I have already discussed (several times) the sense of isolation I felt in my first school library post. On reflection, the situation might have been made more acute given that I was coming from a very busy, public library district, with a team of 40-50 to just myself and a part-time assistant. As a result, however, I cannot stress how vital networking is to the school librarian. Whether it be via CILIP or the SLA or just a group of local colleagues in contact via email, it made a huge difference to my first few years to have someone to turn to to ask the silly questions, compare services and even to have the occaisonal gripe with. That said, with hindsight, I should have given more time and engery to networking whilst in the former role within a large team, as well. It is as easy to become stuck in the same routine, asking the same people over and over. I rarely felt the need to seek out anyone new or innovative.
I am a member of a couple CILIP groups, the SLA and follow JISC mail and SLN to keep abreast of the latest developments and opportunities. However, during the last year I have been lucky enough to really amp up the amount of real life networking I do. I have begun to attend my SLA branch meetings (previous I was only in email contact) a CILIP CDG portfolio building course and a meeting of the ISLG, as my new employers positively encourage me to engage with the wider profession. Similarly, I have attended a number of courses and workshops where the opportunity to meet and discuss relevant topics with like-minded colleagues is as important as the handouts and knowledge I can take from the speakers. In addition, I attended my first library conference this year (Lighting the Future). I heard some amazing speakers and attended several informative workshops. However, once again it was the conversations during the unplanned times - at breakfast, over coffee and whilst digesting what had been presented - that really helped to put everything into context. Sharing what we all do helps spark ideas. Comparing experiences enables innovation. So no matter how scary it is (even as a grown up) to walk up to a table of unknown people and ask if you can join them, it has been worth it every single time. I came away knowing more than I did before and enriched because of that.
