We've moved!

With the new year comes changes ,and in this case the change is that we've moved this blog in-house and onto the Commission's WordPress installation. The URL for this program going forward is http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nelearns. Please update your bookmarks and RSS subscriptions accordingly.

For continuity's sake, all of the content and comments from this blog has been copied over to the new site but this version will continue to live here as is, so as to continue to support any links from other sites that have been created.

Thank you for your continuing support of this program.

Lessons from Learning 2.0

Michael Stephens has recently written a great post about the Learning 2.0 program on LibraryJournal.com:

It’s been five years since Helene Blowers and the staff at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC, debuted Learning 2.0—a self-directed exploration of emerging technologies shared via a Creative Commons license. The program has been touted as transformational for libraries—a method of moving libraries forward into a future of 21st-century innovation. Blowers noted on her blog, librarybytes, in 2009 that close to 1000 institutions worldwide had offered some form of the program...

...Fostering a true “learning organization” is not done in just ten or 12 weeks, but the seeds planted by Learning 2.0 can prove fruitful if nurtured. Libraries that have offered Learning 2.0 are best served by continued exploration via more “things” offered monthly... [emphasis added]

Read the full article on LibraryJournal.com

Thing #50: TED

We’ve got a lot of great things planned for Nebraska Learns 2.0 in 2012 but to end 2011, given everyone being so busy with the holidays, we figured we’d end the year with an easier thing, yet still very educational: TED videos.
I’ve been watching TED videos for several years now and I rarely see one that isn’t educational, entertaining, or inspirational. Some of them are all three.
Here’s the basics of what TED is all about:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.
The annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).
On TED.com, we make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks are subtitled in English, and many are subtitled in various languages. These videos are released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
Our mission: Spreading ideas.
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it. Have an idea? We want to hear from you.
The springtime TED Conference, held annually in Long Beach and simulcast in Palm Springs, is at the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend -- indeed, the event sells out a year in advance -- and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter presentations, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn't work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.
TEDActive features a live simulcast of the Long Beach conference, in fabulous Palm Springs, with an emphasis on connection, conversation and creation.
TEDGlobal is TED's twin conference. It was held in Oxford, UK, in 2005, 2009 and 2010, and in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2007. TEDGlobal is now held annually in Edinburgh, UK, each summer. The themes of the global conference are slightly more international in nature, but the full TED format is maintained.
TED also hosts events around the globe.TEDIndia was held in November 2009 in Mysore, India, celebrating and exploring the beckoning future of South Asia. TEDWomen was held in December 2010 in Washington, DC, asking the question: How are women and girls reshaping the future? TED also hosts smaller events around the globe, including many TED Salons, evening-length events with speakers and performers, and TED@ events, exploring a topic or location.
The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED Community's exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of "One Wish to Change the World." After several months of preparation, the wish is unveiled at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. Over the life of the prize, wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.
TEDTalks began as a simple attempt to share what happens at TED with the world. Under the moniker "ideas worth spreading," talks were released online. They rapidly attracted a global audience in the millions. Indeed, the reaction was so enthusiastic that the entire TED website has been reengineered around TEDTalks, with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices.
The TED Fellows helps world-changing innovators from around the globe become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. TED Fellows, TEDGlobal Fellows, and TED Senior Fellows are drawn from many disciplines that reflect the diversity of TED's members: technology, entertainment, design, the sciences, the humanities, the arts, NGOs, business and more.
The TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently.
The TED Open Translation Project brings TEDTalks beyond the English-speaking world by offering subtitles, interactive transcripts and the ability for any talk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. We launched the project with more than 250 translations, 50 languages and 100 volunteer translators; one year on, there are more than 21,000 completed translations from our thousands-strong community. It's an ambitious project that radically enhances the accessibility of the talks -- for the hearing-impaired, for those who speak English as a second language, for search engines (which can now index the full transcript of a talk), and of course for the vast audience of non-English speakers worldwide.
Today, TED is best thought of as a global community. It's a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world.

To get you started here are two of my favorites (one a longer than average, the other shorter than average):

Assignment:

Search the TED archive and watch about an hour worth of videos. (This will probably end up being about 4-6 episodes.) In your blog post link to the ones you watched (or better yet, embed them in your blog,) and talk about one of them. Did you find the video particularly entertaining, educational or inspirational? If so, why?
The videos you watch and blog about don’t necessarily have to tie back to libraries but you’ll get bonus karma points if they do.

Thing #49.5: Google+ Pages

Yesterday Google+ opened up the ability for organizations and companies to create pages. We have just created one for the Commission @ https://plus.google.com/110697779087482580396. We're not sure what we're going to do with it yet but at a minimum better for us to create it than someone else. So, please feel free to add us to a circle and if you'd like you can create one for your library @ https://plus.google.com/pages/create.

Thing #49: Google+

Welcome back to the regularly scheduled Nebraska Learns 2.0 monthly thing. All of us involved hoped everyone had a great time with CPD23 and are ready to get back into the swing of the monthly program.
We’ve talked about social networks in the past and we’ve talked about Google services in the past. What we’ve not yet talked about is a Google social network service. Why not? Well, for the most part there wasn’t one worthy of discussion. But now, just maybe, for Google, the third time’s the charm. This month, let’s take a look at Google+.
As you can probably guess there’s a lot to Google+. In this post I’ll be covering the major features and point out some useful tips. However, I encourage you to explore for a while before writing up your review.

Signing up and logging in

First you need to head over to http://plus.google.com/ and sign up. Originally you did need an invite but that isn’t the case any longer. (The previous invite link is an actual invite should for some reason Google ask that you have one even though it shouldn’t.)
Once you’re set up and logged in the first thing you should do is head over to your profile page (click on your name in upper right corner and select Profile) and fill in as much as you’re comfortable with. Feel free to take a look at my Google+ profile for an example.
Here’s something very important: One of the biggest issues with the launch of Google+ was Google’s real names policy which is currently in effect. Simply put, you can’t use a pseudonym, you must use the name you’re commonly known by. It has been reported that Google will be relaxing this rule in the future but it hasn’t happened as of early November.
Once you’re done filling in your profile use the navigation bar at the top to get to Circles.

Circles

Circles are both intuitive and somewhat difficult to explain. However I’ve found that once you get the hang of them you’ll wonder where they’ve been all your social web life.
Everyone you follow on Google+ needs to be placed into a circle. The the first thing you need to do is find someone to follow. Use the person search box in the upper right (it says “type a name” and enter “Michael Sauers”. You should get several results but I’m the one standing in front of a lot of books. Grab my icon and drag it down to the circle on the bottom half of the screen that says “Drop contacts here to create a new circle”.
Once you’ve done that click the “Create circle” link and name it Librarians and click the blue Create circle button. Now that the circle has been created you can find other people and drag them onto that circle. You’re welcome to create as many circles as you want. For example, I have circles for librarians, Nebraskans, family, Doctor Who fans, and more. Anyone you follow can be in more than one circle. So, if I follow you and you’re a librarian in Nebraska, you’re in both my librarians and Nebraskans circles.
One important thing to note is that unless you specifically make a circle public, people in your circles know you’re following them but don’t know the name of the circle you’ve put them in. So, for example, you can have a circle named “people who say interesting things but whom I find annoying”. As long as you don’t make that circle public, they’ll never know.

To delete a circle, right click on it and select delete. You can also rearrange your circles via drag and drop.
Why circles? Two reasons. First it can allow you to view just the posts from those in a particular circle. And second, and more importantly, you can easily choose to share an item with just people within a particular circle. (I’ll be talking about both of these later in this post.)

Your Stream

Now let’s click the home button in the navigation bar to get to your stream.

Your stream is where new items posted by the people in your circles are displayed. New items are displayed at the top with older items moving down the page as new content arrives.
On any particular item you can click on the poster’s name to get to their profile or click on the title to go to the original content source (assuming they’re posting a link to another item.) The time/date of the post will also be displayed along with information about who the post was shared with. Below each item you can +1 it, comment on it, or re-share it (assuming the original poster has not limited resharing).
As people comment on a post, those comments will automatically appear beneath the original content, new posts at the bottom.
If you look in the upper-right corner of a post you’ll see a gray triangle. Click this to get options to report abuse, block this person, and mute the post (for when you’re tired of receiving updates for a particular post.)
Over in the left sidebar is a list of your circles. Click on the name of a circle to see just the posts from the people in that circle. (Click the home button in the navigation bar to get back to your full stream.) Near the bottom of your circles list is “Incoming”. Clicking this will display the posts from people who are following you (i.e. you’re in one of their circles) but you are not following (i.e. they’re not in any of your circles.) This is a great way to check out people who you don’t know but follow you to see if you’d like to follow them back.
At the bottom of that list is Notifications. I’ll be covering that later in this lesson.

Sharing

To share new content click on “Share what’s new…” at the top of your stream. A box will appear into which you can enter any text you wish.

If you also (or instead) want to share a link to some other content, click the link icon and paste in your link. (There are also icons for sharing videos and photos, along with adding your physical location to a post.) As you add links to your post, part of that content, usually a graphic and some of the text, will be pulled into your post. (Shared YouTube videos will automatically be embedded into your post.) If more than one graphic appears on the linked page you can choose which graphic is used. You can also remove the graphic and/or remove the text that’s been pulled in.

Next you need to decide with whom to share your post. The default it to make the post public. If you do make it public, anyone who follows you will receive it in their stream, along with anyone who looks at your public profile, and it will appear as a result for an appropriate search. However, you don’t have to make things public.

To not make a post public, make sure that Public does not appear. (If it’s already there, click the X to remove it.) Then choose your list of whom to share this post with by clicking +Add more people.
When it comes to choosing who to share with, you’ve got a lot of options.

• Public (as already described)
• Your Circles: Share with everyone in all of your circles.
• Extended Circles: Share with everyone in all of your circles and everyone in all of their circles.
• Individual Circles. Choose any and all circles you wish to share this with.
• A particular person: Start typing a name of someone that has a Google+ account and you can share specifically with them whether they’re already in one of your circles or not.

I tend to make most of my posts public but in some cases I will share with a particular circle. For example, I might just want to post something that only those in my Family circle should see.
When you’re all done, click the green Share button to finalize your post.
Once you’ve posted something you can click on the gray triangle in the posts upper-right corner to get the ability to edit, delete, link to (the URL specific to this post), Disable comments, and Lock the post (keep others from resharing it).

Resharing

Assuming the original poster has not locked their post, each post will give you the ability to reshare it. To do this, just click the Share link at the bottom of the post and a new post will be created for you. Just add any additional text you wish, choose who to share it with, and click the Share button to post it.

Please keep in mind (and Google+ will remind you of this) that sometimes someone has shared something with a small group of people and did not necessarily want you to reshare it publicly. So please be aware of what and with whom you’re resharing.

Notifications

As people comment and reshare your posts, along with commenting on and resharing the posts of others that you have commented on or reshared, Google+ provides notifications of such activity. These notifications can be found in two places.
The first, and the one I use rarely, is the notifications link in the left-sidebar. Clicking on this will open a whole page of your notifications so as to look like your stream. Newer updates are at the top of the page, just like the stream.

The other option which I use constantly is through the notification icon in the black Google toolbar at the top of the page. As new notifications come in, the icon turns red and tells you how many notifications are awaiting you. (It stops updating at “9+”.) Clicking on this icon will open a window showing you a condensed list of notifications, each of which you can click to open and see the full content. I use this one more often since it appears on all Google sites (like Google Reader and GMail) and not just while I’m looking at Google+.

Searching Google+

Let’s say you’re interested in Carhenge. Find the search box at the top of the screen, enter carhenge and press enter. What you’ll see next is a list of public posts that mention Carhenge. Now lets say that you want to save this search for later viewing for new content. Click the Save this search button, located beneath the search box. Over in the left sidebar you’ll now see carhenge listed in red. Now, whenever you want to redo this search, just click on the link in the left sidebar.

Photos

I must admit that I’ve not personally played much with the photo features of Google+ since I’m very locked in to Flickr. However, what I have seen I’ve been very impressed with and the reviews from professional photographers have been wonderful.
The first interesting thing about photos in Google+ is the lightbox feature. Find a post in which someone has specifically shared a photo (like this one) and click on the photo. Here’s what you’ll get:

Photo: Trey Ratcliff (Someone you should follow!)
As you can see, the photo is beautifully displayed on a dark background and commenting is embedded to the right of the photo.
The other part of Google+ photos I’m impressed with is how it works with the G+ mobile app. I’ve got this installed on my phone and every time I take a photo I’ve allowed the app to automatically upload a copy of that photo into a private area of my Google+ account. Instant backups! (This is something you must turn on. It is off by default.)
If you want to play around more with photos in Google+ click the photo icon in the navigation bar. That screen will be broken down into several sections: Photos from your circles, Photos from your phone (if you’ve turned that on), Photos of you, Photos from your posts, and your albums. If you’re interested in sharing photography online, be sure to spend some time here.

Hangouts

Hangouts are the single coolest feature (in my opinion) of Google+ but I must admit that I’ve not yet actually had a chance to try it out. (Mainly due to the need to install a plugin to get it to work that I’ve not yet been able to install at work.)
Simply put, hangouts are video chat but way cooler than Skype. Best thing to do here is let this video explain it.

Google Reader Integration

On November 1st, users of Google Reader may have noticed that most of the familiar sharing and following features disappeared, replaced by Google +1 button. For better or worse if you want to share something from Google Reader, Google wants you to share it via Google+.
I’ve written a separate blog post about sharing in Google Reader and if you’re a Google Reader user I highly suggest you take a look at it. (It’s not very long.)

Looking for a demo?

On November 16th I’ll be doing a free live Webinar on Google+ for the Georgia Library Association. Anyone is welcome to register and attend. Assuming the recording is available before the end of the month I’ll try to remember to post it here.

***

So, that’s an overview of Google+. I feel like I’ve left a lot out but like any social network, it’s sometimes best to just get the basics and then figure out how it works best for you.

Assignment

1. Sign up for Google+ if you haven’t already.
2. Fill in your profile as much as you’re comfortable with. (Keep in mind Google’s real name policy.)
3. Find some people to follow and create a circle or two.
4. Try sharing some items both publicly and to particular circles.
5. Blog your thoughts about Google+. Be sure to include a link to your Google+ profile.

Bonus items:

1. Upload some photos, create and share a photo set.
2. If you’re a Google Reader user experiment with the new sharing features.
3. Start a public hangout and see who shows up.
4. If you have a smart phone install the Google+ app and let us know what you think of it.
5. Check out the gaming section. (I’ll leave you to find that on your own.)

CPD23: Week 17 - Final reflection - What next?

The final Thing! Congratulations on making it through all 23 Things for Professional Development!

But don't worry if you haven't completed all of the Things yet. The deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we changed it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For this last thing, we would like you to reflect on the programme in general and on what you want to do next. Can you identify any gaps in your experience that you might like to work on? A Personal Development Plan could help you reach those goals.

We hope this side trip into 23 Things for Professional Development has been fun and educational for you. We will return to our regular one-Thing-per-month schedule starting in November.

Keep blogging and keep learning!

About CPD23: See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program. And for an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 16 - Promoting yourself and Volunteering

Last week's NLA/NEMA Annual Conference took over a bit here, so we missed posting the Things for week 16. So, today we will be doing 2 posts, one for week 16 and one for week 17.

Don't forget, the deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For week 16 of 23 Things for Professional Development you will do Things 21 and 22. This week the focus is on "Promoting yourself in job applications and at interviews" and "Volunteering to get experience".

See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program. And, for an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 15 - Careers

It's week 15 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 20: Library Day in the Life and Library Routes/Roots, which is all about library careers. The idea is simple: blog about your library roots (how and why you got into the profession in the first place) and your library routes (the career path you’ve taken so far).

Don't forget, the deadline has been extended to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 14 - Extra catch-up week and Thing 17

It's week 14 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

The organizers of CPD23 have been listening to feedback from participants and have decided to change the schedule for the last few weeks of the program by making this an additional catch-up week. This pushes the end of the program to the week of October 10, instead of October 3.

In addition, Thing 17 is finally ready! It was originally scheduled for Week 12, starting on Sept. 5, but was postponed to this week. So, for this week, you can catch up on any previous Things you haven't done yet. And, you can do Thing 17 - "The Medium is the Message - Prezi and Slideshare".

Since the program has been extended, we are also extending the deadline to October 31 for Nebraska library staff to complete all 23 Things for Professional Development and earn 15 CE Credits. Our original deadline was October 14, but we are moving it to October 31. So, you now have until the end of October to complete all of the Things. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the new October 31 deadline.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 13 - Catch-up week / reflection

UPDATE 9/19: Deadline for Nebraska library staff to complete all Things and earn 15 C.E. Credits extended to October 31.

It is week 13 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 19, which is another chance to catch up on the program.

This week there's only 1 Thing to do, so if you're a little behind on your Things, it's the perfect time to catch up. If you're just discovering 23 Things for Professional Development, it's the perfect time to get started.

Don't forget - Nebraska library staff who complete all 23 Things for Professional Development by October 14 October 31 will earn 15 CE Credits. You do not have to complete the Things during the week they are first posted, you just have to have them all completed by the October 14 October 31 deadline.

For Thing 19, you will think about how you might integrate the Things you've learned so far into your workflow and routines.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 12 - Screencasts & Podcasts

It is week 12 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 18. (Thing 17 has been postponed.)

In Thing 18 you will explore Jing, screen capturing and podcasts (making and following them)

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 11 - Putting Yourself Out There

It is week 11 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 15 and Thing 16.

In Thing 15 you will explore why and how best to attend, speak at, and organize events.

In Thing 16 you will will look at the importance of being able to explain and express the value of the services your library offers to its constituents.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 10 - Zotero / Mendeley / CiteULike

It's Week 10 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 14 which looks at tools for managing information.

Thing 14 posits that as librarians we're not just there to help people find information, we can also help them manage it to more easily achieve their goals. This week you will be  introduced to three free reference management tools -- Zotero, Mendeley, and CiteULike. Your task is to explore and play with at least one of these tools and then blog about your impressions. How could it help you achieve some of your own goals? How could your new skill help you improve the support you offer your library users? If you're already using one or several of these tools, please share how you're using them.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska

CPD23: Week 9 - Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

It's Week 9 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 13, which explores several tools designed to facilitate effective sharing of information and documents when working with others on a joint project. For this Thing you will need to have a go at some of the suggested activites and then blog about any or all of the tools.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 8 - Catch-up week / reflections

It's Week 8 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week there's only 1 Thing to do, so if you're a little behind on your Things, it's the perfect time to catch up. If you're just discovering 23 Things for Professional Development, it's the perfect time to get started.

Thing 12 is about 'Putting the social into social media'. For this Thing, you will consider the role of social media in building up networks and a sense of community.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 7 - Librarianship training options

It's Week 7 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 10 and Thing 11, which are both on various ways to learn about being a librarian.

Thing 10 discusses routes into librarianship, such as traineeships, degrees and certifications. The post on the CPD23 website is UK-centric, but that's OK. For US participants, it is still very interesting to hear how it works in other countries. And the actual activity for this week works for everyone:

"For this week’s 'Thing' I would like you to blog about your experiences as a librarian so far. Tell us about why you joined the career, where you are now and how you got there and what you are planning to do next. I apologise that this blog post has been rather UK focused and therefore I would love it if our international colleagues out there would blog about their experiences in their countries so we can learn more about routes in librarianship on a global level."

Thing 11 is on Mentoring, and talks about being both a mentor and a mentee.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 6 - Organising yourself

It's Week 6 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 8 and Thing 9, which are both about organising tools to keep you sane and on top of everything!

Thing 8 is about Google Calendar, a free web-based calendar which can be shared with other people and accessed from anywhere with Internet connection. Thing 9 introduces you to Evernote, a tool that allows you to take notes on webpages and archive them for later consultation.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 5: Online Networks / Real Life Networks

It's Week 5 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week you will do Thing 6 and Thing 7, which are both about networking, but in different ways. Thing 6 is all about online (or social) networks and communities, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, LIS New Professionals Network, Librarians as Teachers Network, and CILIP communities. Thing 7 focuses on face-to-face networks and professional organisations: what they do, what the benefits are, and how and why you can get involved.

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 4: Reflective Practice

It's Week 4 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week, for Thing 5 you will take a bit of time to reflect on what you've done so far in the program. From the CPD23 post: "Reflective practice...provides an opportunity to review the experiences we have, learning from them and applying what we have learnt."

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.

CPD23: Week 3: Current awareness

It's Week 3 of 23 Things for Professional Development. See our previous post about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining this new learning program.

This week, you will do Thing 4. From the CPD23 post: "In this Thing we'll explore a few tools that will help you to keep up-to-date and aware of goings on in the library and information world. The three tools we have chosen to explore are Twitter, RSS feeds and Pushnote. However if there are any other tools you use for a similar purpose, feel free tell us all about it when you blog about this Thing!"

For an introduction to this new program and how you can participate, watch the recording of our NCompass Live about Nebraska Learns 2.0 joining the 23 Things for Professional Development program.