When did it happen? Has it happened? When did I stop being a new information professional and become an (old) information professional? I've been following a debate on Twitter over the last couple of days which has concerned me and I'm not entirely sure why. I've been a professional librarian (still unchartered, granted, but that's a different issue) for over 15 years, and when I was appointed to my current post, I was 27 years old (I think), and for quite a few years, was considered the 'young' one. Obviously, time passes, folks move on, and I'm definitely no longer the baby in the team!
When I qualified, there was no such thing as Twitter, nobody blogged, networking was done at meetings and conferences, although we did have email. For me, lis-link and lis-usltg, in particular, were places to engage with other librarians and keep your ear to the ground. USTLG (Universities Science and Technology Librarians' Group) also held regular meetings and was (and still is) a great place to meet folks doing the same job as me. Now, I can keep up to date with colleagues and fellow professionals in so many different ways. I have a Twitter account and although I can't quite keep on top of it, or contribute as much as I might (I'm working on this...), I'm finding it a great way of keeping up-to-date and finding out what folks (new and experienced) are up to, and am taking inspiration and ideas from lots of people. Isn't that the point?
I joined the CPD 23 Things programme for a variety of reasons; my own (personal & professional) development being one of them, obviously, but my main aim is to use this opportunity to re-engage with the profession as I feel as though I've neglected this area of my professional development in recent years (partly due to my extended exhaustion after 2 periods of maternity leave, and then combining raising 2 small children with the demands and pressures of work. I know lots of working mums who manage this a lot better than me though...). How do I feel about the new generation of professionals. To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought., aren't we all just professionals, trying to do our best and make a difference? Actually, if I'm honest, I'm quite envious of the years they have in front of them. Am I envious of their network? Perhaps? How would I feel turning up at a conference designed for new professionals? Would I feel the need to justify myself? (" Hello, no, I'm not a new professional, but I love to learn new things and meet new people!") And I do love exploring and experimenting with new technologies and different ways of doing things, and I don't think this has changed as I've aged or gained experience. In some ways and in some areas, I feel as new and inexperienced as I did 15 years ago. However, I love looking to the future and exploring, experimenting. It's got nothing to do with age, it's a state of mind.
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