Blog - Jo Alcock Consulting
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Blog

02 Jul

Posted at 12:00h in Events, Library, Technology by
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iTunesU and Podcasting Laurie Roberts, Liaison Librarian at QMU, explained the use of podcasting at QMU and introduced iTunesU (iTunes University) - watch introductory video for an overview. You can download a copy of Laurie's presentation, which includes relevant links as well as her notes. As part of Laurie's job role, she has the task to investigate use of Web 2.0 technologies and how they can be used to support the library services. Laurie therefore “plays” with web 2.0 technologies, explores potential use for library, and attends courses to discover new tools and share good practice. Currently, QMU are using a library blog,...

01 Jul

Posted at 12:00h in Events, Library, Uncategorized by
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Encompass: Workforce Diversity Ayub Khan, Head of Libraries (Strategy) at Warwickshire County Libraries, introduced the Encompass scheme, to encourage BME graduates to libraries. Encompass is a three way partnership between CILIP, PATH (a skills development agency) and employers. Employers are asked to convert existing post or create new one on a 3 year contract basis whereby the trainee would be in the workplace 4 days a week and spend 1 day each week studying. The aim is for the trainee to have completed a CILIP-accredited postgraduate qualification in Librarianship and gain their Chartership by the end of the three years. Benefits for employer ...

30 Jun

Posted at 12:00h in Events, Library, Technology by
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Building a customer centred space - using observation to inform library design Rachel Van Riel from Opening the Book gave a thoroughly inspiring talk about observing library users and how to adjust your library to suit your user's needs. This is something that I was particularly interested in from a work point of view as I am responsible for a special collection for our trainee teachers and I'm not sure how it is currently used but feel it could be better utilised if it was laid out differently. Rachel spoke about how libraries can learn a lot from retail and recommended Paco...

29 Jun

Posted at 12:00h in Events, Library, Professional issues, Uncategorized by
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Managing in tough economic times Sheila Cannell, Director of Library Services at University of Edinburgh, spoke about the current risks to libraries and how to try to overcome some of them during the recession. The risks she highlighted included: Value proposition Human Resources – large numbers close to retirement age, little to attract newcomers to profession Durable goods – value of books decrease, value of space increase Legacy technology – still using old technology Intellectual property – using Google to find e-books etc. Sheila made suggestions as to how these risks could be addressed, such as changing the perception of the library, investing in staff development, building a...

28 Jun

Posted at 12:00h in Events, Library, Professional issues, Uncategorized by
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Copyright law, librarians, information professionals, and the digital revolution - Ten Tips to make you top If I'm being perfectly honest, I think there were a lot of us who were wondering if a session on copyright had been a good choice for the slot first thing in the morning on the second day. However, out doubts were proven to be unfounded when Jason Miles-Campbell from JISC Legal gave an incredibly interesting and upbeat presentation about the legalities of copyright and how to work with them. Jason began with a really simple slide summarising the basics of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Are you...

26 Jun

Posted at 17:00h in Events, Library, Uncategorized by
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Building and designing a sustainable library service The keynote was delivered by Fraser Muir, Director of Information Services and Learning Resource Centre at Queen Margaret University (QMU), who opened the conference with a presentation about the campus and its sustainable strategy. He began the talk by asking us some questions to respond to using TurningPoint voting systems. Interestingly, 45% of the attendees were currently involved in a new building project, and 63% of participants were actively discussing sustainability at their institutions. I was amazed at how many of us are involved in new builds, especially when you take into account the...

23 Jun

Posted at 11:30h in Events, Library, Professional issues, Uncategorized by
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Having returned from the CoFHE 2009 conference in Edinburgh on Friday evening, I've almost managed to catch up on sleep since and gather my thoughts on the event. I'll write separate posts for the sessions I attended (otherwise this would be a mammoth post!), but thought it would be useful to give an overview and highlights of the conference first. After an eventful journey (involving three trains when it should have been one!), I was pleased to meet others on their way to the conference for the last bit of the journey. We made our way to the registration desk where...

16 Jun

Posted at 17:44h in Events, Library, Professional issues, Uncategorized by
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I can't believe it's almost a week since I went to the Library Show 2009 (which I kept referring to as the LIS Show but apparently it has changed its name). I spent the morning looking around the stalls at the show, and chatted to quite a few of the exhibitors who took my details with the fancy zappers. I seemed to be a magnet to all brochures and fliers (I do tend to have a habit of collecting material at every conference I attend!), and struggled to carry everything by lunchtime! The free seminar programme was good so I decided to...

07 Jun

Posted at 16:28h in Events, Library, Uncategorized by
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Well it's summer already (until recently the weather has reflected this too which has been a welcome surprise!), and the time of year when a number of library events happen. This year I have been lucky to be able to fit quite a few into my calendar and was offered sponsorship for one conference which I'm really looking forward to. Over the next few weeks I will be attending: Library Information Show 2009 - Wednesday 10th June CoFHE Conference 2009 - Wednesday 17th-Friday 19th June New Professional's Conference 2009 - Monday 6th July At the LIS Show at NEC on Wednesday, I'll be helping out...