Although the countdown to xmas has firmly begun, the work still continues. This week has been a week of many meetings and at times, slight frustration, at getting things done. I sometimes feel that I could do more or work harder but when you interact through meeting I feel that you see how much harder it is to get things moving when working with other organisations. It's something I enjoy and is a challenge but sometimes I think a little action rather than the never ending talk that happens in meetings may be better. This weeks adult learning meeting was left with a range of promises from that team in connection with our community learning classes that we are still awaiting while learndirect was a meeting with a lot of defiance at the system but the end results will have to be reviewed at a later date! On the plus side our senior staff meeting gave me more of an understanding of the authorities library service as a whole, my thoughts at the end of this week are that when things get bogged down in politics and meetings I need to remember that this role has a three main priorities really and everything must come under them. What the local community WANTS from learning, what it NEEDS from learning and finally what can improve the library service, it's number of users and it's reputation as a whole.

This week saw things quieten down a little due to the approaching festive period but there was still some interesting moments! At the start of the week I attended the ABC meeting, this is a project running in the library to help users with disabilities, this is an area I feel that I can learn more about in terms of my understanding of library users and learners needs. This made me aware of concerns with the IT difficulties of giving people with disabilities a pre set computer profile to help them work without a support worker. I have tried to further this issue but the IT problem will be 'looked at'. This type of situation is something I will need to work on in how I deal with in order to meet all needs and how I get a speedy resolution when dealing with external departments.

I also expanded the network of partnerships we have and this is something I enjoy doing and find pleasing. With employability a key agenda going forward I have managed to get a refferal arangement put in place with the Salvation Army and SamH (mental health charity) this should mean we get more of the learners that these courses are for rather than filling them with people they aren't specifically meant for just to tick some boxes. This is a challenge in many areas these days and a problem I would love to tackle.

This week felt like a real breakthrough in many ways as the variety of threads started to come together. The week was subject to a variety of important meetings and also an ongoing hmie inspection. The week started with a very positive meeting with the Scottish Information Literacy Project. A lot of positive ideas came out of this and one key thing was that it was a very new project for the libraries to be looking at which made me feel like I had done something innovative. It will be difficult to incorporate but I see this as an interesting challenge going forward. Tuesday saw our learndirect branding visit, this went very smoothly and left me feeling like we had a good chance, this was proved right a couple of days later. I felt the evidence that we held as a team was excellent and the rewards this branding should bring in the future will be great. A CLD was also held, I still feel a little inhibited to talk at these meetings and part of that is not being oinvolved in some ongoing projects previously and also not being confident enough just yet, this is an area where I know I can develop however. With worries about the college also ongoing we held a very positive meeting at the end of the week that meant we felt more confident, this showed me that my ability to work at buiding parterships is improving. Friday saw a visit to the chartership conference and this made me realise I am on the right track, although I need to find a mentor! My draft PPDP will be finished in this next week however.

This was a shorter week due to being off on Monday and Tuesday on annual leave but no less productive. I feel the final parts of jigsaw have been getting put into place now for me to feel settled and that I can make an impact. Meetings have now been arranged or have taken place with all partners and I have taken ownership of our computer drives in order to set out a clear working structure that I feel completely in control of.

The main issue to arise this week has been the dramatic restructuring in the college meaning many of our contacts are dissapearing and doubts are being cast over the classes we run (even the January ones). I'm sure the January ones will go ahead and if the partnership starts to break down after this I feel strangely oprtomistic about the silver lining it may produce. Th chance to have a real impact and bring in a new partner (s) would be excellent and with learndirect possible as well then a whole new delivery pattern could be in place. The college to me seem to be in dire straits and it may be the best time for all to look at acontingency plan.

This week started with my attendance at the WW1 Remembrance event in the library, this was good experience as I saw what might be involved in running one myself! I also had to use my information skills to the full in order to find out information for one woman regarding her ancestor, not quite my job but happy to go the extra mile (though I'm still trying to find the answer). This week also saw two important meetings, the first was with the BBC where I got some information on what programmes they have coming up fopr literacy and numeracy and these are something I will look at. My other meeting was with a co-ordinator from the University of the West of Scotland, this was very productive and looks to be a partnership I can build on if it goes as well as promised. I realised in both metings that they went by quickly and this is possibly something I should work on. But if i'm being honest, I always feel meeting can be filled with too much waffle, I like to get to the point and come to the resolutions quickly. This week also saw me really see where I could make a difference. Too many of our courses are filled with older learners, I really feel that lifelong learning and employability are far more important in the present climate (or any climate) and many of our partnerships can be used to develop this. This can be somewhere I can make a real difference and hope to do that as I move forward.

This week I role definitely started to pick up pace! After a relatively easy going first two weeks that saw me begin to think there may be some really quiet periods within this job I was proved wrong! After starting the week at my graduation I spent the start of the week gathering evidence for the learndirect proposal, this was interesting adn brought into play a number of information seeking skills and helped me become more familiar with the location of everything. I then had to go to a SLIC conference with my new manager, this was a very interesting day and I saw some instances of projects that could be adapted such as National Entitlement Cards and also Stirling's methods for providing classes. This made me feel my role started to fit better into the whole framework and I liked that. The end of the week saw things speed up, with the idea of taster classes being mooted since my first day a meeting with the tutor saw these come to life. With my Assistant off I had to handle this myself by producing marketing, sending out press releases and organising all the classes, I feel I have handled this well but with one week to fill six classes we'll see next week how well it all goes.....

After two weeks things are starting to progress, I definitely still have some to go to be fully familiar with my job but I can see definite signs of progress. This week has seen me go round all the branches in the authority and this was enjoyable and made me feel more part of the overall structure. We are also aiming to achieve learndirect branding in the near future, this is a chance for me to make a real mark and my task has begun by listing all the evidence I'll need for it for collection this week. Having an assistant has also meant I will need to develop my management skills, this has begun with me settling into my position and holding constructive conversations with my assistant to define our rolls fully and I think we have managed this. I have also spent this week e mailing a lot of people to arrange meetings to develop projects and learning. This has been good although I realise as these meeting arrive my idea generating will have to go up and this will be an enjoyable challenge.

Started new job on Tuesday so I am now a Librarian for Lifelong Learning. I work within the main library within an authority that has 6 libraries varying in size. My first week has been a vast introduction to people, places and tasks. Initially I have been advised to look through the main drive and also the piles of docs left by my predecessor. There seems to be a huge amount to do and a real variation in tasks from meeting partners who supply courses to dealing with funding and coming up with new initiatives. Within my first week my objective was to absorb what is going on around me and try to get a handle on as much as possible and my assistant has helped massively with that. I have also compiled a list of all the tasks I aim to work through so the real work begins in earnest on Monday after I have visited libraries and done more reading tomorrow.

What I have taken from this is that one of the key challenges for me will being pro-active in creating my own ideas and tasks. This will be a real oppurtunity as I haven't been given such freedom and responsibilty before and my university training will really come in to play. All the info for the job seems like a giant puzzle that can be solved in a variety of ways and I can't wait to get stuck in!

A beginning

I will be using this blog to record my journey towards chartership in the library profession. I have recently completed my post graduate degree and, in the next week will start my role as People's Network Librarian for a Scottish Council. I will use this blog to record my progress and ideas as I go on.

I am a dedicated and enthusiastic Information and Library Studies graduate, with professional experience within academic libraries, public libraries and with learndirect Scotland, and also a member of CILIP.

I have also written and edited for a variety of magazines, including The List, Skinny Mag, Clash Magazine and Mixmag, plus editing and cataloguing the online pages for the Skinny Mag online site.

I have experience of cataloguing, archiving, reference services, database searching and all other day to day library tasks in public libraries. I have also carried out systems testing within a digital library and built resource lists for a digital library within an academic library. At a key government learning provider I worked in the field of information literacy and e-learning resources and specialised in this within my studies. I also created courses material that could be used within Public Libraries.

I plan to transfer these skills and learn new ones in my new role and I aim to keep this blog updated with all I do.