Rudaí23 thing#23: the holistic librarian

'Bringing it all together' is a fitting final 'thing' from the Rudaí23 team. It's tempting to look at one of the things that we have covered, perhaps something that was of particular interest to you, or something that you knew would have an immediate impact on your library or your career development, and forget about the rest. But as with so much that we encounter in our lives, seeing things in how they interact with the larger environment is so important.

Linking social media accounts is something that I have done previously, but I didn't know about the

tools that Rudaí23 talked about in their post. What I did was turn on the option in the blog that I was working on that meant it would automatically update our Twitter account. This definitely helped to save time and effort, but I was often unhappy with how the tweets looked on our Twitter account, and would often try to edit them, or just delete them and start again. Sometimes the synopsis would cut off mid-sentence or the image used would look out of place. I saw a similar issue when I was using my own Facebook account: you would get updates from people (usually 'famous' people) that were clearly from their Twitter account. Do you really want to interact with somebody on a social media platform in which they are not really engaging? And even if you do, is there any point? The image here is a perfect example of this: posts from different social media apps with no interaction from the person involved.

The temptation might be to assume that whatever account you're linking to (usually the social media account that you have the least interest in) will 'look after itself'. I've seen this on numerous occasions (again, usually on my Facebook feed) where you may have errant duplicate posts and it's nearly always a case where somebody has linked their blog or Twitter account to update another social media application. The key, in my opinion, is to allow this to help manage your accounts, not allow you to neglect them. 

This is where applications like Hootsuite are so handy. What you are trying to do is not only make it look like you are personally managing every single social media application, but that you have the tools to properly interact with anybody connecting with you. This is vital, and Hootsuite gives you this option.

Signing up is relatively painless (finding that free option that isn't a trial run took a little while, however) and the interface looks nice. They give you a little tutorial if you want it, but to be honest, there is very little here that isn't completely intuitive. All you do is click on the social media accounts that you want connected and you're good to go.

A screenshot of one of the first things you see as you sign up to HootSuite. This is the beginning of the tutorial (which you can skip if you like).

Posting to two accounts is remarkably easy and most importantly, it doesn't have some of the negative connotations that I discussed earlier (particularly that you are cross-posting). You can see on Facebook in small writing that there is a clickable link to Hootsuite, but it's not particularly invasive. There is absolutely nothing (that I could see) on  Twitter suggesting that you are even using Hootsuite. Another nice touch is the 'automatic link shrinker', which saves you having to go to url shortening sites, copy-and-paste, and then back again (at least that's what I do: I'm sure there's probably a much easier way).

A post to your Facebook feed from Hootsuite

The same post as shown in your Twitter feed

The limitations on the free account are fairly strict, however. You can only have three social media accounts linked, so you will definitely have to choose which ones are most important to you. There are, of course, lots of different options for paid accounts, and depending on how much you're will to pay, you should be able to manage all your social media accounts through hootsuite. For something like a library, the cheapest paid account should be fine: this is the 'small businesses, social media professionals and consultants' option, and gives you the option of managing up to 50 social media accounts.

Hootsuite in a professional environment

This is where something like hootsuite is so important. A lot of the discussions (particularly in small libraries) can revolve around what amount of time is feasible to spend monitoring your social media outlets. Can you really devote all that time to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever if even one of these requires so much time? What about if you had something like Hootsuite, where you can have numerous tabs and keep an eye not only on what you post, but how people are interacting with you? Something like this will definitely help to manage a few accounts on the go.

What I really liked about this 'thing' was how it changed my perception of something I assumed I knew all about. I had a negative perception of linking social media accounts from previous experience, and neglected to keep up to date with how the landscape had changed in the meantime (or maybe I didn't know about these applications at the time). 

Rudaí23 thing#13: Professional institutions

When Irish librarians think of professional associations, we often thing of the main one, the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) as well as some of the bigger UK ones, in particular the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). The Rudaí post for thing 13 was eye-opening with regards to the amount of professional organisations around. My twitter feed definitely needs an update.

Going that one step further

I was a Committee member of the LAICDG for approximately two years and would definitely encourage people to seek out groups that are looking for Committee members. Membership of professional organisations like the LAI are wonderful, and contain many benefits, but becoming a
Committee member takes these advantages and brings them to another level. You learn skills like organising events, working with others as part of a professional group, as well as gaining knowledge of how sub-committees interact and work together with other sub-committees. It also serves as an excellent way of getting to know people in the library world.

The basics

If you’re not quite ready for that step, the first thing to do is join the LAI, which is easier than ever to do and gives you lots of benefits which might be particularly relevant if you’re just starting off as a library professional, or even still in university. Attend as many events as possible (see my previous post about the benefits of attending events) and get to know some of your peers. If there’s a particular area you think you might be interested (and chances are, there’s a LAI group for that!) then get involved. You may not even be working in that particular field, but it could possibly help for you in the future.

The other thing to do is keep in touch with professional bodies further afield. This is most easily done through Twitter. It can keep you in touch with new developments abroad, but also give you ideas as to how professional organisations here in Ireland might develop.

A problem with terms

 

One final point is not to get too hung up on terms like 'professional' when looking at library organisations. A perfect example of this is the wonderful group New Professionals Day Ireland (NPD Ireland) which aims to appeal to both professional and non-professional people alike, whether you're somebody who thinks they may like to work in an information professional role, whether you're studying in the field, or whether you're working in a traditional or non-traditional library or information professional role. It's a great way to 'dip your toe' into the field and see if it's for you, or if you've already made that leap, to attend some wonderfully innovative conferences and talk to your peers as well as people that you wouldn't normally interact with at similar conferences.

Rudaí23 thing#12: A librarian set loose in the real world

What do you think of when you think of library conferences? I started attending conferences soon after I graduated from UCD, and was struck by how varied they are. They range from the intricately organised to the wonderfully loose interpretation of the term 'conference' (we've even had the term 'un-conference' bandied around), from the traditional speaker-and-audience affair to the more collaborative, and even one or two that offer a very fancy meal option. They may seem (to the non librarian/information professional) to be the epitome of all the stereotypes of what librarians are, but I've found them to be (depending on the conference) informative, interesting, radical, sometimes even funny.

Attending a conference

An image from Library Camp 2014

Of course, as with so many things nowadays, there are numerous ways in which to 'attend' a conference. Even if the conference hasn't offered a live stream, chances are you will find you can interact and participate through Twitter or catch up with the slides after everything has finished.

I think there is a lot to say for physically attending a conference, however. Seeing things in a real-world environment is (for me, anyway) a positive, more engaging experience. I tend to interact more with what's said and with the people with whom I'm attending the conference. Even the very act of committing to attending a conference means I make preparations that I have to stick with. I find that I engage more with people in the field and take away points of interest that I may not do if I am checking out live tweets on my phone.

Of course, it can be difficult to get time to attend conferences, especially if you're in a full-time job. And if you're not in a full-time job, it can still be difficult, especially if there is a fee to attend (although many will offer bursaries or reduced fees for unemployed or those still in education). Another issue can be location. That conference in Sheffield may look very attractive, but you will have to add transport costs and time, which may make it somewhat less attractive.

Some practical issues

I tend to come to conferences with my phone, some paper and a pen. I take notes of things that I might want to follow up on during questions (or after the conference). Caroline Rowan’s Rudai post has a great idea that you should take notes of people you meet and what area they are working in. I have that terrible affliction that causes me to immediately forget people’s names even as they are being introduced to me.

An example of tweets during a recent LAICDG conference

On breaks from the conference (and sometimes during the talks), if I have a spare moment I will try and see what’s happening online, share my thoughts and interact with others (either at the conference or those who couldn’t attend).

I'm quite lucky in that I can reasonably expect to attend a conference, providing there is adequate cover in work and that the conference is broadly suited to my career development. I find that I got the most from conferences that I attended where I was required to write up a brief description of the day for a Committee that I was involved with at the time. I have attended conferences since, and while I take brief notes, and usually participate online, I have definitely noticed that my engagement isn't as complete as it was before. Another important aspect of conferences is the opportunity to talk to people that you don't know and don't interact with on a regular basis. This can be difficult to do at the best of times, but it's important to get outside of your comfort zone.

Rudaí23 thing#5: Getting to grips with social media

The librarian online or: how i learned to stop worrying and love Twitter

Thing#5 is all about how we interact online. Although there are lots and lots of social media options out there (either on a personal level or professionally) there is a huge dominance at the moment by the two big players, Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

 

I signed up to Facebook sometime around 2009. After an initial flurry of interaction, I quickly became one of those dormant users (or ‘lurkers’, if you want to use a less appealing term). The Rudaí23 post introduced a lot of options for expanding my interaction on Facebook, particularly the use of Groups. Apparently there are a huge number of very specific library-related groups on Facebook. I was aware of Facebook Groups before today, but would always have been hesitant about joining them because I would have been concerned that my posts would inundate my friends' feeds. This article suggest that this isn't the case, and also has a lot more information about how to really utilise the Groups option. The whole thing is kind of making Facebook appealing again. What a scary thought.

Twitter 

Twitter, however, is different. I joined Twitter late, after some prodding from a friend on the MLIS course. I had always been sceptical about the appeal (and the near cult-like status it was gaining) and the arbitrary character limit seemed gimmicky, but I eventually capitulated. And then did nothing with it for a long time. I didn’t have a smartphone at the time, and I think this seriously hampered my interaction with the site. When I did log on, I was confronted with a torrent of information that felt overwhelming. 

I am now a relatively frequent user of Twitter, primarily for keeping up to date with developments in the library world, but also with regards to current affairs, music, literature, and friends. So what changed? Well, firstly, I got a smartphone. This meant that I could check Twitter more regularly and the information wasn’t so overwhelming. I think the best piece of advice I received about Twitter was to view it as a stream of information that you can dip your toe in when you feel like it. If you haven't been able to log on for a while, then don't feel like you're missing out or that you have to 'catch up'.

Another way of stemming that overwhelmed feeling is to create lists. I have a few lists, but definitely need to update them in order to get them working for me again. Siobhan’s post on Rudaí23 also suggested numerous lists that I could follow, which is very helpful, as well as a whole lot of librarians I didn’t know were online, so I will be updating those I follow as soon as possible.

As always with the Rudaí23 project, I started off doing some research on a topic that I assumed I knew everything there was to know, but found some interesting tips to increase my knowledge. I have some updating of my Twitter lists and people that I follow to do today and I will have a look at those Groups on Facebook. Who knows, maybe it will make me turn back to an active user again.