Thing 6: Online Networks

Before CPD 23 I had only really used Facebook. I mostly use Facebook for personal life stuff. I do not plan on using it for professional purposes. I would certainly agree with Reid Hoffman, as FB is more of a connection with friends thing, while Linked-In is meant for professional networking. However, I also have connected with friends from library school and we have a Facebook group for topics of interest. This is kind of on the line as they are friends and schoolmates, but they are also fellow professionals, so I leave it as it is.

However, over the past year I have really gotten into LinkedIn as it offers many groups of interest which have provided many opportunities for development. While keeping current with LinkedIn and FB friends and posts is daunting at times, it is invaluable as it is a great way to get a wider view on topics, keep up to date with people, and one great way to meet new people. Also, there is so much great advice from groups for (recent graduates or long time librarians) librarians trying to find work.

Last year I did join LISPN but I have not returned to my account...Sorry LISPN network! I have my hands quite full with FB and LinkedIn. Also, I found that while its a great network, it's best for UK librarians, while LinkedIn seems more the network of choice for North America. It might have changed since I looked at it last, but for now I will leave it aside to focus on the two above.

Last year I left the Librarians As Teachers Network aside as I was quite busy, and will do so yet again. I will get to you! Librarians as teachers is quite an important aspect that I want to get more involved with. For the moment I will utilize my LinkedIn groups and blogs that cover this aspect for now.

As for CLIP, I am not a member so I cannot join CLIP communities, but I did look around where I could. The blogs and forums look interesting. Already started by RSS-ing the Blog posts and bloggers of interest that I found while there!

P.S. I love the new ability of FB to integrate libraries and their catalogs on their FB pages! It will be great to see if & how library members use it.