Face-to-face networks and professional organisations
Here we have to examine or consider any experiences with professional organisations and blog about them. As a mere Library Assistant I am not a member of any organisations that relate to my work. As a team we have been fortunate enough to have had talks from members of 'CILIP' and 'JISC' which have been very informative. We as an educational library deal with organisations such as the British Library. The company I work for are unable to pay the annual subscription for CILIP and I suppose this is one, albeit a lazy reason for not joining. Due to budget cuts I am sure that many information conferences, events etc. are not as readily available as they may have been in many industries. It is important however, to use these organisations and others to benefit us as we make contacts at different levels and fields.
Most of my training needs are met by the organisation I work for, a FE College. Whenever I need help I can always ask my manager or a colleague for their help or input. I do not have a problem in asking for help at any time. I feel confident that we work well together as a team and have a wider internal network of colleagues throughout the college itself.
Online and offline networking should compliment each other and give us diverse skills.
Hi, just found your blog. I have to admit I am a bit biassed, as I am a CILIP West Mids committee member - but I thought this might be worth a mention (though you probably already know). . . As a library assistant you can still join CILIP. There are different types of membership and you can see how it breaks down at: http://www.cilip.org.uk/membership/how/pages/categorychecklist.aspx
ReplyDeleteIt's true that organisations that will pay for staff to join CILIP seem to be getting rare now, and membership is not cheap, so a lot of people are put off joining. But there are some really good member benefits (see: http://www.cilip.org.uk/membership/benefits/pages/benefits.aspx )including some free services (like careers advice sessions) and a few places where you get non-work-related special offers (like the insurance and weekend break deals).
I'm sorry if I'm telling you a load of things you already know - and it's great to hear that you are getting a lot of training and support in-house.
Good luck with CPD23 :)