To blog or not to blog…

As we approach the end of the unit, I know many of you will be wondering what to do with your blog.

My recommendation would be to keep it. We have established a great network of like minded people who will soon be working in the library industry. Who knows where everyone will end up? This sort of network can take a long time to establish and a lot of hard work. My advice would be to not throw this opportunity away.

This brings me to an article I came upon a couple of days ago. It’s titled ‘How to become a 21st century librarian‘ and I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

This is a small extract:

Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian at the Indianapolis Public Library, says, “It is much easier to do now, especially for people who are initially shy, with the Internet. You can build relationships with people via Twitter and then when you meet in person, it’s like you have known them for some time. Less awkward, and more connections. Also, you can work on projects together. Always remember, however, that the library community can be very small. Online flame wars, bad conference behavior, and generally being a jerk can (and will) haunt you forever. “

As Gray explains, “Maximize your visibility while minimizing your chances of rejection due to others’ possible bias. For example, post on lists/forums, have a webpage or other web presence, but avoid statements that can be misjudged. Remove the drinking photos, Google your own name, etc.”

In addition to following others’ blogs, Bradford recommends creating your own blog about your area(s) of interest. “The more you write and research,” she says, “the more intelligently you can speak about these things in an interview.”

I’ll keep updating this blog. Let me know if you think you will continue updating yours.

Twitter and the professional you!

Hi all,

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their response to this unit. I think it is safe to say that a lot of us have moved out of our comfort zones and in to new territory. You are all doing so well – the level of engagement is fantastic, and I think we are all benefiting from it.

Now, we had a mixed response to Twitter. And that is fine. Remember, different people like to get information in different ways. (I’m looking forward to your feedback on Pinterest next week!) I did, however, want to pass on an article which may be of interest to those of you who intend to keep your Twitter account active, and who might want to use it to network with others in the industry (even if this isn’t you, I urge you to take a quick look at the article).

You can view the article here. I agree with most of these points. If nothing else, adding ‘library student’ to your profile is probably a good idea.

While I was browsing, I also came across this article on privacy tips for librarians. There are some interesting things in this article as well.

As always, interested in your opinion. I have some passwords to change.