Thing 1: Blogs and blogging

Well, we're going to have to do a Thing per day this week in order to catch up with the official schedule!

Here's a reminder about what Thing 1 is supposed to be about. from the official 23 Things blog:

"In this Thing you will create your own blog (if you don't have one already) and will think and write about why you're taking part in 23 Things for Professional Development and what you're hoping to get out of it."

So, without further ado:

Assistant A can inform you all that the OUH NHS Library is taking part in 23 Things to develop the library as a professional service and so see what thoughts other libraries come up with. And, in the spirit of sharing and mutual pooling of ideas, we thought it only fair to inflict our poor deluded ramblings on the world.

This is, I think, what Outreach is getting at when she tell me that "it is never easy to write about oneself and I find it quite difficult to think of things to say.  It is much easier to reply to someone else who will have already broached the subject to discuss". We'd probably never have got around to considering the important issues raised by the 23 Things, and certainly not in any systematic way. The 23 Things will force us to come up with ideas and, what's often more difficult, articulate them clearly, cogently and reasonably.

Outreach continues: "I think to write a professional blog and to read other blogs can help immensely in sharing professional practice, problem solving and generating an awareness of what is going on in the library world where the majority of activities may not be recorded elsewhere.  The wisdom of the crowd is a powerful and limitless source of inspiration." Hearty words with which we can all agree.

Our library Manager takes a brief time-out from her usual weighty and important deliberations to consider the matter, and deigns to respond: "I am doing 23 things as I want a greater awareness of Web 2.0 tools and how they can be applied in a heath library setting. Sometimes it is difficult to use the accredited tools that are out there, our hospital lacking a subscription, but there are often free alternatives that can be used instead, and which this sort of sharing can teach us about. I am hoping 23 Things will give me some pointers as to what can be used instead."

We all agree that our focus is on how the 23 Things can support our library as a whole, in addition to just individual librarians. We think that our team-based approach might add something to the mix, as we'll have to discuss our thoughts to arrive at a mutually agreed party-line - either that or the combustible discord will result in productive discussion.

One final note from Assistant A, who would like to express surprise that no better descriptive word than 'Thing' made the final cut. It makes it all sound like a bit of a vague and contrived activity. Which it isn't, is it? No? Surely?