Thing 13: Professional Organisations
It took me a while to come around to the idea of joining a Professional Organisation. I joined the LAI a few years after graduating but it was another year or two before I really put my membership to any use. I am now a member of CILIP also and currently finding my way around their website and finding out what they can offer.
Some of the best opportunities of my career so far have come to me through my membership with the LAI and my involvement in the WRSLAI committee. I think it's extremely worthwhile. The LAI is a small organization and is being run on a completely voluntary basis so they don't have as many activities as CILIP and rely on the sub groups and committees to organise CPD events. They do have an annual joint conference with CILIP every year which I hope to go to some year.
The simple act of being on a mailing list for your professional organization means that you are kept up to date with any new developments and CPD opportunities. It means you have a greater connection to the profession as a whole rather than simply the one dimensional aspect of focusing on wherever you currently work, which can be limiting if you're hoping to progress in your career.
There are plenty of opportunities to specialize in a specific field by joining a subgroup. If you join a subgroup, you may be eligible to apply for a bursary to attend a conference. If you attend a conference you can write a conference report which will then be published in your library journal.
All of this counts towards your CPD record which enables you to pursue Fellowship or Chartership.
So joining a professional organization can lead from one opportunity to the next and will definitely give your career a boost.
I need to practice what I preach a little though. I have had plenty of opportunities to write conference reports in the last couple of years and I haven't used them. It's a good starting point if you're thinking of entering the area of publications. I'm not an academic writer, but conference reports are very manageable. I think that at the end of this course that will have to be on my to do list, as well as exploring avenues to fellowhsip or chartership.
Some of the best opportunities of my career so far have come to me through my membership with the LAI and my involvement in the WRSLAI committee. I think it's extremely worthwhile. The LAI is a small organization and is being run on a completely voluntary basis so they don't have as many activities as CILIP and rely on the sub groups and committees to organise CPD events. They do have an annual joint conference with CILIP every year which I hope to go to some year.
The simple act of being on a mailing list for your professional organization means that you are kept up to date with any new developments and CPD opportunities. It means you have a greater connection to the profession as a whole rather than simply the one dimensional aspect of focusing on wherever you currently work, which can be limiting if you're hoping to progress in your career.
There are plenty of opportunities to specialize in a specific field by joining a subgroup. If you join a subgroup, you may be eligible to apply for a bursary to attend a conference. If you attend a conference you can write a conference report which will then be published in your library journal.
All of this counts towards your CPD record which enables you to pursue Fellowship or Chartership.
So joining a professional organization can lead from one opportunity to the next and will definitely give your career a boost.
I need to practice what I preach a little though. I have had plenty of opportunities to write conference reports in the last couple of years and I haven't used them. It's a good starting point if you're thinking of entering the area of publications. I'm not an academic writer, but conference reports are very manageable. I think that at the end of this course that will have to be on my to do list, as well as exploring avenues to fellowhsip or chartership.
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