I was fortunate to win a bursary from the Information School to attend the CILIP Conference held in Brighton. This was my first opportunity at attending a large-scale conference and to meet other likeminded professionals. Not only was it an opportunity to learn about all different topics, it was also a chance for me to meet other iSchool students at the iSchool stand and to also discuss the distance learning course to prospective students. I must say I was surprised at how many people wanted to discuss distance learning, and I am pleased to have been able to chat to them about the work and study balance.
My highlight quote from the whole conference had to be from Sally Walker when she said:
“I’m exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing. That is peace”
I’m going to be taking this with me wherever I go and remember this moving forward with my career. I really enjoy hearing career stories, as I find they are a great way of finding out about career paths I didn’t know anything about before, they always get me thinking of all the different jobs I could have in the future.
There was so much to see and hear at the conference, that it was a tough choice to choose which breakout sessions to attend. I will just discuss two of my favourite sessions that I attended.
The first session I chose to attend was “Blurring the boundaries: the reshaping of library spaces”. I chose this seminar session as it has very close ties with my dissertation, so it was a great opportunity to hear about what other libraries are doing with their spaces. I was particularly amazed by the work at The Hive in Worcester, they have a fully integrated library, in which they have both a public and an academic library. It was great to hear how there is a focus on being more than just a library, something which I think is extremely important to the future of public libraries.
With
this being my first conference, I naturally felt nervous about the experience
but I was immediately set at ease by how open and welcoming everyone was. This was something that CILIP were very
proactive to alleviate and they set up a special “Welcome Zone” for first
timers, a place where they could chat to each other, over a game of Connect 4.
I had spoken to people online via Twitter before attending so I felt that these
initial first conversations were a lot less daunting for me.
The conference programme was jam packed with four different
keynote speakers and lots of breakout sessions, covering a wide variety of topics
from library spaces to health literacy. There was certainly something for
everyone. My favourite keynote speaker was Sally Walker,
Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year, who spoke of her
journey to professional registration. Being very early into my career this
keynote was perfect for me, as it gave me the confidence and drive to pursue my
career and take opportunities given to me. Sally was so passionate about her
job and the work she has done with Orkney libraries and the work she has done
with children and their families.
My highlight quote from the whole conference had to be from Sally Walker when she said:
“I’m exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing. That is peace”
I’m going to be taking this with me wherever I go and remember this moving forward with my career. I really enjoy hearing career stories, as I find they are a great way of finding out about career paths I didn’t know anything about before, they always get me thinking of all the different jobs I could have in the future.
There was so much to see and hear at the conference, that it was a tough choice to choose which breakout sessions to attend. I will just discuss two of my favourite sessions that I attended.
The first session I chose to attend was “Blurring the boundaries: the reshaping of library spaces”. I chose this seminar session as it has very close ties with my dissertation, so it was a great opportunity to hear about what other libraries are doing with their spaces. I was particularly amazed by the work at The Hive in Worcester, they have a fully integrated library, in which they have both a public and an academic library. It was great to hear how there is a focus on being more than just a library, something which I think is extremely important to the future of public libraries.
The
second session I attended was a “Professional Registration Café” run by Jo Cornish and Sonia Ramdhian
both from CILIP. The “Your Career” strand was sponsored by the Information
School and this session gave practical advice about Certification, Chartership
and Fellowship. It was an opportunity to hear what goes into a portfolio and
the types of evidence you need for it. There was opportunity at the end of the
sessions to get into small groups to discuss what stage you are at with
thinking about professional registration. For myself, I would like to do either
Certification or Chartership within the next couple of years, and it was a
great session, which gave me a confidence boost about the experience I have and
how it can be used for professional registration.
Overall the conference was a great experience for me both
personally and professionally and opened my eyes to all the different
opportunities available to me as I progress. I look forward to being able to
put all the new knowledge I learnt into practice and I look forward to my future
in such a rewarding and welcoming profession.
Katherine Burchell
MA Library and Information Service Management (Distance Learning) student
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