Up close in Cardiff

Well, this is a jet setting week, today finding me at home in the twilight zone somewhere between Cardiff and Dortmund (should that be the title of a concept album?)

Our CDG National Conference took place yesterday in the fabulous venue of Cardiff City Hall. Never in all my years of giving notices have I had to instruct people “Ladies, turn left at Hywel the Good’ or ‘Gents, take the left just after Henry VII’. We had showers and sunshine too, so I take back my comments about waterproofs

Our speakers were energetic, passionate, interactive, experienced, communicative… they also complemented each other fantastically and left us slightly overwhelmed with their array of issues and case studies and thought-provoking comments.  Liz Jolly held the audience captive as she described work undertaken in Info Services at Salford Uni to push professionalism way up the agenda – establishing mentor and mentee support networks and paying for staff CILIP subscriptions.  Richard Beveridge asked us what we actiually cost our employers and urged us to think about our value and how we can demonstrate our worth tangibly. The audience rose to the occasion too, asking and answering questions and joining in exercises to choose bags that represented them (from Lyndsay Rees-Jones’s world-famous bag collection) and to dissect job descriptions and write competency-based interview questions under the supervision of Laura Perrott. Lori Havard spoke about storyboarding for e-learning at Swansea Uni, prompting me to think how much time we invest in students’ information literacy and how little in our own colleagues’ learning. Lunch was the usual carbo-fest but we needed our strength to keep our brains ticking over all of this stimulation.

Our AGM was followed by a whistle-stop tour of our professional future from new CILIP Councillor and Aberystwyth lecturer Judy Broady-Preston. People were still making insightful comments and asking searching questiojns at 4.30, when it really was time to pack up and leave.

Sue Hill’s own brand champagne went home to be enjoyed responsibly by six lucky raffle winners, adding £30 to our international project funds.

And yes – I did get to visit the Doctor Who Up Close exhibition in Cardiff Bay – and brought home a wee Dalek and Cyberman for the shelf…

The so solid crew

Only a bijou blogette today – it’s Saturday after all, and I’m busy packing my bag to fly to Cardiff tomorrow for the CDG National Conference. Hand luggage only, so have to do a purge on my rucksack for dubious items. I once had a mini stapler confiscated at Belfast Airport. Harruummph. I loved that little widget. Pile all my liquids into a sandwich bag. Why are liquids so evil anyway? I look like a Boots employee and/or a hypochondriac when all the little lotions and potions are bundled up together. Taking a laptop from work – fretting about whether it will work or not on the day. Writing thankyou cards for speakers – a nice little job that gets me thinking about the programme, I think it’s a strong one and I know most of the speakers personally, which is nice. I’ve prepared my opening spiel, which is all about… yes you’ve guessed it… and it’s on in half an hour so I’d better exit the blogosphere tout de suite…

The time warrior

Well, after a week focusing a bit more on the immediate work environment, it’s time to catch up on all things CDG. I’ve spent this afternoon drafting papers for our National Council meeting which is only a few weeks away now – it’s the biggest business meeting in our calendar and I’m exhausted just thinking about it! Plus we have our Scottish Division AGM tomorrow at the Saltire Centre, Glasgow Caledonian Uni – I’ve visited before but I’m always interested to see how university libraries look (and sound!) at different times of the year. And this time next week I’ll be on my way to Cardiff for our national conference on workforce development.

This week’s Doctor Who classic DVD has been The Time Warrior – we’re back in the 1970s with Jon Pertwee. A Sontaran finds himself stuck in the early Middle Ages and has to make the most of the primitive technology he finds there. Meanwhile some scientists go missing from modern day England – the Sontaran officer is forcing them to work for him on some circuitry. Hot on their heels is of course the Doctor and, having stowed away on the TARDIS, investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. It’s a marvellous meeting of multiple eras and personalities. I hope that we as information professionals can take something of Sarah’s approach – no nonsense; brave; able to process new situations and sources quickly; able to wear dubious fashions and still look cutting edge; able to connect with those around us, even when they may be hostile axe-wielding maniacs.

A further thought with reference to last night’s new episode: the Ood are ‘born with their brains in their hands’ – do librarian Ood have extra big hands in order to carry the collected wisdom of the ageas and to do their customers’ thinking for them?

Life on the lily pads

Does anyone else feel they are constantly hopping from one lily pad to another but never really getting anywhere? It’s a funny time of year – university vacation but with a surprisingly high number of students around; just back from my own holiday and not quite back into the workaday rhythm; lots to do but no obvious top priority. Fiddle about with a document for our MSc dissertation handbook; log a new FOI enquiry; answer several emails; meet some prospective students; go to a meeting that feels a bit unsatisfactory because we are between several peaks.

Preparations for the CDG national conference are nearing completion, and the delegate list is growing all the time. I’m greatly looking forward to the trip, the venue (City Hall), my stay at the Big Sleep and hopefully a visit to the Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff Bay. (Good practice for when we get one in Glasgow next year). These conferences are always fun, surprising and attract both stalwart regulars and different people every time. I love meeting folk from different sectors and finding out what makes them tick and what turns their hair grey. I love waffling on in a random but hopefully welcoming manner at the start of the day. And in a strange way I love the randomness of changing locations, never knowing how the journey connections will pan out or whether I will be running the last stretch against the clock (that was Leicester).

Started a new book today – The wind-up bird chronicle by Haruki Murakami. It’s odd but pretty intriguing so far. It will tide me over till our book group completes its online vote as to the first title we will read and discuss.