CPD23 Thing 7: Real life networks

I wasn’t feeling much inspired for this one, but Helen’s post and, above all, the comments to it woke me up. Totally agreeing with what Jo, Bethan and LJ Hutchins have said in the comments, and bearing in mind that I know everyone is different and at different stages of their career / life, this is what wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t signed up for CILIP membership - and it's not an exaustive list. I wouldn't have...

1. Joined the group on LinkedIn, posted a message about me, and received lovely replies from Megan and Niamh.
2. Met Niamh some days later. This brought to me being involved in all sorts of things, including this programme.
3. Met Libby. I approached her in her capacity of Candidate Support Officer for the East of England and our meeting was the most enlightening one you can imagine.
4. Realised that I could get my Masters accredited and go for Chartership.
5. Found my mentor for Chartership, and several other informal mentors along the way.
6. Started feeling professionally alive again.
7. Got involved in the wider Cambridge librarians’ community. True, they do exist without CILIP and they do organise plenty of things, but CILIP is the way I met the person who introduced me to them, so my gratitude stays with it.
8. Opened the blog, got a lot of encouragement, and become a CILIP blogger. I am aware it’s not just a decorative element on the right-side bar of the page.
9. Become involved with the East of England branch, and realised that I could do a lot of things.
10. Got out of the very sad echo-chamber I sometimes experience in my office, where info pros are quite stuck and there seems to be no hope for us. But there is. As long as you keep talking to colleagues, affirming what you are and what you do, and advocating for your service, there is. I was doing it before CILIP, but doing it now puts it into a wider context, and I feel that the micro-advocacy I engage in every day means also doing something for the profession on a larger scale.
11. Felt part of a community, which goes beyond the geographical boundaries of Cambridge. I might not live here forever, I might re-locate (a warmer place would be nice!) and have to start all over again. Being a CILIP member gives me a much stronger safety net than being a member of AIB (the Italian version of CILIP).

As I explained in a post some months ago, I also feel that this is one of the best times to be a member. Annie is doing a great job.

I close this post with a splendid quote from Enrico’s blog on the same topic: “If you are a professional, the professional association is the place to be, and if you don’t like the professional association, that is the place where to operate change.”

Helen – these are my words for you. Looking forward to organising talks with you on the truth about the air speed velocity of a sparrow holding a coconut, and what actually happened to Agatha Christie when she vanished for a few days. :-)