Archive | September, 2011

Thing 15 Attending, presenting, organising events

11 Sep

Bit of alot to cover in this one.

I’ve been very fortunate so far in my career that I’ve attended and spoken at both free and paid for courses.

This is either through:

  • Myself paying
  • My employer paying
  • Going to stuff for free by organising events
  • Finding appropriate free things to attend

I really do try and select events and courses carefully, for me its not just about attending just for the sake of it. I need to get something out of it, whether its networking, more information on a specific area, or just general information on the information sector as a whole.

I attend events in the North East linked to CILIP CDG and UCRG, aswell as nationally through the BLA and CDG. I was also lucky enough to attend the CDG study tour to Malta. I’ve recently joined ARClib for Architecture librarians which is a new group for me when I took my new role to support the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. I hope I can attend some of their events in the future.

This year along with a representative from UCRG Northern I organised the Librarians as Teachers course held at Northumbria University. This involved delegates and speakers coming from across the UK. Along with special eating requirements, access to wifi, day passes into the building, equipment for speakers, 3 lots of hot drinks and biscuits, taxis to the station; the list seemed endless. Organising both beforehand and on the day was quite stressful but I was so pleased with the amount we raised and feedback received. This will help both groups regionally to fund future courses and sponsor places for students/unwaged. I feel its a good learning process to organise events and it helps me feel engaged with CILIP and the profession.

In the future I’d like to attend Umbrella or LILAC as both programmes always look interesting but like others it comes down to funding and support. I couldn’t make the Teachmeet in Newcastle either this year so that’s on my list aswell.

It’s scary sometimes taking responsibility especially in terms of speaking or organising but I feel both are worth the stress and worry beforehand. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger………

Top tips:

  • Give a contact mobile out to delegates and speakers
  • Clear instructions for the the venue
  • Practice, practice, practice
  • Collect enough freebies to share with staff in your office

Picture of freebies shared with the Level 3 team from the BLA conference 2011