Thing 21: Professional Groups / Organisations

1. Learn more about the roles, activities and benefits of individual professional bodies by searching some of the links listed in this module. Write a paragraph in your blog on what you learned and how you can apply it to your situation.

I joined the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) in the fairly distant past, but my membership didn't automatically renew. Maybe I sent a one-off cheque for annual membership, rather than filling in an annual direct debit, I don't remember, but I guess that the LAI is short-staffed in their membership / accounts section, so I was never contacted about it. Reminded by this Rudaí23 course, I posted my membership application form for this year. All quiet so far. I am not criticising, because I know it is a voluntary organisation, and I'm also not volunteering to help (yet!). However, I often get the impression of short-staffing and out of date information and links not working on the LAI website. I used to get copies of An Leabharlann regularly by e-mail, but haven't received one in a very long time, and only saw the recent issue through a link on this Rudaí23 course. It was of a high standard, and worthwhile, but I would not have been aware of it it without Rudaí23.

By contrast I joined the American Library Association  (ALA) on LinkedIn [free to join], and I get their monthly 'Library Worklife' newsletter each month by e-mail. It is an excellent newsletter (albeit with a very US focus) and I read it each month and always find something interesting and useful. It always has a good HR section, which I find useful as I am managing a team. Articles in the April issue, that I read and found relevant were "How to be a good boss when your team is understaffed", and "Give employees time and permission to be well" about wellbeing and productivity. Neither article were written by the ALA, they were linked to other online content, from https://fairygodboss.com/ and http://www.workforce.com/ respectively. This shows the handiness of using content from other sources. The LAI would not always have write all the content from scratch for their newsletters if they used this method. I appreciate the greater value of original content researched and written by Irish librarians that An Leabharlann provides, but in emphasising quality over quantity it may be losing connection with members and not seem up-to-date.

The ALA April newsletter featured a Spotlight article on a medical librarian "Just Dive in and Learn! An Interview with Aidy Weeks by Caitlin Williams". source: http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2018/04/10/just-dive-in-and-learn-advice-from-a-system-librarian-with-an-enduring-belief-in-lifelong-learning-a-commitment-to-serving-others-and-a-willingness-to-look-for-opportunities-to-make-a-differe/
It referred to a Deloitte report about the half-life of a learned skill. "They said that the half-life of a learned skill is five years. The skill you learned 10 years ago is obsolete, and the skill you learned five years ago is irrelevant." Yikes! It's 10 years almost since I started my MLIS, which means anything I learned then is obsolete!! The interview referred to "micro-learning, short, self-paced and accessible learning modules in the form of video tutorials, apps, and online courses." This is what I have pursued recently with Universal Course, FutureLearn and Rudaí 23, and what I hope to pursue. Other micro-learning organisations they mentioned were Lynda.com, Udacity and Coursera.
More valuable still, they referred to their CPLA Chartered Public Library Administrator Program http://ala-apa.org/certification/ This appears to be a valuable course for supervisors in Public Libraries. The topics highlighted in this issue and starting in May 2018 are "Current issues in Public Libraries Management" and "Planning and Management of Buildings", both very relevant. The costs are considerable, but the course can be spread out over 5 years.

Estimate of Fees	ALA Member	Non-ALA Member
Application Fee	$250	$350
Courses, 7 @ ~$350 (ALA member) or $450 (non-member)	$2450	$3150
Course Completion Reviews, 7 @ $60 (ALA member) or $75 (non-member)	$420	$525
Final Review/Certification $75 (ALA member) or $100(non-member)	$75	$100
Total	$3195	$4125

I might consider it for future, or maybe the LAI might consider offering an Irish-focused version in future.
But first thing first, complete this Rudaí23 course before its half-life starts to tick down on me!

ENDS