Job hunting at the moment is tough. It has been for several years now. Whilst I have been fortunate enough to land employment following both my undergrad and postgrad courses, I know many that have had a much harder struggle. We seem to be living in an age of austerity, which sounds to me something like the title of an Eric Hobsbawm text. What I do not think I conveyed whilst talking about employment is that is it is extremely difficult not to become disheartened when an application is rejected (that is if you ever hear back at all), and this can be doubly hard to face following an interview. It can leave one feeling dejected, devoid of energy and down heartened. Generally full of words that begin with ‘D’ (I’d not noticed that before).

Unfortunately, I do not have a remedy for this, or a great revelation at the end of the post that will ensure that this malaise can be overcome, other than to keep going. There are jobs out there to apply for, and if you work hard to make yourself right for the job then that can go a long way in keeping up your spirits and increasing your chances at selection stage.

I wanted to write this post as a general “keep going” to those looking for employment. Hopefully it comes across as a positive message of goodwill. I have also summarised my tips for job hunting from my recent short section in CILIP Update:

- Constantly amend and critique your CV. It may seem like a bore, but even small things such as amending words to tie in with those used in job descriptions can make a difference. Keeping it up to date even whilst you are in employment or not specifically looking for a job can ensure that you capture and note down all of those skills that you have and projects undertaken that may be forgotten about when scrambling together an application at the last minute.

- Make use of recruitment agencies, but do not rely upon them. Imagine them to be like a walking stick, not a full set of crutches.

- Use RSS feeds to keep an eye on a range of sites that you are interested in without having to check them constantly

- Identify skills that you think may be useful for your ideal position, and then work to develop them before that perfect post arises so you are in a better position to apply.

- Don’t always worry about completing all of the desirable criteria perfectly, if something doesn’t quite match, explain any deficiencies and offer something else instead – demonstrate that you really want that job and have something special to bring to it.

- Apply for opportunities that present themselves through professional bodies and apply for bursaries to keep costs down! Use the JISC mailing lists to keep and eye out for things.

- Build a network, either via Twitter, LinkedIn or in person. You can then use your connections to help you job spot and suggest ways you could spruce up your CV. Don’t be shy in asking for help!

At Library Camp in Birmingham several months ago, I tried to encourage those who did not consider themselves to be ‘New Professionals’ to join in debates and discussions with those who did – especially in discussions such as #UKLibChat. My concern was that much of what I blog about, and discuss with my peers has been around for years. The same problems keep cropping up again and again, but as new entrants to the profession rise through the ranks and gain additional responsibilities, their spare time to tackle these problems rapidly diminishes. Many of their ideas therefore perish, or are simply lost into the depths of obscurity. New Professionals pick up on the issues, but from a fresh start, without building on work previously undertaken, and so the circle begins again.

This was partly confirmed to me this week when an old box of journals was returned from storage. Inside the box were numerous copies of the ASLIB Journal way back from 1988-1992. I was shocked and amazed that the capacity to publish journals existed in the Triassic period, but nevertheless, they made for interesting reading.

Yep, there was technology back then too. Photo courtesy of katerha on Flickr CC

My mirth at the many John Major look a-likes was rapidly quelled though when I realised that one of the journal articles was not far removed from one of my own recent posts. Entitled “Information Work: Occupation or Profession?”, it dealt with challenges to the professionalism of information work, and touched on the ‘Information Professional v Librarian’ job title issue. The conclusions reached were almost identical to the many discussions that can be seen all over the place today; we do not let our users know of the skills we possess, nor are we valued as much as we might like to be. There was one slight difference though, less militancy! The ending sentiment was that providing our clients are happy, then “our professional credibility will be beyond reproach” – sadly, credibility does not guarantee the protection of a service or jobs in today’s economy.

What really struck me though, was that the article confirmed with a concrete date of October 1989, how long these issues have been discussed for. They are not new challenges facing New Professionals and taking established workers by surprise – they are been discussed and debated for slightly less than my entire life, and longer than my entire educational life (that’s school, sixth form, 3 years of uni and a postgrad course…). It has left me wondering, if the problems have been discussed and debated for this long with no avail, what difference will it make now? If it has taken approximately 23 years to get to a stage where libraries are facing closure, it doesn’t exactly bode well for the next 23 does it?

And so I left this blog post in situ, feeling rather despondent, until last night when I had a bit of a revelation. I have since added a more upbeat addendum.

There is no need to be in total dismay. Whilst the same issues are still be discussed, a greater amount of action is being put in place alongside these discussions, and their impact is reaching a wider audience. Fantastic groups such as Voices for the Library are raising awareness, and initiatives such as National Libraries Day are starting to get the amount of press that they deserve. Whilst job situations are still grave in most sectors, information professionals are proving themselves a resourceful bunch and finding work in usual non-traditional roles.

And what of the issue surrounding the point on continuing to blog about issues that have been around for a while? Unfortunately for those subscribed to this blog, I have decided that there is a point to continuing to write about age-old issues. It demonstrates that the profession is still critically assessing itself. By voicing these concerns, hopefully further collaboration will be continued between all levels of the information profession, from the brand new ‘new professional’ to the highest upper echelon of management, so that we can learn from each other, preventing either a one way learning process, or a complete disregard for work undertaken previously.

There is also a point to be made for discussing the same issues, but in a different context. 23 years ago, the information landscape as we know it today was completely different. The Internet was but a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee’s eye. The issues that were discussed had to therefore be relevant in a time where people believed CD-ROMs would still work, even if covered in jam and breakfast foods. The solutions that were discussed were therefore appropriate for that time and place, but are in no way applicable now. The fast changing information world means that these problems need to be addressed again in a new context, a world where Opal Fruits are now universally known as Starburst and Coco Pops and milk now make a bowl full of fun. Changes such as this mean everything needs to be evaluated, again.

Benefits of Regular Posts

• Forces you to think about your thoughts on a more regular basis, encouraging regular reflection.  Posts can be timed to trigger reflection on a weekly basis, monthly, or whatever suits your own timetable.
• It generates interest for your readers – if a blog produces material to a schedule, then as a reader I am likely to check it more regularly, comment more frequently and create greater discussion due to a higher level of through traffic. It creates something of a “promise of engagement” with its users. I need only compare the #UKLibChat blog stats with my own to see the difference regular posts make to traffic!
• Regular posts force you to pin down thoughts that may otherwise seem insignificant, forcing you to tackle them and turn them into something you are willing to share with others. This increases the likelihood of discovering a new (possibly important) idea.

Benefits of Spontaneous, Erratic Posting

•  It is done on the spur of the moment. Have some spare time? Pop in a post! Capture that fleeting thought in an off-the-cuff moment.
• There is less chance of ideas being overcooked in an effort to scramble together a post in order to meet your self imposed deadline.
• Reduces the pressure on writing and has the possibility to make blogging more fun! 
• Your writing has the ability to feel more natural, allowing it to flow; at times coming out as a stream of consciousness, and at others full of metaphors and similes that you have been mulling over for some time. Words and ideas have the ability to come to the boil in their own time.

Of course as is always the way with questions posed in an “either or” situation, much like GCSE history, the conclusion states that the answer is a little of both. I prefer the spontaneous approach, however if I adhered solely to that, the chances are that the blog would feature one extremely long post that no one would read, roughly every 3 months.

I try to ensure that I produce something at least every month (sorry January, I failed you), and if it is only one post then so be it, however other times it will balloon into multiple entries. This also allows me to fit in posts as and when I have time, and group them around other commitments such as SLA events and #UKLibChat.

To round this off, I will leave a note to myself. Spontaneity does not mean that proof reading and quality can go out of the window in return for a speedily written post.

I’m going to start this post on a negative. Millenials. I really dislike that phrase. It sounds stupid, almost as daft as Generation Y (which I also have an intense dislike for). Thankfully, the LIS profession is clever enough to refer to new entrants to the profession as “New Professionals”, and whilst I realise that the they are not the same,  for the purposes of this post the two will be treated as synonymous  (read The Next Generation  for more musings on Generation Y etc).

The Point of this Post

PWC have just published a new survey entitled the “Millenials Survey” looking at how the next generation of workers are shaping the workplace, and how employers can meet their expectations. This has been done with a view to ensuring super talented people are targeted, recruited, and possibly most crucially, retained.

I figured that it would be interesting to have a nosey through these figures and see how they translate to the LIS profession.  I was expecting the results to be roughly similar with how I think (I am a New Prof in the commercial sector after all) even though I imagine very few of the 4,364 undergraduates surveyed want to go into the LIS sector. I was also hoping that the results would be obviously transferable across the whole profession, therefore reinforcing an incredibly important point – the LIS profession is just as competitive and comparative a sector as other, more common, areas of graduate recruitment. For the most part, I think the results carry over quite nicely.

Important note – since this is a blog, referencing and footnoting is a right pain. Therefore all figures etc below have been taken from the PWC survey which can be found here: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/managing-tomorrows-people/future-of-work/millennials-survey.jhtml [Accessed 22 December 2011]

Loyalty

One of the PWC survey’s findings was that the number of employers a graduate expects to have across their lifetime has increased; over 25% now expect to have 6 or more employers across their career. This is apparently a decrease in expected loyalty to an employer.

Decreasing loyalty will sit very much at odds with the traditional LIS sector, where the usual idea was to stay with a collection to develop it.  As hardcopy stock levels continue to decline, the attachment librarians have to their stock is likely to decrease, and a physical bond will no longer exist (that sounds a bit weird. I hope none of you have physical bonds to your stock. If so, please stop now). Moving jobs and familiarising oneself with a new collection is likely to be simpler in the future, especially if current trends in law librarianship continue and large, often identical “bundle collections” are still being farmed out to firms. Instead of collection familiarity, other (more important?) issues with changing jobs will be able to present themselves instead.

This would also fit in with advice that Bethan Ruddock put forward at a recent panel session at ILI2011. In order to progress, it is necessary to look two or three levels above your current position, and then tailor your job search accordingly to develop those skills you need to get there. With almost certain inevitability, this may require several job changes.

Pay

Just as an aside, almost comical in its presence, 32% of graduates said they had taken a job with a lower than expected salary in order to get on the job ladder. At least they were lucky to get a job, unlike many others. Unfortunately there was not a box in the survey to check to grateful/ungrateful/nepotistic.

Career Advancement

Where the survey results flagged up some differences in the careers of graduates outside the LIS sector was the way in which career progression both within and outside of organisations was discussed. 52% stated that to make an organisation an attractive employer it should have opportunities for career progression. I can think of very few library organisations where this is a likely reason for taking a job. Most structures are simply too small; perhaps national libraries are an exception, or some “information units” (GCHQ possibly?), but for the most part teams will simply be too small to support multiple levels of career progression across a long periods of time. Rather, to gain skills and advance, extracurricular activities will be used, new projects within work undertaken, or a change in organisation needed. It is not uncommon for a traditional career tree to be structured of library assistant – assistant librarian – librarian – head of service. A far cry from the various tiered rankings of business consultancy, law or otherwise.

Thankfully, the profession is more diverse than these traditional structures that I have just outlined above. Rather, the various roles that are available to the forward looking information professional do not fit into the traditional career tree structure, because often the different levels of work that will be undertaken can fit into other teams outside of a traditional service and serve as a means to supplement and broaden this linear structure – for examples of this I point you towards organisations such as JISC, MIMAS, or roles such as knowledge managers and other obscure, yet super interesting jobs.

Managing the New Professional

For me, the most interesting part of PWC’s survey was the final part. Not because it was the end, but rather because it dealt with how more experienced generations perceive how we New Profs should be managed. I’ve outlined my thoughts on these into two sections below…

Things that made me giggle/cringe (*Disclaimer – I’m super-manly, GRRR, so I use Giggle in a loose sense of the word*)

“It’s particularly important to understand and address generational differences and tensions.”

            Yes, we have different long term needs to older members of a team. The chances of needing to support a family or have dentures repaired are less likely, but mostly we aren’t that different you know. Some young people have families too – something you will know if you watch day time TV. The statement implies that there are a million worlds between new grads and experienced workers. This is wrong, and will only enforce an “us and them” attitude, possibly leading to grads feeling treated like children, other others feel ancient. As I have said before, mix them together, and hope that new ideas can mix with realistic understanding of how to implement things in order to make something wonderful happen.

“is it time to shift focus from cash bonuses to other things”

            Bonus? Made of Cash? Post Lehman? Must be kidding.

Things that made sense to me

“Challenge them to come up with new ways to streamline processes and to exercise creativity”

            Yes. Absolutely. We are creative and have been bred in a time of austerity. We can streamline with new idesa, uses of tech and swooshing noises.

“Give them honest feedback in real time — and highlight positive contributions or improvements on key competencies.”

            Feedback is good. In a world of uncertain employment and economic downturn, it’s pretty gloomy for new grads. A bit of feedback goes a long way. Pretty sure this is true for all staff though!

“If you know what you want done by when, why does it matter where and how they complete the task?”

            Yes. Though sometimes guidelines and parameters can help shake that student mentality of do it last minute at 1am with lots of coffee. Maybe one to take with a pinch of salt.

“Millennials want to experience as much training as possible”

            Yes. We like to learn. We’ve been through an education system which examines us every two minutes, and without those exams we may now feel lost. Training can help to keep us on track and make us feel like we are progressing. Plus it’ll help your business too by making us better at our jobs.

“They value results over tenure and are sometimes frustrated with the amount of time it takes to work up the career ladder”

            Yes and no. Maybe my above comments about the disparity of career progression between LIS and other sectors applies here.

That’s all

Any thoughts? I’d be keen to know.

This may seem obvious, after all, anyone whose GCSE poetry anthology covered Seamus Heaney’s “Digging” will surely know that Ireland influenced his decision to write poems about potatoes (perhaps if he were from Somerset it would have been entitled “scrumping” and provided the opportunity for cider drinking to get into his frame of mind; sadly it was nothing but jacket spuds for me whilst revising). The same principle therefore applies for blogging, writing articles and generally applying oneself to tasks and projects. If you work in an academic library, chances are you will ponder things about academic libraries, and maybe after a while start to think like an academic librarian. I work in a law library, and whilst I don’t quite think like a lawyer, I have started to capitalise the occasional word for no good Grammatical Reason.

With this in mind, we will therefore always be shaped by our past experiences and current work environments, be this good or bad. For the most part, it is fine; our experiences provide us with a basic set of skills from which we can build upon and use to grow. When a change in environment occurs (be it job related, or personal), this process is usually accelerated, lending a set of new experiences to shape and develop ourselves; not too dissimilar in how a plant enjoys getting a new pot to fill every once in a while. Much like the plant though, our roots (read thoughts) quickly grow to fit the pot, and come into line with its shape. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, ideas and growth need support and parameters against which they can be measured, however this can mean that the new ideas that were generated are scaled back to fit the confines of the (terracotta?) walls of the new workplace or study environment, just as quickly as the old ways can be forgotten.

This chap has used those past experiences to define himself as well as make something new- Flickr CC by jo-h

I’m not saying this always occurs, but it can do, and it is an easy trap to fall into.  So, how to ensure that our mindsets can continue to grow uninhibited? If I continue to work with the plant theme, then maybe what we need is the human equivalent of Baby Bio to give our professional selves a bit of a kick?

Firstly, awareness always helps. You are reading this aren’t you? Hopefully, some of my nonsensical wording and attempts at imagery will make enough sense that some self reflection can occur off the back of it.

Secondly, don’t worry, it doesn’t really matter. If your frame of mind works for you, then that’s great. This post is 110% speculative. I’m not saying here that you need to change your way of thinking, merely that you need to make the most of it, and realise the benefits that your circumstances have given you. However… if you can be aware of how you think, then you are better placed to self-critique, therefore better questioning your current way of working, and helping yourself to continually improve.

Thirdly, networking and conversing with those outside your regular workplace can be a great way to understand your current thought processes. This can be achieved even better by looking across sectors, either by reading their professional and practitioner literature or interacting with real people (gasp!). It doesn’t matter if those you meet have a similar way of thinking, because if you have realised that they do, then that also means you have become aware of how you, yourself, think! Plus, seeing your personal traits in another sometimes makes it easier to critique them. I’m not saying insult yourself, merely be aware of way in which characteristics and patterns could be built upon, creases smoothed, and the mental thinking process eased out.

Hopefully all of this will provide additional confidence in a way of thinking, leading to new ideas, enthusiasm and a feeling like you are an esteemed psychology professor. Don’t go adding PhD after your name though, that’s just lying (unless you actually have a PhD, in which case it’s fine).

So to round this post off in neat-ish summary, Heaney was aware of his potato based past, subsequently reflected on it in a poem and ended up in the GCSE anthology. Who knows what he would have achieved if his past was based in a library?

*Disclaimer – whilst I enjoy poetry, my ability to analyse it is rather poor. I am however aware that Digging by Heaney is no doubt about more than just Potatoes, peat and hard labour.*

Whilst there I ate a great deal of haggis, drank Irn Bru, met Jackie Stewart (by chance, and it was more me staring at him than an actual meeting) and had a great time. I also touched Hume’s toe (a statue, Hume is long gone), for no reason other than it was shiny, so clearly many others had touched it in the past, giving the illusion that it might be lucky to do so. I’m not sure if it was. I’ll let you know if the next month or so goes well.

Jackie Stewart looking Scottish in a tartan flat cap. Flickr cc by Nick J Webb

A recurring theme across my long weekend was visiting libraries. I’m not really sure how it happened. Apparently I am drawn to them, and despite spending all week working in one, I still feel compelled to go into others and have a nose around. I managed to visit three different libraries whilst in the City of Literature, and all were very different despite being open to the public, proving the diverse set of needs that can be met by these venerable institutions.

The Scottish Poetry Library (@byleaveswelive) was first up; I was partly intrigued by its building (award winning don’t you know?) but also by its contents. I know little of Scottish Poetry, (or poetry more generally for that matter) beyond Robbie (Rabbie?) Burns and wanted to see what I could find. What was there was a fantastic collection of poetry, short stories, periodicals, and a children’s area. I headed up for the periodicals as I hoped that these would provide me with a range of authors whom I could skim through to find something to my taste. Having settled down in a comfy chair, I enjoyed the Edinburgh Review and the The Interpreter’s House Journal - a highlight was a poem by Michael Newman about biscuits. Cracking stuff, and proved that poetry is not all high and mighty Lady of Shallot stuff, but fun, accessible and most definitely can make you smile. If ever you are nearby, definitely pop in.

Scottish Poetry Library Building

Scottish Poetry Library Entrance

The National Library of Scotland  (@natlibscot) sits opposite Edinburgh Central Library - numbers two and three on my visit. Whilst I did not venture into the reading room of the NLS, I went around its galleries, providing me with an alternative library visit . At the moment, the NLS has a series of Bibles and Bible frontispieces on display – many of which I had studied during my degree as ideas of Tudor political thought. I therefore found this fantastic, however I am pleased to let you know that there were others in the exhibition who looked equally excited to see the Great Bible of 1539. In a second exhibition space was a more interactive exhibit providing an insight into authors’ lives, as well as a chance to see how well you would fare as an author attempting to publish – sadly my chances were not rated highly, but the space certainly proved that libraries can, and do, exhibitions fantastically well. A great combination of atmospheric lighting and localised sound really topped the exhibition off fantastically.

National Library of Scotland (Flickr cc by Bertio Garcia)

I was determined to visit Edinburgh Central Library (@Talesofonescity), having signed up to their service remotely roughly one year ago, I simply did not want to miss visiting! The building was a traditional fare, but impressive and welcoming with it, and I happily nestled myself in a corner for a while to read about bee keeping (someone in our street now has bees – I wanted to swot up on my bee knowledge for some well informed small talk).

Edinburgh Central Library (Flickr cc by CharNewcomb)

 

Not my neighbour, but what he might look like soon (Flickr cc by jordanfischer)

Last week I attended the SLA Panel session at Internet Librarian International (ILI) and even after a busy day, several thoughts managed to occur to me throughout the evening.

A momentary flash of (potential) insight that I would like to reflect on relates to moving forward in ones career and future-proofing yourself for future job roles. This stemmed from a comment that Dave Pattern made with reference to a blog post by Ed Chamberlain – Ed talks about getting ready for future roles and developing new skills.

I was thereby pondering how people think about preparing to advance to the next stage of their career and how people are encouraged to adopt a mind set for forward thinking. I thought I would have a go at relating this to a change in educational techniques and their impact on new professionals and the next wave of information-professionals-to-be.

What this related to in my head

As anyone who reads the broadsheets supposedly knows, exams are getting easier year on year (at least so they say). Any contention put aside, a far more concrete statement would be that exams are becoming modular, more frequent, and with greater regularity. Less time is spread between them, creating a series of relatively short term goals. Each exam seems to act as a gentle stepping stone to the next level; GCSE to AS, AS to A2 etc. Students are therefore becoming used to constantly looking to the next challenge, and to a higher level. They are forced to plan ahead; the grades and subjects chosen, to a certain extent, shaping their options further down the line.

This needs to be combined with a new professionals’ view of the job market (or anyone’s view of the job market for that matter) – it is tough and unforgiving. Many jobs that become available for those with little pre or post qualification experience early in their careers are short fixed term contracts. This creates a mobile, fluid culture, reinforcing notions learned during their education of short, fixed term goals and achievements. To a recent school or university leaver, it would appear that the days of building loyalty to a firm are no more – instead entrants to a profession are encouraged, and to a certain extent, forced to move around frequently. This may come as a shock to some library positions in which traditionally a post was held and developed by an individual for a long period of time.

How does this become of relevance to me (and you)?

It means that there is a shift in thinking with regard to how people get ready for future job roles. Over the coming years there will be gradually less talk of ensuring that you prepare yourself for the next role or position – this kind of thinking will already be ingrained in the heads of those entering the profession as they think about moving up the career ladder.

Instead, as Bethan Ruddock explained during the panel session, there will be an emphasis on ensuring that people look two, or three, steps above and beyond where they want to be, ensuring that they can develop the skills necessary to get there, and to ensure that you don’t box yourself into a corner.

Employers too will need to ensure that they increase their talent development programmes if they wish to retain staff and develop individuals. Time needs to be invested to explain that one can mature and develop skills in a single place across a period of time, it is not always necessary to move on; rather job roles can be adapted and to a certain extent redefined to keep their employees keen and to help them develop themselves, and therefore the organisation.

 Employees will need to perfect a fine balance of loyalty against progression. Not easy terms to remedy against one another.

This shift in mentality also means that a greater emphasis on obtaining the skills needed to advance will slowly develop over time, as opposed to dedicating resources to general awareness. Cases of staff becoming complacent within roles may gradually diminish due to the continuation of the unstable financial situation worldwide. This may also be linked to the rise in professional networks – it is becoming easier to interact with others in the profession than it ever was before, helping employees remember why it is that they enjoy the profession they entered.

The other change I think will occur as a result of this change in thought patterns is a greater emphasis on evidence based seminars, presentations and papers. Students have been reassured by figures and obtaining the “right answer” throughout their educational careers, using an evidence base will therefore be reassuring to them. The theoretical side will still remain, but it will be here with numbers, facts and figures. An attempt to quantify advances will be desired. Evidence based practice will start to arrive in the world of the practitioner to a greater extent than it currently has, and it will expand to career development, not remaining solely within the workplace.

The London Library is a subscription library, costing roughly £36 a month to become a member – making it potentially more inviting than the gym! It currently has about 70 members of staff, and roughly 7000 members (*Disclaimer* numbers are from memory and not necessarily correct!)

Please note - section on 'Human Sacrifice'

The library does not use a classification system as such – instead it is alphabetical within areas of interest – the above photo was from the Science and Miscellaneous section. Many of the subject headings were fascinating within themselves, serving as a real insight into the Victorian minds who initially compiled them. Additional time to peruse them would have been great, and within the short time I had to look on the shelves I came across some cracking looking titles.

More Floor Grills

Floor Grills - with a four level view!

The backstacks appeared to contain many of the books. Over 97% of the Library’s million book collection is available on open access shelving. The remaining 3% are still available for users to access, however they are kept in a safe location – the library has rare items such as a copy of Darwin’s Origin of the Species that are better preserved away from open shelves. The floor in the backstacks which housed much of the collection was made of metal grills to allow the circulation of air to prevent damp and therefore minimise foxing etc. The grills meant that you could see down through four floors in this particular section of the library.

The shelving structure in the backstacks was also of intrigue. The shelving itself  formed part of the structural integrity of the building. We were informed that were the books to be removed, the building would rise by 4 inches as a result of the change in weight.

Stacks with (structural) integrity!

The shelving runs for many miles, I cannot remember how far, but rest assured it was long. More than a marathon’s worth if my memory serves me correctly. The library prides itself on not weeding its collection, to avoid removing items that are not ‘in fashion’ in a particular period. When combined with the 7-8 thousand new tomes that are purchased each year, that makes for some potential storage issues. At present the London Library has enough space for the next 25 years, if the collection continues to grow at its current rate. Beyond that, further expansion would be necessary and might possibly be undertaken by adding two floors onto the top levels of the backstacks.

The Library also had wonderful reading rooms, and art room, entrance hall, “reading light well”, and newspaper archive. I did not take any sneaky pictures of these, but they can be perused via the London Library’s website.

An interesting article was also published a couple of years ago in Building magazine detailing the extension work that took place in the library circa 2010. The article was entitled “The London Library: Speaking Volumes” by Andy Pearson, published 19 March 2010. You need a subscription to access it via Building’s website, but if you can find a copy, it is an interesting read if you like library design and architecture.

I have been pondering involvement with professional bodies for some time now, and thought I would muse via a blog post to force me to pin some thoughts down. I also wanted to think about those with time constraints and those that do not belong to a professional body, and the challenges that face them.

Professional development (PD) is a common phrase when discussing participation in professional activities outside of the workplace. In line with my recent trend of getting bogged down in semantics, I feel that this provides a very one-sided view, and suggests that only the individual will benefit from their involvement; developing their CV without helping others.

I would therefore like to point out (something that is probably obvious) how professional development activities can help and assist others too.  In this sense, I make reference to something I would like to call “developing the profession” as opposed to the traditional professional development.

Tangible Vs Intangible Involvement

**additional thought dated 24/10/2011* These terms may be better referred to as demonstrable and it’s antonym (which currently eludes me).*

When you become involved in a seminar, a board, attend a course, or simply express an interest in something that is happening outside of your workplace, it is not only you who benefits. This is demonstrated in two ways; tangible and intangible involvement.

If an event has been organised, or a newsletter published, then the benefits to others are clear – you have something tangible that you are providing.

However, there are other ways to aid the profession, and not just through involvement with professional bodies. Simply by keeping up to date with current developments in libraries (there are no shortage of them) can be a great way to help the profession, your organisation and yourself. The enthusiasm gained from current awareness may begin to rub off within a team or onto peers, being aware of current affairs can make you a strong advocate for the profession, and strengthen your confidence in what you do on a day to day basis – intangible benefits.

This enthusiasm can ensure that jobs remain fresh, and new ideas and advancements can be brought into a workplace creating exciting projects, or helping to re-examine the best way to achieve a daily necessity. In a similar way to how networking events can introduce new ideas, or how seminars can ignite thoughts, awareness and passion will reflect back into your job and on those around you – thereby fulfilling one of the main purposes of professional development.

Final Thoughts

Despite the enjoyment that full involvement within a body provides, it can be time consuming and therefore not possible for all, but broadening the PD remit to include a bit of enthusiasm and help for the profession at large can help to provide a similar sense of satisfaction. By simply attending an event, or discussing current LIS affairs, if one can prompt others to read a blog post or newspaper article, or even just enjoy their day a little bit more, then that is still a success.

So think not of professional development as a singular term, rather link it to the wider remit of developing a profession.

This evening, I attended a talk by James Mullen on “Emerging Technologies”, however it was a conversation after the seminar that prompted this post.

This post is not about these people. Just to clarify. Photo by JoshBerglund19 from Flickr CC

In a passing comment, ‘generations’ were mentioned with reference to using technologies, and younger users’ proficiencies. I felt slightly odd, and suddenly realised that I am no longer considered within Generation Y.

This sits very much at odds with how I feel – I am relatively new to a profession, and consider myself to be all of the buzz words and synonyms that relate to a digital native, yet when strict definitions are considered, I am not.

I would therefore like to propose a shift in definitions; similar to Saga’s idea of being as young as you feel. I consider myself to be technologically robust (if that can be considered as a thing?) and up to date with current trends, so why can’t I call myself a digital native? Rather than defining terms based on age, we should assess individual capabilities. After all, many ‘older’ professionals are early adopters of technology, and far more proficient than the so called millennials.

Perhaps definitions and labels could be applied based on how an individual feels (regardless of actual competencies). We would then be better placed to concentrate on ensuring that other skills are developed, such as information literacy. Continuing to presume technological competencies based on age will only serve as a way to hinder the development of information skills.

*edit* 21/10/2011. I have realised that the above star trek picture in fact is not The Next Generation. I have therefore included the following picture to appease those of you who weren’t happy about this.

Make It So by mtcarlson from Flick CC