Rudaí 23 #thing13: Professional Organisations

I have been a member of the Library Association of Ireland since I first started my MLIS course in UCD. I think it’s really important to be part of an organisation like the LAI because of the links it provides to a community of active and enthusiastic library professionals. Over the last two years, the majority of the library events I have attended have been provided either by the LAI directly or great LAI groups like the LAI’s Career Development Group the LAI CDG and the Academic and Special Libraries Section (A&SL).

Anyone who has ever attended the annual A&SL conference knows how inspiring its speakers are year after year and how energised the whole experience leaves you feeling. You are guaranteed to reconnect with people from the library and information field you already know and make many more new connections. The LAI frequently holds invaluable training and information sessions that will develop you professionally and which are free to members. An example of this is their upcoming workshop taking place on the 2^nd October which focuses on presenting at and creating posters for conferences. The LAI’s quarterly publication ‘An Leabharlann’ is free to members and it contains articles about new technologies adopted by libraries, practical guides on how to market your library services and much more . It also provides you with the opportunity to submit articles about projects you have completed, contribute to book reviews and highlight library innovations, all of which will help raise your professional profile.
 

I’ve attended the LAI CDG’s ‘Library Camp,’ an annual event which provides you with opportunities to share ideas with members of the library profession in an informal setting. The home-baked goods are a bonus too! I talked about attending the LAI CDG’s ‘Information Skills for the Future’ event in my last blog which featured a really interesting mix of speakers from academic and public libraries covering all aspects of the profession.
 

NPD Ireland is another group who provide support to newly qualified librarians and Information Professionals. I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute a blog post for the NPD Ireland WordPress site after I completed the MLIS and I served as a panellist at their Christmas Mixer in UCD in December 2014. Their Twitter account @NPDIreland provides a mine of up to date information about library events, upcoming library positions and developments in the library field. The group hosts great events throughout the year and the upcoming NPD Ireland event ‘The Social Librarian’ taking place on Saturday 17th October looks like it will be another runaway success. 


It’s important to note that job applications frequently contain a section asking you to list the professional organisations you belong to. You will often hear about upcoming employment opportunities at library events before they’re advertised and remember it’s often the connections you make through professional organisations who will informally recommend you to prospective employers!