Catch Up Time... Online Tools (Things 12, 13 and 14)

Back to the library stuff! Needed a bit of a catch up on my 23 things so am being cheeky and rolling social media, Google docs etc and referencing all in one!

Thing 12 – Social Media

The first question how social am I on social media... yes I have IDs on the main social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and am getting more familiar with LISNPN but I do feel like I’m still a bit of a lurker in a professional capacity. I’ve caught up on a couple of #UKLibchats after they’ve happened and had a brief foray into #chartership chats but never gone further than this. It may be the English in me but there seems to me something strange and slightly rude in just randomly picking a twitter “friend” and striking up a conversation. Yes, I have colleagues who I have bumped into once or twice at conferences and work shops but these “relationships” are small talk at best. There’s a fine balance in a working relationship and I suppose I haven’t found that yet, mixing the social with the professional for whatever reason it may be but this thing has given me a push to try and start becoming more involved in the online community whether it be through forums, Twitter chats or the odd email back and forth. I suppose what I’m saying is I may have to get over myself slightly!

Thing 13 – Google Docs, Dropbox and Wikis

I have had brief experience with each of the above through different projects I have been involved in whether that be inter-organisation or on a CILIP or networking level. Google Docs is very often used for #uklibchat agendas and I can see the advantage in this when you have a large group using and working on the same document. This, if I had thought about it, would have come in very handy a few months ago on a project that I was working on with colleagues at different sites in Wiltshire but the issue I have with a lot of these new resources is the downloading of different packages, applications etc and this isn’t always possible at work with the nature of our corporate firewalls and security. When you are working on a network that is accessible from anywhere it negates the need for things such as Dropbox and Google Docs but I can understand that in the future when I may be working with different authorities on regional issues that these applications will come in very handy.

My first experience with contributing to Wikis has been very recent when I was involved in LibcampSW. Again, this is an excellent tool which leads to multi-agency working and is a great aid in collaborative working. This would have also been very helpful when at university for societies and project working. Unfortunately just a few years too late but I look forward to finding a way to use this tool in the future.

Thing 14 – Zotero, Mendeley and CiteULike

These are all referencing tools and in all honesty since my dissertation I have thankfully not had a need to use them although I will revisit them when compiling my Chartership portfolio. When writing my MA dissertation I used Endnote as it was championed by teachers and students and I was given the program for FREE! (Probably not the best reason I know!) I found it very easy to get to grips with after initial struggles but I suppose in my techno-phobic ways I have never felt the need to use it again or explore it’s further attributes.

Whilst in my current role I can honestly say I’ve never been asked for referencing tools but taking part in programs such as CPD23 helps to keep my awareness up and I imagine if I changed sector the information learnt here would hold me in good stead for interviews and day-to-day enquiries.