It's conference time again! Despite some organisations hosting in-person events, there are still some online courses, seminars, round-table events and conferences. After all, library and information people who might not have been able to attend courses have appreciated the opportunity to participate and enjoy online continuing professional development (CPD).
CPD is essential to both you and your organisation. However, there are many legitimate reasons why you might be physically unable to attend talks, seminars, conferences, and other local and international networking events, including:
In order to keep up to date with what is new in the information world, one of my current awareness feeds is called Library & Information Events. It alerts me when quality, free, online opportunities for learning are announced - with emphasis on being both budget and location friendly. Here are some ideas I’d like to share with you:
If you look hard enough, free courses are available through various organisations and vendors. We all know that there is ‘no such thing as a free lunch’ so in return for an interesting talk, you might be asked to give your personal details, as well as listening to a sales pitch.
If you are fortunate enough to have the budgetary support of your employers, you might be able to join one or more of the various information industry organisations. Many of these professional bodies have recognised the importance of giving everyone access to online learning possibilities, so take advantage. There is occasionally a small surcharge for some webinars - especially if you're a non-member.
Webinars are just one way of staying up to date. As you know there are podcasts, blog posts, social media groups - not to mention the occasional real life meet-ups.
Reading about other people's experiences of implementing work-related projects can be really helpful and it's free! There is a reason why it's hard to get case studies from people - it takes hard work and commitment. I've been busy revisiting some of our Vable current awareness case studies, and it occurred to me that there is a lot of valuable information in them.
These are really great for capturing that networking vibe. You might not see the ‘whites of their eyes’ but when you have exchanged stories, it builds trust, friendship, and professional camaraderie. If you want to go see how its done, #uklibchat recently hosted a ‘getting the library job(s)’ chat; collaboration in action. For more library chats on Twitter, check out this excellent blog post which organises the staggering number of webchats out there.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have revolutionised distance learning. They have been used by the library community as an education opportunity to reach a wider, geographically dispersed audience. Books, journals, blog posts, webinars have discussed MOOCs and their impact on library and information science skills. Indeed, the topic was discussed using an Italian case study at IFLA CPDWL last year.
Research for this post took me to The Hyperlinked Library, which is an open, participatory institution that welcomes user input and creativity. It says it is built on human connections and conversations, and contains some useful resources. This is definitely something to investigate if you are looking to improve your library management skills - and you’re on a budget.
One information professional recommended MOOC provider Future Learn. It covers many different topics and partners with top universities and well-known organisations. You never know, you may find a completely new career direction there!
I’ve already mentioned webinars on YouTube, however, once you start looking there is a wealth of quality information on there. I’ve recently subscribed to the Programming Librarian for ideas. These videos can often inspire you to create your own ‘how to’ for end-users.
We have become accustomed to online conferences. Although they lack the networking, obligatory tea & biscuits, and social aspect of physically being there, the learning opportunities are valuable.
Personally I enjoyed the recent bite size BIALL conference where they delivered around 10 short papers over two days. The sessions lasted about an hour and a half, but these tasters gave the audience the key points. On the topic of BIALL, check out my recording of the session I gave!
These are just a few ideas from my events feed which I thought you might like to check out. I will start posting advance notification of free webinars and conferences on @tryVable! Once you start looking, you will realise that you have more opportunities than time!