‘‘ T
HOUGH I am lucky to have dual domicile, Eastbourne and Lisbon, the dramatic events of the past 18 months have
severely curtailed my ability to work from both cities so most of my international contact has been via Zoom, Teams and Webex.
Recently, I was invited to attend a global reunion event organised by Ana Neves from Lisbon, she said: “I have chosen Hubbub. for this session, and because there won’t be any presentations, I was keen to use a platform that allows for serendipitous and random conversations. “In addition, I wanted something different from Zoom, Teams, and other similar tools. Although they have been absolute lifesavers over the past 15 months, I think we can all do a break from that ‘normal’.”
Presidential “Debate” Each participant was able to move easily around the site and join in conversations. With participants from Canada to India it was important to establish a code of conduct so that when someone left a conversation those remaining didn’t feel slighted. It was hugely enjoyable allowing each participant to move to different areas much as we all used to in networking breaks and post event drinks. What I really liked was that despite being in one area (the bar in the example below), you could still hear the chatter from other areas such as the Lobby or Garden. The importance of establishing an email and communication etiquette/ code of practice came up in a recent speech I made to the International Library & Information Group (ILIG). Entitled “Dad, are you really a spy?” I drew on many years of running global knowledge and information management assignments to illustrate the challenge of working cross border,
June 2021
It’s been a hectic period, attending at least one virtual conference a week.
culture and language. “I heard you to say and I understood you to mean” was but one of the techniques I’ve used to avoid linguistic misunderstanding. For more take a look at Helping businesses plan exit strategies and pitch for funds: “when I becomes we” (https://bit. ly/3iHzmMt).
In conversation with...
Stories, advice and keywords that stuck. It’s been a hectic period, attending at least one virtual conference a week. Since the last column I’ve had the pleasure of representing CILIP at a Presidents event hosted by the All- Russian Libraries Congress, attended CILIP Cymru’s and CILIP Scotland’s annual conference as well as delivering a post AGM speech to the K&IM Special interest group.
I’ve still managed to have some amazing conversations with CILIP members. Thank you, Vicky Robertson, Rebecca Dorsett, Emma Rothwell and Liane Kordan for being generous with time and thoughts.
What struck me throughout was how
invaluable the skills learned during library and information training have proved to be throughout their careers irrespective of the roles they are now playing.
Here’s a few of their wise words
“Nothing happens by chance. For someone doing a career change - be prepared to work hard and work to fund your study.”
“Don’t box yourself in! Have a go! You are stronger than you think!”
“Nothing you ever learn is wasted.”
“Don’t lockdown your vision — browse / you can do anything — read the free stuff”.
“Always have a plan B especially with technology. e.g. Send screenshots of slides.”
Paul Corney (
president@cilip.org.uk) is President of CILIP.
Thursday at 4pm is a fixed event in The Presidential Diary. If you’d like to ‘book a spot’ please contact me via the CILIP website or
president@cilip.org.uk.
Keywords Tenacious, curious. Bravery, frugality. Café Roulette.
Presidential Debate
The second in our series of Presidential Debates takes place on 30 June (https://
bit.ly/3ikIdU4). If you are attending I hope you enjoy it, but if you can’t make it the this time the third debate will take place at the end of September. And while I have something in mind, I am open to suggestions.
Presidential Musings Keep a watch out – two excellent contributions: one from Kate Thompson, journalist/author, the other in this issue on pp. 38-41 from new University of Otago Head Librarian, Mike Wall. IP
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