#papervspixels April Challenge: thoughts

I have a Nook that I bought in order to use Netgalley.  I read far too much to buy every book so rely on libraries a lot and, if I were to ever pay money to read a book, I would always rather buy a 'real' copy so that it could live on my shelves at home rather than only exist for as long as the technology does...perhaps that is silly but when the power goes out who'll be laughing eh?  I've only read a few dozen books on the Nook in the year or so since buying it so when I saw the #papervspixels challenge on twitter I decided it would do me good to try and use it more!  So for the month of April I only read electronically...

Expecting to really struggle and be tempted to my massive TBR pile at home, I had a look on Netgalley  and requsted some titles.  I was pleased to see a couple of titles I had on my shelves so that I could kill 2 birds with one stone: 'Smart' by Kim Slater, 'Vango: Between Sky and Earth' by Timothee de Fombelle and Roddy Doyle's 'Brilliant'.  Some, 'Cuckoo Song' by Francess Hardinge, 'The Finisher' by David Baldacci and 'Echo Boy' by Matt Haig, I wanted to read anyway and others, 'Don't Even Think About It' by Sarah Mlynowski and 'Half my Facebook Friends are Ferrets' by J.A. Buckle I just liked the look of.  I also read a book that I'd bought in a K*ndle sale months ago on the app on our iPad, the wonderful 'Mr Penumbra's 24hour Bookstore' by Robin Sloan.

pros:

• I didn't miss the feel of books as much as I thought I would because the convenience of having it lying on the table made it really easy to read at the same time as eating
• much lighter bag to carry around
• easier to hold on a busy train or while waiting for one
• no panic about having a second book in case I finish the one I'm reading when nowhere near home or a library!
• I actually found it easier to decide what to read - in fact I just read them in the order in which I downloaded them
•  It was great to get round to reading things I'd intended to read for ages but because they're not physically in front of me other books kept taking precedence!

cons:

• constant fretting that the battery might die or the book corrupt (it has only happened a couple of times, but never happens with paper!)
• because they were proofs in some instances the formatting was wonky which could be distracting
• pictures never look as good electronically as they do on a real page
• I missed looking at the cover and reading the blurb before beginning reading (but often with proofs you miss that anyway)
• I might have skim read a little more than usual, and frustratingly often accidentally tapped the screen to turn the page before I'd actually finished reading the page...
• I can't pass it on to another reader (or wave the library copy under someone's nose)
• If I hadn't had access to Netgalley, i.e. I were any normal non-library/publishing/blogging person, it would have been a far greater struggle to find something worth reading because the library selection of eBooks is currently rubbish and I have a long term book buying ban that I will only break in extreme circumstances (e.g. when a new Pratchett is available for pre-order...)

I don't think the process of reading these books electronically affected my enjoyment of them although I definitely didn't prefer it to reading hardcopy books.  I actually preferred reading on the iPad to the Nook when sitting eating breakfast but when travelling the Nook was far easier.  I guess the point is that no one format is perfect for every occasion.  From a purely practical point of view eReading is easier but from a purely aesthetic point of view 'real' books are far superior.

What I liked best about the challenge was that I had a set list of things I would read that month so I'm thinking I'll do that again.  The books in my bedroom are always library books + those given to me that I want to read asap, but I often get distracted by the bigger pile downstairs or by new arrivals.  So for the next few weeks that pile is only going to shrink as I am not going to let myself look further than the bedroom set when choosing the next read until it is empty, then I can enjoy refilling it!  What should I pick first though?

Book Monopoly

I tweeted a photo of my Book Monopoly Board last week and a number of people wanted to know how it works - too much for a tweet!  So here we go:

Towards the end of last term, someone on SLN (School Librarians Network - a yahoo mailing list) mentioned a book monopoly game that they play with their pupils and I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea to try here to get pupils to try different genres.

If you google 'monopoly template' there are lots available, and it is just a case of changing the names of the streets!  I used a 'poster' template on Publisher and so printed it really big for a display in the library and brought a die in to school.  Each label has a picture of one of the traditional Monopoly pieces, but obviously I have more than 6 players!

The rules are very simple: 

Pick a book from the genre of the street you have landed on.

Before your next roll you must pass an AR* quiz on the book,

write a review or draw an illustration

Chance

Mrs Fielding chooses a book for you

Community Chest

Choose a book that another pupil recommends

Free Parking

You choose any book!

Sweet shop

instant sweet and another roll

10 points**

instant 10 points and another roll

25 points for passing ‘Go’!**

On my board I don't have 'jail', I have extra 'free parking'.  

*AR = Accelerated Reader.
** we have a House Point system so all the points go towards rewards.

Some of you will know that my school is being closed down, we only have 125 pupils left, mainly in year 11 (the rest is a small year 9) so I have opened it up to all pupils and was really surprised at how many year 11s wanted to get on there.  I now have about 60 pupils signed up so it is rather crowded along the bottom!

Anyway, that's it, simples!

#cpd23 Things 10,11+12

I am so far behind!  I blame everything but myself ;-)

So anyway, Thing 10 - Qualifications and the variety of routes into Librarianship.
As the cpd23 blog says, most people get a first degree in an unrelated subject and then carry on to do a Masters in Library and Information Studies after at least a year's work experience.  This is what I did, in fact when I did my first degree (in geology) I'd forgotten I wanted to be a Librarian!  When I decided I did, I thought I'd want to work in a science/museum library (ideally in the Natural History Museum) but to start myself off I volunteered in a public library during one summer.  Having enjoyed working on the Summer Reading Challenge so much I decided to change my path to public libraries and so applied for a real job in the library that I volunteered in, and a graduate trainee scheme at a neighbouring borough.  I was offered the real job the week before the interview for the trainee scheme and went for that because I liked the library.  In hindsight that may have been a mistake - a graduate trainee scheme would have given me experience in more aspects of the library than being an assistant did and would have helped me get further in public libraries after finishing my Masters.  As it was I had no management experience, just a qualification that seemed to mean nothing to the authorities I applied and I was stuck being an assistant for another 18months.  At that point I got so fed up with having to be a non-specialist - I wanted to be a children's librarian - that I decided to find a school library.  I guess that might not have happened if I had gone down the graduate trainee scheme route so, as my Mum always says, everything happens for a reason.  In the school that finally employed me (I had a lot of "you were great but there was someone with school library experience" type feedback) I started as a 'Library and Information Centre Assistant' - still didn't need my MA but I guess it helped get the job - but am now 'The Librarian', 5 long years after finishing the Masters.  As far as the school is concerned I needn't have bothered getting the MA but I know that a lot of schools do care and I have never regretted spending the time and money on it.
The next step is Chartership.  Now that I've been given a professional job title as well as professional qualifications I feel I'm ready and so have started the process; I wrote my PPDP just last week in fact.  Even if future employers aren't interested, although job ads often do mention it, I want to do it just to prove that I am continuing to develop and I am dedicated to Librarianship.  If I hadn't done a Masters, for time or money's sake, I could have gone down the Certification route to get to the stage at which I could Charter.  I think that probably requires a great deal more stamina and motivation than having the deadlines a Masters provided!
Thing 11 - Mentoring
I have only recently asked someone to be a formal mentor to help me through the Chartership process.  Looking through the lists of available mentors on the CILIP website I was really pleased to see an ex-member of the YLG London Committee for whom I have shed-loads of respect, and even more pleased when she said she'd love to mentor me!  We've had two meetings so far and she's given me some very helpful directions for getting as far as completing the PPDP and what to include in the portfolio.  I wouldn't have had the confidence to start without her.
Informally though, I would say I've had a couple of mentors throughout my career - the Manager of the branch library I worked in before and during my MA was an inspiration and my decision to leave and work elsewhere (even though it was still as an assistant) was partly down to the fact she handed in her notice and I couldn't face working there without her.  More recently, the Federation Librarian for my school (who has now gone back to her other library full time as the Federation ended) has been a great support.  With 40years of school librarianship behind her she was able to give me ideas, about how to manage a budget for example, something I've never had experience of before.  In September I'll be a solo-librarian and I am looking forward to the challenge, but I know I wouldn't be as good a school librarian if I'd started alone and I will keep in touch with her.  As the post says, the mentor and mentee should both get something out of the relationship.  I like to think I've given her some good ideas about how to enthuse teenagers and keep the library busy.
Thing 12 - Putting the social into social media
Haha, this one gives to a chance to use Thing 5, the reflective practice Thing that I put off for later and still haven't done...reflect on how you put the social into your social media use.  I probably err towards the lurker on SLN, but that is because I only comment when I feel I have something to say that is of use or interest!  I get the digest of messages and a large proportion of them are not useful (imho) and on occasion it feels more like a social network than a professional one.  I interact more on Twitter although I do push out/retweet information more often than I respond to it.  I think it is time constraints more than anything else, I often read something and think I should respond to it but by the time I get round to it it feels a bit too late.  I did manage to write a blog post about age banding on books when there was a bit of a furore about it, but again that's me just stating things and not commenting directly on other peoples' posts.  I should get out there a bit more, not only to let commentators know that their things are being read and found interesting, but also to become more widely known myself...I now have confidence that I am worth listening to occasionally, and so when I write something that I think is important it can reach more people.  I do stick to reading about school libraries, schools, public libraries and YA/childrens' publishing.  Not so much because it is the "comfort zone" of my own sector but because it is what I am most interested in, hence choosing this career, and time is money people!  Terribly insular I know but I don't and won't want to work in a legal library or medical library or manuscripts library etc so if I'm short of time then they're the articles I will skip.  I generally read everything in CILIP's Update, does that count?  As part of my CPD for the Chartership I intend to visit a few different types of library so hopefully that will spark an interest.
That will do for now, I'll catch up with 13-16 later!

#cpd23 Things 5, 6 & 7!

So I've got miles behind on #cpd23 and we're only 1/4 of the way through!  The main reason is that I read Thing 5: Reflective Practice and thought 'I really need to dedicate a bit of time to that' but then never found the time!  I really do want to get into reflective practice, not least because it is an important tool in writing a Chartership portfolio (I've found a mentor so things are beginning!), but I don't want my lack of time lately to make me give up on cpd23 entirely so I've decided to skip the Thing for later.

Thing 6: Online networks
I'm not very good at networking, I find talking to people difficult unless I already know them (what a conundrum) and am especially quiet in large crowds.  That was why online networking appealed so much - hiding behind a screen.  In fact, at last weekend's Lighting the Future conference I was far more comfortable talking to people because, as well as a few I've met before, there were many I've corresponded with (my mum won't let me say 'talked to') online and I enjoyed seeing them in 'real life'.  Saying that though, I think there are far too many available so I'm very select about what I keep up with.

I created a LinkedIn account a long time ago because a friend invited me, but it didn't take me long to decide it wasn't going to have a big impact on my life and I couldn't be bothered maintaining the account.  In fact I made the decision so permanent that I deleted the account and have been deleting invites from other people ever since.  Every now and again I wonder whether to start it up again but haven't been persuaded.  I agree with the quote from Reid Hoffman at the end of the Thing 6 post on the cpd23 blog "Facebook is the backyard BBQ; LinkedIn is the office" and this is partly why I don't use it - I don't think LinkedIn will make a massive difference to my career.

I love Facebook.  I don't use any applications other than GoodReads and I keep my friend list down to 101 people because the number pleases me <ahem> so I only have people that I am really interested in in 'real' life.  I do 'like' a lot of library, YA lit, kid lit and literacy related things and regularly look at my newsfeed and update my status.  I keep it entirely personal though, only occasionally sharing the professional things that I think are important for non-librarians as well.
I'm not involved in LISNPN or LAT and although I have logged into the CILIP website and created a profile I don't really use the communities.  I am however on the School Librarian Network (SLN) which is a Yahoo group that I get e-mail digests from and read the posts that interest me and occasional contribute to.  I signed up to Google+ and then never looked at it again, and I don't have a pintrest account but I have looked at a few walls and really like the idea of quickly sharing such a variety of sources of entertainment and information.  GoodReads counts as another community as you have 'friends' and can nosy in one another's 'bookshelves' for inspiration.  I only really use it to record what I'm reading and a brief starred rating but occasionally read a blog post of an author or have a look at what's going on in a group.
Thing 7: real-life Networks
So you might already know, because I have mentioned a few times not least in this post about our conference, that I am a member of CILIP YLG, CILIP SLG and the SLA.  I am particularly interested in the YLG, being a member of the London Committee, because I love that it concentrates on enthusing children and young people to read for pleasure.  I think my involvement has made a massive difference in my career, and life in general.  Although it hasn't got me a well paid job (one day maybe) it has helped shape the kind of Librarian I am and given me confidence in my abilities and methods, yay!  It has found me colleagues that understand what I do all day, which teachers often don't, and friends that share common interests.  I can't recommend joining a committee enough.  Would I consider joining another network?  I am thinking about joining the CILIP CDG - Career Development Group - for the Chartership process, but other than that I can't say I can think of one that is worth dedicating precious time to...saying that, I keep meaning to contact the Guides association to volunteer as a Guider, that counts right!

#cpd23 Thing 4

Current awareness - Twitter, RSS feed and Storify
In this Thing we'll explore a few tools that  will help you to keep up-to-date and aware of goings on in the library and  information world, and make it easy to share news and stories with others
So as you're probably aware I am already on Twitter, have been for about 4 years, and I love it.  I follow authors, publishers, librarians and book bloggers.  Although I follow about 450 people, I have a locked 'quick check' list of about 100 that I look at regularly as I don't find the time to keep up with the whole stream!  I've never joined in with a twitter chat, keep meaning to but am never at a computer at the right time, but I do use #hashtags quite often.

iGoogle with Google Reader RSS has been my homepage on my laptop for quite some time - again, I follow a number of book bloggers through there, and a few librarians mostly found through cpd23 lists.  There are maybe 100 blogs I follow so I just look at the summaries and click further to read more if something catches my eye, as again I wouldn't have time to keep up otherwise.  Blog post headings are very important!

Storify is the one thing I've come across but not tried - I really like the idea so have now created my own one about the CILIP Carnegie Kate Greenaway medals.  Mind you, I signed in with twitter and then fell at the first hurdle - it refuses to 'pin' the storify bookmarklet to my bookmarks :-( I carried on anyway, searching in twitter for #ckg2012, and I embedded the url of the CKG website as well as a couple of YouTube videos of book trailers.

I had a quick glance at other cpd23ers efforts on storify but personally I think the most useful of the three is twitter.  You can skim through 140 character notes and click 'favourite' on items to look at more closely later.  People include links to really useful things from all sorts of sources, including blog posts meaning that an RSS feed becomes less important in making you aware of what is new.  It can be accessed from all sorts of mobile devices and so from anywhere, and again if you see a link you can't follow from your phone then you can just 'favourite' it to look at when you reach a PC.  You do have to use it regularly to make it worth having, I probably look 3 or 4 times a day but tweet less often than that.  To grow your follower base you need to tweet though!  I tweet mini-reviews of what I've read as well as links to things I find interesting in the library/book world.