Life has gotten so busy lately that I had to take a hiatus from this program - but I'm determined to finish by golly! Much of my time has been spent writing my own 23 Things program. While it has been fun, it is a LOT more behind-the-scenes work than I initially thought it would be.
Thing 22
So, Thing 22 of the 23 Things for Professional Development program discussed volunteering as a means to gain experience in the realm of library work. I have been fortunate to hold jobs in libraries as I worked my way through grad school and have now landed a professional position - so I really haven't "needed" to volunteer. Some of my grad school friends however, have not been so lucky.
I am a huge proponent of seizing networking moments that can help you connect with colleagues and provide a foot in the door so to speak. If volunteering provides that for you, I say go for it! Other ways of getting involved in the profession is to volunteer on organization committees such as those offered from ALA or those offered through your state library association. Again, you are building those connections that you can't put a price tag on.
The post warns against organizations using volunteering in place of paid positions. This is definitely a point of concern, but if you treat volunteerism as something likened to apprenticeship, I think both parties (the organization and the volunteer) will benefit.
Thing 23
For Thing 23, the program requires a bit of reflection. I'm going to use this time to talk a little bit about the 23 Things program I am currently building.
I have personally gone through 1 other 23 things program prior to this one, and both have been beneficial in helping me hone in on my technology skills and my awareness and use of web 2.0 tools. With my current employer, I was given the task of helping to move students and faculty in a more technology, web 2.0, and social media direction. It only seemed natural to build a similar 23 things program that would be self-paced and would have the educational spin of making it applicable to the classroom. The first round of this program is set to begin January 2012 (so soon!) and I am super excited to see how it goes with the pilot group of participants. To my knowledge, no other program has had the classroom spin set to it, nor the benefit of trying the program with others outside of the library setting, so again I'm super excited to see how this progresses. I am working with one of my favorite colleagues on the program: Erin from Tad Overdue. We both have been swamped with to-do lists a mile long... but I think we both are looking forward to getting the pilot up and running.
That's it for now - and since it's turkey day... I'll say Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
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