This is my 23rd post for the 23 Things, which means I’ve made it to the end.
I actually put off writing this post for a couple of weeks. I could lie and say it was so I had time and space to reflect on the whole process and didn’t just write down kneejerk reactions. The truth is that I have some major problems with procrastination, and will delay finishing things I actually want to get finished for reasons I’m yet to fully understand. Accepting that is one of the things writing these blogs has helped me realise.
I never really thought I’d get this far, and if I did by some miracle finish it, I assumed I’d have learnt nothing because I was oh so dismissive about the benefits of reflection. The stupidity of youth, eh?
This week at work I caught myself telling a student who was complaining about how pointless being made to keep reflective diaries about how I had thought that once upon a time, and hated keeping them, but years later I could honestly say they were the only seminars at uni I remember and pull out information from. This conversation made me realise that a) I’m now officially an old person who patronises kids with “when I was young …”, and b) I really mean what I say about reflection working, I’m not paying lip service to it, it honestly has helped me in my career, and I want everyone else to try it.
That’s the major thing I got out of taking part in this. I already knew about all the different technology things, but actually reflecting on how to use them, and reading how other people use them, and just finally finally finally having reflection click into place for me has been massive. I think this blog is a bit of a habit now. I enjoy doing it. I look forward to writing up my experiences and find it a good way to sort them out in my head. I’m even planning to set up a personal one about computers, running and cameras where I can as sarcastic as I like.
Immeadiate next plans are to carry on this blog, set up the personal blog, and finish my chartership as well (extra thank you to 23 things which had the awesome side-effect of refocusing my massively derailed chartership efforts and giving me a big kick in the right direction).
The gaps in my experience are still a combination of teaching/communication skills, and the need to force myself to be organised (it’s the procrastination thing). I’m working on them. Qualification-wise I’d like to get something that proves how good I am with computers. I’m not sure what as I’ve looked and can’t find anything suitable, but perhaps I need to think “outside the box” and demonstrate them in a different way. Make more websites for people/local group/me? Use the soon-to-exist personal blog to share my hilarious adventures with the raspberry pi? Take advantage of my friendships with the IT department to try to get officially involved with some projects?
I still have the ppdp I wrote for my chartership, which now I’m in the writing up stage I’m reviewing to show actual outcomes, and I never really realised just how massively my job seems to have changed in the last year. The technology and marketing and designing. How much of it is really a “library” job at all? That’s a blog post in itself. In fact it’ll be my next one.
On that note, I should finish this. I have loved being able to take part (and fall behind and catch up) at my own pace. I have benefitted most from the large amount of reflection involved in this. Doing this has probably ensured I kept my blog going when I would otherwise have let it wither away. And I liked the balance of thinking about a range of issues affecting libraries from new technology, issues like advocacy, and volunteering. I think sometimes I lose sight of the fact that the profession is so wide and varied, and that that’s what makes libraries great, they can be anything you want them to be. The only limits are the limits of your imagination.
My 6 word story is this : Reluctant reflecter. Inspired by blogging. Learnt.
Rhyming Cheese 