Thing 15: seminars, conferences and other events

This is timely for me to reflect on since I got a lot out of going to the UKEIG AGM last week and hearing Charles Oppenheim talking about the Hargreaves copyright review. It is a little daunting going to an event where you don't know anyone, and starting up a conversation, but I met some of the people whose work I've read, and had interesting conversations with other people from different backgrounds.

I've been to LIANZA conferences and also the Australian Information Online and all have been great for learning and networking. It pays to get involved, go to the events like formal and impromptu dinners, meet the vendors, talk over lunch and go to smaller poster sessions. If you are in a large library, conferences are also good for getting to know other staff members you don't normally work with.

A few years ago I gave a mini presentation at a special interest group meeting held during a LIANZA conference. The preparation made me realise what I did know and specialised in that others might find useful. I also learnt from the questions and gained more confidence in speaking.

I was able to make use of a presentation technique I'd been taught. The method uses a kind of mindmap and I find it works really well for me. The diagram is used to plan the structure of the talk and is then used as the 'notes' as you give the talk. I wish I could remember who gave the course and whether the technique has a name.

I'd like to go to a major UK conference once I'm back into a permanent role. I'd like it to be relevant to developing or inspiring me further in the role, so I'm not choosing at the moment.

If I gave a presentation I could talk about topics related to my last permanent role but would like to look to my future role for inspiration.

Thing 14: Zotero / Mendeley / citeulike

During my MLIS, I remember the relief of discovering Endnote after spending several hours checking the position of commas and full stops in my references. Absolute magic in pulling my citations into the appropriate places in each paper! It was probably the best way to appreciate the value of reference management software, and it still pays to use knowledge of the target citation style to inspect the output for quality.

Since then, Endnote has gained an online version, which seems a little weaker to me in terms of managing the fields, but I have used it for sharing references.

I now have Zotero and find that the requirement for Firefox is a bit limiting. I've not yet experimented with Mendeley, am aware it does not have all citation styles that might be needed, although they can be edited. citeulike has a different use - for sharing references with colleagues.

To help researchers manage their references, I think libraries should offer information about these free tools rather than limiting information to those, such as Endnote, that are supplied by the institution.

Thing 13: Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

Some tools for sharing and collaboration that could be useful this week, but after assessing them I'm not going to use any immediately. I've recorded my impressions for future reference.

I've now tried Googledocs. I first became aware of collaborative tools a few years ago in relation to community ICT. I've also collaborated on documents at work within a document management system - all changes tracked and no need to let Google have your documents. If you are collaborating outside your organisation then Googledocs could be the answer provided the other people also have Googledocs.

I'm beginning to be a little spooked by Google, Yahoo or Facebook identifying me, knowing what I am doing and what they think I like (very broad interests, so probably wrong). Over-personalisation. I use another browser, not logged in, when I want a more anonymous, less tailored view/presence.

If I have no document management system and want access from multiple computers or to share files the Dropbox would work but I think I'll skip it for the moment. So many logins to remember...

A few years ago we set up a Wiki for LIANZA ITSIG - so that we and other librarians could experiment. I haven't uploaded to another Wiki but will remember the free PBWorks for library staff collaborative Wikis. The ITSIG Wiki had spam so whatever tool I use would have to allow password access for updates.