Thing 14 - Augmented Reality

Like many things on this course I had never heard of augmented reality before. The description of its uses in Thing 14 sounded so exciting and relevant to me working in the pubic library area.  I downloaded the Aurasma app and for the past two days have been trying to figure out how it works.  I think this is something that I will have to come back to after a bit more research. 

Running something with augmented reality would be a first for our branch but I wonder would it be just a fad and also if it would alienate those who don't have access to the technology or like me are a bit confused by the whole thing!

Thing 13 - Professional Organisations

After attending my first conference organised by the Library Association of Ireland earlier this year and being all enthusiastic after listening to all of the speakers I decided to sign up.  First of all I tried to register online but that facility wasn't working so I printed out the form and sent it off by snail mail. Unfortunately I had attempted to pay the membership fee online so instead of taking €60 it took €180 from my visa card.  The only contact I have ever had from the LAI was to arrange a refund of €120, I never received a receipt, a membership card, an email or any acknowledgement that I was a paid up member...very disappointing.  Is this the same for everybody? 

 

Since starting the MLIS I have been allowed to join CILIP in the UK for free!  I was able to register online with no problems, its early days but I will keep you posted.

Thing 12 - Attending Conferences

I joined the library service in November 2014 and have attended two conferences since then.  The first conference I went to was run by the Library Association of Ireland and was held in Trinity College Dublin, I really enjoyed all of the speakers from the Drumcondra library to the Lexicon.  At the tea break I ended up sitting beside Brid McGrath from McGrath Barrett and Associates who was also a speaker at the conference.  She talked to me about all aspects of working in a library and was so encouraging about my career change.  

On 22nd June, 2015 I attended the Western Regional Section of the Library Association of Ireland (WRSLAI) conference on The Information Professional - Embracing New Roles and Technologies with Confidence in Gort, Co Galway. Attending the conference was straightforward as it was approved by my line manager at work, all I had to do was turn up.

This conference was jam packed with speakers and information, all the talks were so enthusiastic and seemed more relevant to me in my role in the library.  

I attended the conference alone but sat beside a lovely librarian from Mayo so it was nice to have a little chat between the speakers.  Everybody made an effort to be friendly and chatty so there was no problem with networking and there was plenty of opportunity to talk to people during the breaks and at lunchtime.

I held onto all the handouts from the conference which I have found very useful but next time I will definitely be taking notes!

Thing 11 - Reflective Practice

I'm really lagging behind here and obviously my time management skills are completely messed up but I do really enjoy this course and intend to finish it! I have plenty of excuses from moving house, losing my broadband and starting the MLIS.  It all happened in September so that month just disappeared.  No more slacking and procrastination!

Thing 10 - Live Streaming

The idea of live streaming seemed a bit out of my range when I first read this 'Thing' and I was a bit daunted by it all.  Thankfully being introduced to Google Hangouts and Google Hangouts on Air back at Thing 4 really helped. Lucky for me I did take part as a viewer to the Rudai 23 Live Hangout on Air back on 23rd August.  My technical skills are still fairly limited to attempt to take part but being an active viewer by sending in a tweet was great to get a feel of the whole experience.

We have lots of events that take place in the library which could be live streamed and it's definitely something that I want to get more familiar with.

My Tweet

Thing 9 - Video

 

Life got crazy busy recently, I signed up to a distance learning MLIS with Aberystwyth Uni and moved house at the same time, with a new daily commute of two hours....it's exhausting!  But I'm beginning to get a bit more organised and found time to have a look at Thing 9...Video.

I've never uploaded anything to YouTube before and found the easiest way to do it was to download the YouTube app to my phone and then download the Capture app.  I just did a quick two minute video tour of the library that I work in, hope you like it!

Take a look at A Day in the Life of a Librarian by Ben Griggs, its so funny!  I put a link of that here for you to have a giggle.

The Day in the Life of a Librarian


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a34tNAIxnBo

Thing 8 - Curation Tools

 

My friend Tina is a graphic designer and she was singing the praises of Pinterest back in 2010 so I opened up an account.

I didn't think it would be of much use to me and in all honesty I never used it until this year when I started working in the library.  Trying to put on original craft activities for 15 kids with a €20 budget and no experience is a bit of a challenge.  Suddenly Pinterest was the best thing ever.

Apart from looking for craft ideas I now use it to record images of any craft activities that I have done during my time here out in the sticks.  Who knows those images may be of use to somebody else in a similar situation.

Pinterest has also been very useful to look up book display ideas as part of my Frontline library course which aims to actively promote books and reading in libraries.

As a curation tool I find Pinterest is user friendly and I would use it regulary.