Last week I attended the CILIP West Midlands Member Network Members’ Day (yes indeed; quite a title!). I haven’t managed to make the last couple of years of these events due to clashes so was pleased to be able to attend this year (and even better to attend when you’re not speaking or organising!).
@CILIPinfo WM Members Network #membersday17 wearing proudly Facts Matters badge #iamalibrarian – great advocacy pic.twitter.com/dsP1IioWf3
— Ayub Khan (@ayubkhan786) February 10, 2017
The focus for this year’s event was on learning technologies, and we had a series of presentations as well as some discussions on the topic. A few things I discovered or was reminded of during the day:
- I am rubbish at finding venues I haven’t been to before
- It never gets less embarrassing looking up to see your face on the presentation screen (though it can result in a photograph which includes both the front and back of your head which isn’t a common occurrence!)
- Short videos can be incredibly useful educational tools, such as @1minutecpd
- Important to include transcripts of videos
- VLEs are often described as ‘clunky’, even by those who choose to work with them
- It’s useful to attend events slightly outside your core area (e.g. Association for Learning Technology Conference)
- The law around accessible resources for disabled users is complex, but RNIB Bookshare is a very useful resource
- Jisc have completed an audit on the accessibility of different ebook platforms (in collaboration with a number of higher education institutions and representatives from the book supply industry)
- NMC Horizon report for libraries to identify trends, challenges and drivers for future (new one planned for March 2017)
- Delphi method can be used to some extent in a workshop setting (and actually, I realised I’ve used a very similar method during focus groups though hadn’t related the two until this)
- It’s not easy to organise a group of librarians for a photograph
You can view Sarah Purcell’s presentation and Brian Kelly’s presentation online, and Brian has also blogged.
The event yet again reminded me how valuable it is to attend events to continue to develop your knowledge and get to know more about other parts of the profession. I met some great people, and caught up with others I haven’t seen for a while, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. I’m hoping to attend (and possibly organise) more local events to help encourage more knowledge sharing. Are there any other people in the Newcastle-under-Lyme/Stoke-on-Trent area who’d be up for an informal knowledge sharing event?
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