Alyson Dalby -

I have missed most of the day so far at NLS4 as I have spent most of the time with the Shanachie boys at the State Library of Victoria. More on that later. For now, here I am live blogging for the rest of today and for all of tomorrow (at least that is the plan).

What is professional involvement? Is attendance at a conference enough? It means having an input into the profession, contributing your knowledge and ideas to the greater pool of librarianship. Professional development and professional involvement are linked, but although you can have the 1st without the 2nd, you cant have the 2nd without the 1st.

So why be involved? It will make you better at what you do – you encounter new ideas, builds your communication and negotiation skills, its strengthens your voice and helps you to develop your perspectives, helps you find new tools, prepares you for the next job, helps promote your organisation as one which supports such things and therefore makes you an employer of choice.

Professional involvement makes you love what you do, it can help you to learn about things that arent necessary for your job, gives you the opportunity to do things just for fun, helps you to see the bigger picture that we are all part of and you make friends, not just connections.

The profession needs people to be involved – we need a professional voice, someone talking to government, to lobby and more, we need to know whats going on, sharing is good – if we all share what we know, then we all benefit. Represenatation needs to be real, hold your representatives to account.

When you shouldnt bother? When youre just not into it, you just want a job and not a career. Its not as hard as it may seem. You can make involvement work for you. Do a little extra, its not a lifetime commitment, its flexible and the level of your involvement is entirely up to you. However, it can be addictive.

So what can you do? Join and post emails to e-lists, comment on someones blog, ask a question, write an article (for Incite or something else), hang out with library folk (NSW – library folk in the pub, elsewhere – start your own), join a committee.

Just do something!