CILIP Ireland was delighted to offer a bursary to the recent Rewired conference in London to support the professional development of our members. The lucky recipient was Dr Eva Hornung. Eva is the librarian of the City of Dublin ETB Curriculum Development Unit, a one-person library supporting teachers, tutors and other staff. City of Dublin ETB is the state education and training authority for Dublin city with over 3,000 staff and 33,000 (full and part time) learners. Read Eva's Conference report below.
Learning never stops for me. After qualifying as a librarian in Germany in 1995, I worked as a children’s librarian for a number of years, then moved to Ireland to pursue a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies (LIS). Later, I completed a PhD in LIS and a Master’s degree in Higher Education. Since 2001, I have been running a one-person library in the further education sector looking after the information needs of teachers and tutors. Many of the students they support have additional needs or are returning to education.
This dynamic and sometimes challenging work environment suits me. Librarianship was a natural fit when it came to choosing a profession as I am curious by nature and like solving a problem. As a solo librarian in particular, you just never know what the day brings – one request could mean hours looking through our archival material, another one might involve a video call to help a user getting to grips with our Moodle site.
Technology is fast moving and it is hard to keep track. Thanks to CILIP Ireland, I could attend the fabulous Rewired conference in London on 1st November. The bursary, which I saw advertised on Twitter (yes, still calling it thatJ), contributed £250 towards accommodation and travel costs and also covered the registration fee. The application process could not have been easier and the criteria were straightforward. I am self-financing all my CPD activities and studies, so winning the bursary was a wonderful surprise.
This was only the second year of Rewired. The topics covered were highly topical, addressing issues that started coming up in my work place: data stewardship, the impact of AI applications on teaching and learning, and how to make sure that our learners and their families are not left behind. I was particularly interested in hearing about how library colleagues were responding to the challenges posed by AI - and I was not disappointed. All papers and panel discussions were insightful, well-presented and offered very practical advice. The keynote by Emma Thwaites, Director of Global Policy and Corporate Affairs with the Open Data Institute, set the tone. She introduced the recently announced National Data Library, an exciting new entity tasked with making sharing open data easier and more accessible. Rewind was a compact event which seamlessly moved from talks to hands-on demonstrations, all fueled by tasty food and coffee. The only regret I have is that I missed out on the makerspace and VR lab workshops because of overlaps in the programme.
I am part of the Digital Learning and Professional Development team in my organisation and will share the many ideas I took from the speakers. Another personal highlight had been the digital solutions lab area, where we could talk to industry leaders. Two companies in particular, Keenious and Scholarcy, showcased digital tools to enhance searching for quality research and making complex academic texts more accessible, respectively. Both resources would be helpful for learners and I hope we can make a case for purchasing them.
So my piece of advice is that if you see bursaries advertised, apply! The knowledge you gain from attending conferences will recharge your batteries. Meeting professionals from other types of libraries expands your network. And do join CILIP! Being a member gives you access to courses, other people, professional recognition, and the Information Professional magazine, in itself a valuable resource.
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