I started working here at City as Research Librarian in February 2013 and here are a few highlights from my time here so far:
I have enjoyed learning new things, using social media such as writing the Citylibresearchers blog and using Twitter to engage with academics and others. I have enjoyed doing presentations to staff and students, attending events and meeting new colleagues. I have been working with the City Graduate School who are developing a doctoral researcher development framework including Library provision. I’ve also liked the opportunity to write reports and contribute to policies and using new software such as LibGuides and Talis Aspire.
Induction
I attended the University staff induction. Colleagues on my table were very friendly and during the icebreaker people just came round to our table. We had a talk from the Vice Chancellor about the history of City and new developments about the new sports centre and proposed new graduate centre in Sebastian St (planned for 2017) . The University wishes to enhance its research profile and income and performance in the new Research Excellence Framework 2014 so has recruited approx. 130 research excellent academics as part of this strategy.
I was most impressed with the catering – mini pastries, orange juice and platters of fruit and a huge lunch with potato wedges. We also had the ubiquitous departmental stalls and there was a quiz which was won by our colleague, Kat. I should perhaps have offered to hold Kat’s quiz during the lunch..
We also learned about the City brand which includes the new logo which emphasises the historic tradition of the University with the date of 1894. Marketing wish to emphasise this aspect of heritage in the University branding.
#citylis opening evening
I was encouraged to attend an open evening for the Library Science courses to learn more about the department and the programmes offered . Students were advised that they need not apply if they don’t like using technology and social media. I explained something about the Archive profession to one applicant and met some great people (mainly current students and graduates ) and we drank wine and ate chili thai bites together. My favourite part of the presentation was the part about Buffy and Giles studying in the Library (see below). We discussed with a graduate from the Marketing & PR sector how social media is very last year and it is all about big data now.
Mentoring training
I enjoyed attending a half day mentoring course run by the L&SDU. This covered 2 types of mentoring, buddying for new starters and career development mentoring. One may follow on from the other or they may be useful at different times during someone’s career. The buddying may help colleagues to settle in and find their way around quicker and could informally provide support in addition to the induction programme.
Career development mentoring may be general or provided for a specific purpose for example a colleague wishing to work in a different role. The discussion was good and I even enjoyed the role play. I have some knowledge of coaching and like asking lots of questions and would like to be a detective so this was very useful. As for some reason, I like filling out online application forms, I might be able to use this transferable skill, possibly (?), maybe not. I also learnt about the Learning Zone on the L&SDU website which has lots of useful information on mentoring and other topics. I think it’s great that Library Services are implementing a mentoring scheme as it can benefit both parties.
In conclusion
So far, I’ve enjoyed my work and have learned new skills and different ways of approaching things and the power of social media. I gave a presentation about Library Services recently and noticed a few people typing into iPads and mobiles. Later on, I realised I had new Twitter followers and a recommendation for people to follow my blog .
Diane
