Thing 21: Professional Groups

I choose the task from this Thing to write a relective blog on my experience with being a member of a professional organisation and the impact it has had on my CPD. I have been a member of the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) since I graduated from UCD Library school in 2002. I think it is important to belong to a professional organisation.

When you are starting out in your career, a professional organisation can be a source for job advertisements and also great for networking and support. At this early stage, a mentorship programme would have been ideal. I was always lucky to work in organisations that supported CPD. Throughout my career attending courses, events, seminars and conferences run by the LAI was very helpful for my CPD. They were run by Librarians for Librarians so the topics chosen were very current and beneficial. I came away from these events filled with renewed energy, optimism and new contacts. They were great networking occasions especially helpful when working in smaller libraries.

The most active group that I have been a part of has been the HSLG, the Health Sciences Libraries Group, a subset of the LAI. As well as excellent courses and events which they organise, another important link is the HSLG list which gives us an opportunity to ask questions of colleagues in an informal setting. One thing I love about our profession is the helpful nature and co-operative spirit of our colleagues.

Unfortunately working in smaller libraries has meant that I haven't had the time to get more involved in committee work within the HSLG. Perhaps this is an area I will look at in the future. I would like to look into applying for my LAI Associateship and perhaps joining a committee and getting more involved that way.