Say it loud and say it proud -‘I’m a librarian’: the superhero approach to

engaging with your profession!

Leo Appleton, Director of Library Services, Goldsmiths, University of London

Image credit: thedaringlibrarian.com

Image credit: thedaringlibrarian.com

Image credit: Al Bigley – unionlibs.nc.us

Career highlights: Claire

Junior Library Assistant

Senior Library Assistant

Deputy Team Leader

Research Support Skills

Coordinator

Career highlights: Wendy

Assistant Librarian

Librarian

Interlibrary Loans Librarian

Senior Information Advisor

Career highlights: Leo

Senior Library Assistant

Liaison Librarian

Learning Resources Manager

Head of Business and Planning

Introductions – delegates – who are you?

• Name

• Job title

• Brief job overview

• Something you like about your job

The Superhero scale of professional pride

Achievements

• What is your greatest achievement in your personal life?

• How did achieving this make you feel?

Why involve ourselves in scholarship?Share best practice

Contribute to the profession

Recognition

Professional development

Professional responsibility

Create reference points for your achievements and innovations

Opportunities to present

• Where, what topic and format?

• Internal, local, national, international

• Talk about what you know well

• Types of presentation:

Poster session

Lightning talk

Workshop

Plenary lecture

Keynote address

Panel discussion, Q&A

Opportunities to present

• Activity – Call for papersIdeas for possible themes:

• Information and digital literacy innovations

• Library space planning and design

• Student engagement / user experience

• Theme and Title

Conference abstract (300 words)

Author biography (100 - 200 words)

Publishing

• What kind of publications could you share your best practice in?• Peer reviewed journal

• Professional press

• Newsletter

• Blog

• Book chapter

• Monograph

• White paper

• Report

• Book review

What’s the difference?

• Research pieces – peer review

• Case studies, practical experience,– professional press

• General pieces / theoretical – professional press

• Projects, write-ups – newsletters

• Personal reflections, opinion pieces – blogs, editorials

• Essays – book chapter

• Book reviews – professional press, newsletters

• To inform policy, discuss trends - white papers, reports

Tips

• Authors

• Make time (write little and often)

• Choose the publication (know

your audience)

• Plan it and organise it

• Better to get it written than to get

it perfect (first time)

• Edit, proof, review

• Editors

• Check the guidelines

• Readability is crucial

• Consider your journal audience

• Respond to your reviews• Are the objectives of the paper stated?

• Are the methods of the study and the results

clearly described?

• Does the discussion link theory and practice?

• Does the paper provide something new?

• Are the ideas of interest and practical

relevance to academic libraries

Resources

• The Thing Explainer

https://librariangoddess.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/journal-articles-the-thing-

explainer-version/

• Academic Writing Librarians http://academicwritinglibrarian.blogspot.com/

Writing for the professional Press

http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3557/1/WRAP_Brewerton_Brewerton_on_writing_ed_

version.pdf

The Thing I Did

• Here’s the thing I did and this is why it needed doing (Introduction)

• Here’s what other people said about this thing (and what they left out)

(Literature review)

• Here’s how I did it (Methods)

• Here’s what happened (Findings)

• This is what I think it means (Discussion)

• Abstract

• Background

• Scope / Limitations

• Ethics

• Conclusion

Activity

• Choose a type of publication

• Think about what you might write with regard to the topic that you have just

presented on

• Freely write about your topic for five minutes (without stopping)

MAKING AN IMPACT

What next?

http://bit.ly/CiteHacks2

Demonstrating impact

Share your work as widely as you can

• Departmental/personal websites

• LinkedIn

• Social media

BIBLIOMETRICS

Citations

Views Mentions

ALTMETRICS

Blogs Twitter

MediaPolicy

Reviews Mendeley

Measuring impact

Measuring impact

BIBLIOMETRICS ALTMETRICS

What next?

• Where will you present?

• Where will you publish?

• How will you demonstrate the impact of what you do?

• Focus on the enjoyable and fulfilling aspects of your work…

• Make time to reflect and write

• What gives you pride?

• Get support (peers, managers)

• Organise writing workshops

• Enjoy this aspect of the job. You are experts - profess, evangelise and tell the

world....

“I'm a superhero librarian!

I'm really proud of my

work, so let me tell you

what I’ve been doing!

What are you going to do? (Cards + feedback sheets)

Image credit; DC Comics