Rudai 23 - Thing 22 - Mobile Things

I have not heard of Gum before, I don't know how relevant it will be in my life but I will give it a go.

Okay, Gum is not for me, I find I don't care about other people have to say about products online. If I want to try something I like to decide for myself.

I suppose the only way this would help is if the item was expensive, and to get an insight into what others think it could be a good place to go. But I don't think the app is there just yet, and there is so much online today that you have got to make sure it is a credible source, Gum not so much.

I have deleted it and I am moving on with my life. Beacon sounds good, but just the other day I got an email a text and a letter from my local library, enough already!!

I would be intrested in the 23 Mobile Things, but it is outdated and it would be great to bring it back.
I recently did the 12 apps for Xmas from DIT and that was good, aimed at students but still good. I like to keep up with the new gagets these days and the only way to do this is to see what the students are using. They know it all!!

Rudai 23 - Thing 23 - The end!

I a really enjoyed this course, well done to all. Looking forward to receiving my cert!

The last thing, I use Feedly as my social media management tool.

It has been a problem on my iPhone these past few months but I find I like it better on the iPad.

I like it as it links to your Facebook or Twitter account, and gives you a quick and easy overview of each article along with the picture featured in the article, which I find is the first thing that attracts me.

Lately, I love Andrew Keen's book "The Internet is not the Answer" and his research is brilliant, and I have found a lot of new and exciting websites. I find the big stories on Amazon, the ones Amazon do not want us to read, the nitty gritty pieces about Uber this ever growing company.

Managing your social media accounts can be tricky, Feedly I have grown to use for the stories I have mentioned above. Twitter can be a mixture of library and motivation articles, and Facebook is very social, and I have realised I use it to look for stories in my hometown, the events and festivals that may be happening throughout the year.

It works for me, but you need to take the time to get it right.

Rudai 23 - Thing 21 - Infographics

This is very frustrating!!!
I tried both examples and did not like either!

The templates they give are very restrictive.
To change the text, the text box does not glide into position as swiftly as PowerPoint.
To change the text, it constantly changes the position of the text box, and very slowly. Very frustrating.

This is not something you can do in a day, they say that they don't take time or skills, in my opinion, a lot of patience is required, you would be quicker using powerpoint, and safer. It seems to not like size very much, and constantly changes the position.

The options for images and objects is very, very limited unless you go pro. Again PowerPoint would give a lot more choice and freedom to enter in and manipulate the size and position.

I did not complete the infographic because it was not worth it, way to much time and frustration!

Rudai 23 - Thing 20 - Presentations

Presentations are scary. THE END! 

BUT, 

Learn from the best, and you will succeed!

I can really relate to Niamh O'Donavan's piece about a presentation being a conversation.
The story and conversation I would envisage having would be with an audience librarians. I would like to assume that this audience would range from new professionals to established long term professionals within the broad field of librarianship.

Presentation can be found here

It is very difficult to begin this process, and I have used this thing as an exercise for future presentations. I am happy to say I have learned a lot.

Rudai 23 Thing 19 The Legal Side of Things

Having read Thing 19, I am realising I need to know more about the legal side of things. 

The issues surrounding the content for this course lies with the images I have added, it is not a concern as they can be easily found. The most important issue here is to be consistent and attribute your work all the time. Blog posts can be a quick and easy way to get your ideas and opinions out there. My weakness would be that I only have a certain amount of time, if I linger over a blog post then it never gets done.

Many librarians have spoken about having their images already attributed and having them easily accessible for certain blog posts. This is one of the ways I may be able to address this issue.
I hope to build my blog as I move through my career, and it seems like best practice to begin now. 

The blog posts I have written for Rudai 23 and images I have used, can all fall under the CC license that I have no problem with, and I think the CC license is a really wonderful idea. 

Going forward I shall try to focus a little more on the legal side of things as they are extremely important, I don't need to become an expert however I need to make employers realise that it is part of my skillset.
In addition to this skillset, we as librarians could highlight how we have a knowledge of European legislation and an international awareness of how copyright can infringe on what we do here in Ireland. 

It is just another tool in the toolbox!

Below are the two images chosen for this task.

Image Source: Lisa Schmidt Schroeder

Image Source: Pixabay

Rudai 23 Thing 18 Communicating through Photographs

Communicating through photographs is not something I have embraced. 

I have an Instagram account and I follow a lot of celebs, it is the only social media platform where I actively and unashamedly stalk famous people. 

When I do take pictures, it is about books and funny pictures, all non-professional and fun. Today's task makes me think about Instagram in a professional context. 

How would I use Instagram in a library setting?

The challenge with Instagram and libraries is to keep all the posts interesting, and to always have a comment, this can be tricky if you have a small library. 

The chosen account for this task is LSE Review of Books, and it is really good. Already I have ordered a book from my local bookstore. However a lot of the content is very old, and they haven't posted anything is 16 weeks, which is very disappointing.

You have to think of all the ways in which to promote your library. And we all know a library is not all about books. 

In order to do this, you could really look at your users and see how you could increase user activity in a certain area. For instance you may not have many students using your library, so one way could be to connect with academic libraries and showcase a study area, or a maker-space area. 

Public Libraries always have events on and by connecting with like-minded people you can use Instagram to reach out to a wider audience. 

I am always amazed at how little the general population know about libraries, they all see the public library and they all see books. Instagram is a quick and easy way to showcase to your community and to the wider population. Give clear insights into how your library operates, show what librarians actually do, and reach out and connect with the academic and health library in your area to show people the bigger picture. 

 

Rudai 23 - Thing 11 Reflection

Writing about how I managed my time on this course! I am so good at managing my time!

(I will complete the course I promise!) 

So as we all know life gets in the way! I was doing really well and then I lost 3 weeks and for some bizarre reason I skipped some modules and thought nope I won't notice, it will be fine. 

With less than 3 weeks left to go to completion date, I am now filling in the holes, hello Thing 11!!

I do have the best intentions when planning my day and week, and it takes alot of practice to get time management skills to work, I don't think we can ever be perfect at least I don't strive to be.

I do aim to do what I have planned and if it is turning out to be a productive week I will keep the momentum going but I sometimes get to Wednesday and think OH I will do ALLLLL of that tomorrow!!!!

It is harder when the winter months creep in. All you want is to get home, get warm and snuggle with tea and chocolate and watch television. 

But sometimes we need a push! 

Being realistic is key if you have set aside your lunch break to get something done, you will be so grumpy by 5:30. The office walls will close in on you. 

I try to say to myself "Go have a nice lunch, take that break"  You could maybe go for a walk, instead of spending an hour on something that will make you miserable, spend a productive 20 minutes each day and in no time you have accomplished something wonderful.

Also I make 100 to do lists for when I come home, this is silly. All I ever do is not what I have set myself to do, so what is the point?

I have learned to say "Pick 2 things each week that you want to do for up to 1 hour" This is usually a blog post like the posts for Rudai 23, or a webinar. This makes me feel good, accomplish something in your week something other than work or your washing or going to the gym. 

By practicing and making small steps, it will be easier to allocate time and accomplish set goals.