BLA 2011

Trying to reflect on a three day conference the first thing that comes to mind is how uncondusive to reflection the conference format is. If you were to design an event to prevent reflection you might well gather a lot of people together in a small space, say a conference suite, then pack in one event after another all day long and fill any small gaps with exhibits, meals, posters, coffee, and social events. It would probably help to move people regularly from one room to another and above all bombard them constantly with words, images, ideas and challenging questions.

The best I could do was try to keep hold of what seemed to be the most relevant and potentially useful points from the flood of information and note down enough about those points to allow reflection some time later. In practical terms this means several pages of notes and four * symbols in my notebook.

Sessions that didn't include a * symbol in my notes were not necessarily uninteresting, they just didn't directly connect with any live issues for me at the moment. I know from previous experience that, however inspiring the presentations and training sessions I attend are, thinking through how they could be applied and actually doing something with that inspiration once back in the day-to-day job is a challenge. If I try to act on too many issues I may end up doing none that embody the conference theme - impact!

So what were the four points I want to think about some more, and maybe act on?

1. From Antony Brewerton's Keynote talk on the first day: the library brand is overwhemingly books, books, books and moreover, books. I am a big fan of books myself but this is a dangerously limiting brand image at a time when we need to do more than usual in terms of making a case for spend on online information resources and in encouraging their use.

2. From the Question Time panel: medical students and trainee lawyers get the connection between expertise in using relevant, good quality information sources and employability, but do business students? How can we emphasise the practical usefulness of information skills beyond the academic and into the workplace? Do we need to do more to promote the more 'practitioner' sources we offer?

3. Also from the Question Time panel session: the 'joining a gym' metaphor for students as customers in higher education. I like the idea of a university or a library as a 'brain gym' and the implication of the effort required to make the subscription worthwhile. A good metaphor is a powerful thing - especially in marketing - and this is an excellent one!

4. From Barbara Humphries contribution to the members sharing sessions: the idea of sending postcards to new research students letting them know what the library can offer and asking them to respond with information about their research topic, then responding to this with a personalised guide to resources. I like the way this structures an introductory conversation and, hopefully, encourages a closer relationship between researchers and librarians.

A pause for thought

It seems that I haven't been very reflective lately. I think I've become too narrowly focussed on the day to day job. I'm off to the Business Librarians' Association conference tomorrow so thought I might use that as a prompt to step back a bit and look at the broader professional landscape.

Interesting day on Friday at the ARCLIB architecture librarians conference. Was there with a colleague giving a presentation. It seemed to go ok even though we hadn't as much time for preparation as I'd have liked, with so many projects going on and things to get done over the summer. I suspect I tend to *over* prepare, given the chance.

It was good to get a glimpse into the world of a different subject area, even though it meant missing the BLA (Business Librarians Association) conference which, in a bit of bad timing, was on exactly the same days. At least I managed to get some idea of what I as missing there thanks to Twitter.

Have brought back some notes of Web 2.0 tools to look at, or to look at in a new light, after the other presentations.

JISC Libraries of the Future debate

Now THIS is the sort of thing that Second Life is good for. I was interested in the JISC Libraries of the Future debate, but it coincided with a day of in-house SFX training. The option to attend via Second Life meant I could - just - do both.

It's always interesting to attend a combined Second Life/'Real' Life event. (I do dislike the way that terminology implies I am somehow less real when mediated by an avatar than I am when physically present.) The focus is - in my experience - always firmly on the physical meeting. This event was better than most in that respect, with someone aware of what was happening in both spaces and chanelling communications between them. When it came to questions though, the sl audience only managed to get - if I remember correctly, and it's quite possible I missed some - two communicated to the panel.

As to the substance of the debate I was surprised to hear that the future of libraries is to be buzzing with activity and groupwork. I must have time travelled and be living in the future right now! I enjoyed the lively debate started by the speaker who had some good, if provocative, points to make about the relevance of libraries to the scientific research process, and the madness of a system whereby universities buy back the products of their labours from publishers at outrageous prices in the form of journal subscriptions. Long live the glorious Open Access revolution! Or maybe not?

Pajamas

I've never been to a conference* in my pajamas before. Virtual pajamas and real pajamas in fact. That's the sort of thing that can happen at an international conference held in Second Life.

I think this unusual style of dress for professional networking can be excused seeing as the latter part of the programme ran from 12 midnight to 5am.

I must admit though, I have been looking for an excuse to wear the rather lovely pjs I found and, in SL, there's really not much chance, as avatars don't sleep (although they have been known to nod off briefly if sufficiently bored.)

I did wear more appropriate clothing for the (relatively) serious part of my day when I - along with a brave colleague - did a presentation in both text chat and voice simultaneously. And we were not too put out to find in a later session that there was a technological gizmo that would have made the process much easier!

There's always more to learn.

If I've done it right there should be some pics of the event here.

*Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education and Museums

Conference

I'm doing something weird next weekend. I'm going to be presenting a paper on Second Life at a *conference in Second Life. If the technical gremlins will allow, that is.

I say I am going to be presenting it, but am I? Or is it my avatar, Wynne, who will be doing that? Will she claim ownership of the copyright?

*More info here Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education and Museums and here is a Video

Scientific evidence for why you fell asleep in your 9am lecture!

If you're a teenager who needs an excuse for drifting into dreamland during an early morning lecture, blame your circadian rhythms. Print out and keep this article from the Yorkshire Post as evidence.

One of the most fascinating sessions at the 'Creativity or Conformity?' conference I went to recently was by Russell Foster (Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University) in which he explained how young people's body clocks run to a different rhythm than older people's. The result, when combined with 9am lectures and part-time work, is a lot of chronically sleep deprived young people.

Of course your lecturers have an equally good excuse for yawning through your late afternoon presentations!

Creativity - what's that got to do with libraries?

As one of the very few people at the Creativity or Conformity conference who was what they call support staff rather than academic, perhaps I should try to account for the relevance?

One great benefit was that I got to take part in discussion of the issues and concerns of those who I'm supporting. I take 'support' to mean that my job is to make it easier for other people to do their jobs, and I think it's likely that I can do that better if I understand what it is they are trying to do.

Another was that it made me realise that while libraries are excellent at supporting the traditional style of learning (individual, based on the written word and existing knowledge in the subject area) they are not so great at facilitating more creative styles (collaborative, visual, lateral thinking, idea generating and problem solving.) Our physical spaces and our resources and (dare I say) our rules, are very much geared towards the former.

I've seen some examples of what others are doing to make universities and their libraries more active in support of creative learning. The projects involving iLabs and c-spaces * in particular were something that I think we should be aware of. Of course these things take time and resources... but let's not start singing that old song again (see previous post!)

*
Essex
Coventry
Bedfordshire
UEA

Conference: Creativity or Conformity? Cardiff 2007.

I think what I like best about the concept of creativity is its tendency to be positive. It's so very easy, especially at work, to slip into negativity. We would do wonderful things but we haven't got the money, we haven't got the time and, of course, they won't let us. It's a familiar refrain rather like one of those irritatingly catchy Eurovision songs that gets stuck in the back of your mind and you can't get rid of it. It's annoying how hard it is to get rid of, and I've caught myself humming it quietly now and then even since the conference.

As someone said in one of the final discussion sessions (apologies for paraphrasing and for not even being able to remember who I'm paraphrasing!) what it comes down to in the end is, never mind the excuses, did you make any difference or not?

Conference : The International Learner: Enhancing the student experience.

I was lucky enough to spend the last two days out of the office at a conference put on by the Business School. We were looking at the international student experience. This left me mulling over the usefulness of generalisations. It can be useful, in terms of providing services, to know that students from other parts of the world may be more likely to have problems with this or that or the other thing, but generalisations are positively unhelpful if we start trying to apply them to individuals. No one likes to be treated as a 'type' rather than as a person.

Something else it left me mulling over is that no one else in the world seems to like English food.