it has a useful resource for the service.  She gave her presentation using Prezi, and I found it an amazing tool to see been in use.  I decided to do 23 Things as my own professional development, while I work for a prison library, there are restrictions in what can be accessed over the internet, and library resources are quite far removed from the majority of fast moving sectors like academic libraries. I would recommend anyone to try this project, just to keep abreast of what is happening in the World Wide Web, and in the process it is fun to learn.

THING 15 .. ATTENDING A PRESENTATION

I attended the Northeast CILIP AGM in May 2011. This was my first group meeting I had gone to, which wasn’t within the remit of my job. There was one speaker for this meeting, and she was called Annie Mauger. Not knowing what I know now, Annie was introduced and her topic was going to be on the future on libraries. Having heard what the Government plans were for libraries and there futures, I wasn’t expecting any more from Annie’s talk than a lot of ‘oh we are going to be fine and we’ re all just going to have to wait and see’. The talk turned out to be one of the most invigorating, honest approaches I had ever witnessed.

Annie talked to the group explaining her new role was going to be changing CILIP and its qualifications, and how having professional library staff, who are committed  to their  library career and own development, makes for a good service. Changing mangers and library services ways of thinking was going to be Annie’s role, and watching her talk, her body and her delivery made me come away from the meeting a more valued person.  She acknowledged every library service from prison libraries to medical libraries to very small charity libraries, I believed every word she said, and felt that everything she said was achievable.

I have never spoken to an audience before and if I did ever have the courage to, I would want to be like the woman I watched that day. Annie new her area, she knew the faults of the service and she knew how to take it forward, but she also understood the concerns of CILIP members. This was my best and most worthy presentation I had ever been too, and I would suggest to anyone out there in library land, if you ever get the chance to hear Annie Mauger speak, go along and listen, you WILL come away with a better outlook for your career!

thing 13... erm a bit stumped!!

Well this is Thing 13, and I think this one might stump me! Been part of a prison library service, Internet usage is only restricted to research purposes and there’s no access at all for prisoners.I
guess I am just writing this piece to try out a google doc, and to see what will come of it in the big wide world!And hopefully it may get a look at by someone!!!

thing 12....

Thing 12 - Putting the social into social media

Working in a prison library is quite isolating, our work is different to most library establishments, and our main obstacle is that we rely on prison regime and staff to bring our library users. Many activities we try to get under way can be halted at a moment’s notice, which for ambitious library staff can be very infuriating. A lot of prison librarians work with no internet access, let alone a library network for stock reserves and branch communication.

In May 2011 the Prison Libraries Specialist Group held a training day entitled ‘Let’s Get digital’. The day highlighted that all though prison library staff are isolated in many ways, it is down to individuals to pursue professional development including keeping up to date with internet communication and development sites. 23  things was discussed by Helen Leach who highlighted that this is a brilliant way to get up to date skills for internet use, social networking etc., and that it was free to take part.

Before 23 Things I used Facebook to communicate with people, but not necessarily in a professional manner. There is a now a CILIP North East page, where I can keep in contact with different library professionals within my local area. I have a twitter account, and although I have not found this useful for communicating with the library world, I am able to pinch websites that others recommend such as book review areas etc. and post these on the north east page. I will still use my social networking sites for my career development, it is a useful tool to bounce around ideas and give and get support when required. This in itself brings library communities together, even if it used in a different way than intended, been a bendable tool can only be a good thing!

The downside for me in social networking is the blog I created which doesn’t give me what I was expecting it do. It seems hard work, and I’m guessing that what I post will only be picked up if someone googles a certain topic I may have posted about. If this is incorrect, I’m obviously not using it the way it should be used!

On the whole I am enjoying doing this project. It is something that my colleagues aren’t doing, but I feel that for my own future development, it has given me good grounding to move forward and it has given me the confidence to be more inquisitive with internet networking.

thing 10 & 11

I have mentor who I found when I went to a portfolio training day for certification. I am currently doing my cert, & I find my mentor is brilliant at giving me advice and explaining what needs to be included & discluded.
I am currently unable to do a Masters or Diploma in Librarianship, but CIlIP qualifications are a good way to get ahead, & and it is all about finding your own training needs & areas of interest.