Thing 14: Mendeley, Ranting about Reference Software, & Ignoring CiteUlike

So I tried out Mendeley last week. If Evernote & Zotero were to combine, I feel that Mendeley would've been the outcome. Like Evernote, Mendeley allows you to save, organize, and take notes on articles. Like Zotero, Mendeley pulls the bibliographic information from your articles and allows you make citations. The nice thing about Mendeley is that it syncs with your other devices...so you can use it on other computers, laptops, and  tablets (provided you've downloaded the software and logged in).

With all that being said, a word to the wise about Zotero and other Bibliographic Citation programs; I know when you encounter it for the first time...it seems magical. Your eyes sparkle with all the possibilities of the things you can do with the extra time you'll save on your paper. You shake your fists thinking of all the precious moments you've wasted doing things the hard way. Be cautious my eager friends! The citations made be the programs are not always correct...make sure you double check your work.

It's not Zotero's fault that it could not pull all the information from your downloaded article and left out information it's yours! To be fair, most of the time it's the fault of the information contained in the PDF file. Some PDF files....especially older ones aren't able to be properly "read" by Biblio Cite Software.

It was in with this issue I found Mendeley to be more helpful. Mendeley asks you to VERIFY the bibliographic information and gives you the option of using Google Scholar to find and fill in any missing information. CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE

some of the info is missing? (vol? issue?)

yay! Mendeley found it using Google Scholar!

Another suggestion...often academic databases and journal archives will often have a spot that will provide the correct citation for you works cited...on their page. Yes, I know it doesn't help with in text citations but it's useful. For example here is a screen shot from EBSCO.
CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE

Thing 12 &13

I know I am behind and when I have time I will try to add a few tidbits of my personal life to this thing. It's been a wonderfully busy month and another has just begun. Today was my first class of the fall semester, I am a month into my new job as a graduate assistant at the NYS Library, and I am still slowly planning my wedding. It's going to be an interesting few months...now let's start a game of ketchup!

Thing 12 Putting the Social into Social Media

 image by Fred Cavazza taken from Flickr

• are there any other advantages to social networking in the context of professional development than those already outlined above?

It's easier for students to attend. As I student I really appreciate being able to participate in something like cdp23. Besides the benefits mentioned in the cdp23 post there are other practical advantages:

1. It's cheap! Money is tight I can't currently afford to pay for more classes or travel to attend conferences.
2. It's flexible! I am a full time student and now have a part time job, I can participate on my own time.

• can you think of any disadvantages?

With over 700 participants the cdp23 has the advantage of bringing many types of viewpoints and professions. However, there is something to be said for a smaller community. It's an overwhelming task to read and comment on so many blogs. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to be part of such a large thing. I would like to try a program like this on a smaller scale...I am hoping that the Capital District Library Coucil (CLDC) will host another program so that I may compare the experiences. 

• has CPD23 helped you to make contact with others that you would not have had contact with normally?

Yes, I have made contact with two UAlbany alumni and an ex-journalist. I wish I had time to make contact with more.

• did you already use social media for your career development before starting CPD23? Will you keep using it after the programme has finished?

I never have but I intend to from now on. I have found blogging to be a great learning experience and I have learned a lot from reading the blogs of others. While I have yet to use my Linked In 

account and my Twitter for any "real" profession development purposes I hope to in the future.

• in your opinion does social networking really help to foster a sense of community?

Yes and No, like any professional development workshop you get what you put into it. If you want to learn and create connections and work to do so...you can help to create a sense of community. 

Thing 13: Google Docs, Wiki, Dropbox

I am all for cloud computing. While its a little frightening to know that people have the ability to hack and data mine your information, I like that I can access my school papers anywhere (and honestly if you want to hack into my account and read them have fun :) . However, I am not a fan of Google docs. I enjoy Google's email services, its blogging platform, its RSS reader, and its search engine but I find Google docs cumbersome. I think this is because I tend to use Microsoft office materials. Sometimes when I use Google docs and Microsoft office tools in conjunction the formatting gets screwed up. While I think this error is mostly due to Microsoft programming I can't afford my papers and presentations being marred or lost.

 Therefore I highly recommend Dropbox. I used a Dropbox account to write a few group papers for one of my classes last semester. Most of my classmates used Macs. I used a PC. Despite the different OS were still able to access and edit Word documents and PDFs with out conflict. 

I love wikis! They make something like a proposal or report interesting and interactive. In order to do something different and show off my wiki-skills I created a wiki page to show off my resume information. Let me know what you think? 

While you can pay for some fancy wiki programs and services. I highly recommend the free options that are available. So far I have used pbworks, wikispaces, and mediawiki. I have decided to create a little chart so you can easily compare the three...but if I had to pick on pbworks is my wiki of choice. ^.^ 

Super Scientific Star Scale * - BOO!! ** - not good *** - GOOD **** - i like **** - <3 !	WikiSpaces	PBworks	MediaWiki
Usability	***	****	**
	Can’t really complain. It’s pretty simple to use.	It’s very easy to format this page however…all functions may not be a readily apparent as with the other wiki services. However once you get the hang out it everything becomes self-explanatory. I find PBworks the easiest to use.	Adding and editing text is easy. But formatting is more cumbersome because you must remember a series of codes to format.  With the other services you have RTF with just a click of a button. It must simpler to make things bold vs. “’bold’”…and bullet listing is just obnoxious
Guidance	***	**	***
	A helpful blog	Not a much support on site the other two but there are helpful videos and blogs abound!	Great tutorials…but I don’t think it makes up for the cumbersome style
Attractiveness	***	****	*
	Not as smooth and attractive as PBworks but still neat and professional without being an eyesore.	Smooth, neat, attractive, but the side bars and top tabs can be a little overwhelming.	If you don’t have programming skills… UGLY!
Free Amenities	***	***	****
	·2 GB Storage ·Unlimited users and pages ·10mb per file limit ·Few privacy options	·  Limited number of color options ·  More security options than wikispaces but you must pay more to be able to limit security on an individual page level ·  Unlimited pages and users ·  Can add larger files (big pictures and pdfs)	Everything! MediWiki is opensource so it’s basically what you make it…if you’re a newb you may want to try one of the other services because they have more built in features
Total Stars:	12	13 WIN!	10
What I Like Most about it?	It’s simple! Not as overwhelming with the weird codes like MediaWiki and easier to understand on your own than PBworks.	The Organization and the Look! I like that it has a backend that you can organize and a front end that looks smooth and clean.	It’s allows Creativity! Because this is open source the creative possibilities are endless.

sorry it's so small

Thing 10 (from a US/NY perspective) & 11

Thing 10: Graduate Traineeships, Master's Degrees, Chartership, Accreditation 


  Living in the United States... I felt a little left out by this section because I don't apply for chartership and there aren't trainee-ships. I took a look at the CILIP website. To earn chartership from the CILIP in UK you have to prepare a portfolio that details your plans, your experience, your hours of service, and your professional development skills. CILIP members must also have a mentor. As intimidating and tough as these qualifications look I really like how the UK holds their librarians up to a rigorous and standard professional guideline. I wish librarians in the US were held up to these types of standards....why? 2 Reasons:
   Reason 1.) I feel that many people in the United States think that any person off the street can be a librarian. A program like CILIP's would show people that Librarians work and train hard to be professionals at their job.
    Reason 2.) In the US every state has a different standard, different state testing & requirements to place for public library jobs, and different levels of schooling they require. A country wide standard would definitely make things less confusing. The ALA helps a little with this but there is still are a lot of different channels to go through.


Here's is what I have to do to become a qualified & hopefully successful public librarian in the state of New York:

• Earn a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science (LIS) or an Master's of Science in Information Science (MSIS) from an American Libraries Association (ALA) accredited program

• Become New York State Certified 
• (see New York Librarian Associations helpful wiki to find out how)

• Fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay a fee for each city and/or town, and/or county I wish to apply for work in ...the paper work is very similar for each but still tedious
• Since I live in Albany right now here is an example of the different forms I would have to fill out to work in Albany: 



NY Counties

• city form
• this form allows me to apply for jobs at any of the Albany Public Libraries
• county form   
• this form allows me to apply for jobs at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Community Library and the Bethlehem, Guilderland and Voorheesville Public Libraries

This makes me wonder how much paper work I will have to fill out to get a library job when I move to New York City...in a year or two.....?

Like a good MSIS student I decided to consult a librarian. I sent an email to the reference librarians at the New York Public Library.... I hope to post the response soon :)

Thing 11 Mentoring 
   Unlike the CILIP program, library students in NY are not required to find or build relationships with a mentor but it is encouraged. Personally, I try to learn from professors or supervisors at my internships or volunteer locations...but I am to shy too bluntly ask someone to be my mentor...If I knew someone who advertised themselves as one.. I'd like to think that I would grab the opportunity.

Last semester I went to an "Get a Job! Panel" held at my school where we could ask professionals about job hiring and experiences. I met a librarian there who offered me her email and told her I could talk to her if I had any questions. I plan to hold her to that. Also, there is a woman who works at the museum where I intern who I hope will teach me about grant writing.

Thing 8,9, & Presenting StudyBlue!

 I am a goggle fanatic. I use it daily sometimes hourly. I have two email accounts, a blog, and Goggle+ account. However, I can not get used to Google Calendar. I grew up using computers in some form from the age of  8 but there are still somethings I have to do the "old fashioned way". While Google Calender can go anywhere on any device. I like being able to physically change and add things. That's why I've also using been the wipe-off calendar above my desk since high school and why I buy a paper planner every year. There is something satisfying to the ritual of keep a physical calendar. I like that I can flip through the pages of my event book and see where I am going and where I've been.  I get a sense of accomplishment to wiping of everything off of my desk calendar and updating it every two weeks or so. It keeps me focused on what is ahead. Now that I have an I pad I may try to use Google Calender when school starts...but if I do I know I'll still keep up with my wipeoff board.

 A few weeks ago cdp23 introduced us to Pushnote. While an interesting application, I found it to be more of a hindrance than a help. Another account to keep track of, check, and update. As I have mentioned before it also didn't seem to provide information on sites I wanted.  This weeks suggestions of Evernote led me to roll my eyes figuring this would be more of the same. Not so. Evernote is what I have always wanted from delicious  it lets you clip and organize websites, keeps notes, and sync this record to call devices...kind of like a combination between Delicious, Pushnote, and Dropbox. I beyond anal retentive about organizing my bookmarks...especially the ones I visit often..Evernote allows me to "clip" the website and add notes to it. The only thing that disappointed me is that it there is currently no web clipper for the Ipad.


  One of the other great features of Evernote is that besides the fact that I can sync my library from my laptop and my Ipad ....is that I can also sync it with other applications. Evernote Trunk  is an part of the Evernote site that lists all the applications you can use with Evernote. I can sync PDFs from my Dropbox to Evernote and make notes on them, I can sync emails and add notes, etc.


One cool application I found through trunk is called:

    Like Flashcard Machine....Study Blue allows you to  create flash cards, and search share or upload flashcards made by others. However, StudyBlue also allows you to store, share, create, and download notes. Click the image below to see a screen shot of StudyBlue flash card creator.

 Unfortunately for NOW you can only create flash cards on computers however the Study Blue Ipad app does allow you to view the notes and flash cards already existent in your account. I DO NOT recommend using StudyBlue on the Ipad for anything but flashcards.

There is a way to sync your StudyBlue notes to Evernote so you can edit them in there....but I honestly think I will only be using StudyBlue for flashcards.

Here is a little video I made of me using the StudyBlue App to view a flashcard I created. This also the first video I've ever created and uploaded so I hope it works!

Thing 5, 6, & 7

So.. I don't have much to write for the next three things in cdp23...but I wrote a few notes on each.

Thing 5 Reflective Practice 
   As I don't really have a "career" as an information professional yet I do not really have any work stories I can look back upon or some sagely career advice...however, I do realize and understand the importance of reflection in life. That being said there is a difference between reflection and "dwelling on the past". The reflection process is more productive it forces us to confront our past experiences and learn something from them. On the other had "dwelling" leaves distracted by the past and passive toward our future.


Thing 6 Online Networks
Facebook ~ I have decided to keep this personal ONLY.

LinkedIn ~ My father and my fiance both have one of these. I know I want one eventually but I'm not really sure what the appropriate time is for me to have one. I am only a student and am not set to graduate until next August. For right not my plan is to make one when I graduate. My goal in the next couple weeks is to go around and ask cdp23 participants about their LinkedIn profiles...when they got one and why?

Other Networks ~  another task I will have to assign myself is to check out LISNPN

What is it about the summer?

...the season distracts by making you think you have all the time in the world

...meanwhile it slips away faster that you ever thought it could

Thing 7 face to face networks and professional organizations
   I joined the ALA and NYLA at the end of May with a student membership. For LIS students living in NY...there is a discount rate for a student membership to both organizations. Click this LINK for more details. After sending in my form in the beginning of May it took about a month for me to begin receiving email newsletters and information from the ALA.I hope that my involvement in these organizations will provide me with the opportunity to learn and experience more. For now, I hope to continue in a more interactive way by continuing to be a part of SCALA the SUNY Albany Student Chapter of the ALA.

  I am currently following HACK Library School online. I haven't really had an opportunity to get involved but if I see something that I could provide/share I'd like to. As the founder of HackLibSchool Micah says in his presentation:

 "basically most good ideas that I have are re-purposed from other peoples great ideas. but as a well-trained librarian I'm not afraid to give credit and attribution when it's due"

This is basically how I feel about everything I do but I'd like to think that the information I choose to share and the way I choose to share it is what make me somewhat an individual. Like Bobbi Newman's Day in the Life blog I am slowly clicking through HackLibSchool's recommended links for "newbs".

Thing 2, 3, & 4

Thing 2
    I checked out a bunch of blogs the last couple weeks. Commented on a few. Almost everyone was English but I did check out a few American blogs. I was also pleased with the age range of the participants.There lot of youngsters like myself are trying to make our way into the world of info science and then their are many seasoned professionals. It's exciting and overwhelming to be a part of it. As I have seen a lot of people comment on their blogs. It's hard to not want to follow everyone's blogs...but realistically how much will I really end up reading?

   As I commented on someone's blog you can always add more television stations but you'll still only end up watching a few. That's how I feel when reading all these blogs...for now I think I'll follow a bunch via RSS and then slowly weed out to my top ten "channels".

This info-overload panic reminded me of this ARTICLE I read on another blog.

Thing 3

 Personal branding? I don't really know how I feel about it. I feel like I don't have enough experience with it in the professional information science realm world to make an informed decision. For now, I've come to one conclusion, I think there is a fine line between a professional visible presence and hokey pitch that seems to give off stink waves of informal desperation. But that could just be me....what do you think? 


Thing 4
   Now to be a complete hypocrite, I really love Pushnote! It's a great concept. I just wish more people used it. The only sites I've really see it used for are already pretty well known....but may I need to do some more searching.
   As for Twitter I've had an account since January. One of my professors made everyone in our class sign up for an account. At first I though I would hate it but I actually find it quite helpful and interesting especially now that I am finding all these info science career/new accounts to follow.

23 Things for Professional Development: #1

Where I am & What I want to get from cdp23?

Well, first things first, I am currently a graduate student in my second semester and am slowly working my way toward a Master's Degree in Information Science. I came into the program with no library or archival experience so I am trying to grab as much as I can through volunteer/internship type positions. I currently volunteer at the NYS Talking Book & Braille Library and the Albany Institute of History & Art. My goal is to successfully graduate with some experience and some good recommendations and use those things to get a job.

I am participating in cdp23 because I want to learn all I can about participating in the field of information science. I want to learn how to get a job...what skills I should focus on...what other people are doing in their careers...etc. As a new student, I want to be able to absorb and experience as much as possible; cdp23 seems like a great way to do this.

In addition, I am intrigued by the formtl of cdp23. I've never tried any kind of web 2.0 interactive social program like this before and I want to see how it works.

On another somewhat related note my Internet which has worked perfectly all month has decided to slowly sputter out and then die. I have been with out a connection since Saturday. This unfortunate turn of events has forced me to travel elsewhere to use the Internet. Therefore, I am not sure how well I will be able to be involved in the program, but so far it looks like I'll be ok.