I grew up on the side-lines of a rugby pitch, listening to Dad coach my brother on… that same vivacious cheering I now find myself re-inacting 25 years later, as the Six Nations teams began to fight it out for 2021.

Back at my desk, flicking through my scribblings from the CILIP 2020 Conference, on a mission to glean some ‘top tips for new professionals’, it dawned on me that glaring back were a choice selection of things that I also bellow throatily at the pitch.

So, in lieu of being able to coach Wales to ‘grandslam’ their way to the trophy, in honour of the CILIP Conference 2020 I present:

Top tips for new IPs…as overheard on the pitch!

Come on team, let’s go. I’ll promise not to include the insults if you miss your tackle!

Eyes on the ball. Why do you want to be an Information Professional (IP)? Remember your ‘why’: it helps you keep your eye on the ball, focused on what you want to achieve in your career. When life gets tough, remember your why to refocus back on your career and bring your eyes back to the ball: that’s how you make the catch.

Ewch yn eang! Go wide! Think broadly about the library & information profession: the range of opportunities, potential careers, and our users: who and what libraries and information are relevant to (spoiler: everyone!). Make use of this breadth as you build your career, gaining the perspectives of others outside of, or elsewhere in the profession. In his keynote address, Richard Ovendon described the need for a diversity of ideas, and ideas that challenge us. Between meeting minds new ideas can be sparked, and you will find fresh opportunities, solutions and ways of thinking.

Make contact! Ok, so taken slightly out of context, but if you don’t make contact, you are not going make your tackle: that ball is getting away! Make contacts in the profession and reach out to network. Richard Ovendon noted that “building a broad professional network is something that people often say has been a key pillar of support in their careers”. CILIP member groups are a great place to start to find support and interaction aligned to your interests. A positive outcome of extensive online delivery in 2020 has been that working on CPD and attending conferences has become a lot more affordable and time-efficient. CILIP events pages and social media feeds frequently list free webinars, and it was agreed in the new professionals’ session that Twitter is a treasure trove for #InfoPros.

Both hands on the ball! “Guard that ball with both hands and your body, or you are just ‘giving’ it away!” The ball is your career: do you have both hands on it? What skills do you already have to make the most of? Capitalise on your transferrable skills: be it writing, photography, reading stories or laser focused attention to detail. Consider also what you enjoy and happily invest time in. Use them all to control your ball! Applying your unique qualities and skills are what can make you a stand-out IP.

Sticks down! Be ready, focus; you aren’t going to stop a hockey ball with your stick waving in the air! Imagine your career of the future, and identify the areas you need to build to become more employable in it. Highlighted in Jo Cornish’s keynote, the CILIP PKSB framework is specifically designed for this, and ideal for planning which areas you need to focus on and tracking your development.

Don’t let it bounce! Look ahead and catch that ball safe before it boings off wildly! Whilst the future (and rugby balls) can bounce out of our control in unexpected directions (looking at you 2020), forward thinking increases your resilience to the unforeseen. Consider your current skills. What gaps do I have that, I could address to make me more adaptable to future change? Maybe a course to increase IT skills or undertaking some professional volunteering in a parallel sector. Adaptability equates to professional resilience.

Pass back! Pasio yn ôl! You need to pass that rugby ball backwards to move forwards. Look backwards at your career, be as Jo said, a “reflective practitioner”. What’s working, what isn’t? Can you think why? How could you have equipped yourself better to tackle past problems: can you revaluate how you approached these issues ready for next time? How can you take influence from things which are going well to refine your practice? What are you enjoying: can you include more of this?

Here if you need! Coming into the information profession, I have felt the same team-player mentality as on the pitch. Indeed many voices at the conference seemed to shout, “Here if you need!” as much as I hear it between supportive team-mates. Jo Cornish summed this up when she stated, “[I have] never approached a professional colleague and found them not wanting to help and share.” It is a refreshing change from a life in more competitive, protectionist, egoistic sectors! Embrace the willingness from your professional colleagues. Especially if you are posted as a ‘lone ranger’ librarian in a school or small community library. In her lightening talk Alison King encouraged us to reach out to your CILIP contacts and find those helpful colleagues, and proposed that CILIP set up a mental health forum: an idea that was enthusiastically received! It is possible to feel lonely, overwhelmed even in a large team. Alison also gave a brilliant suggestion for breaking the ice in a big team: setting up a staff book club! Finally, if you choose to work through your accreditation, remember to seek out a kind colleague who has offered to mentor.

Dal i mynd! All the way! Keep going! 2020 has been a tough year, so many challenges have been thrown at us. We can see a dire contrast in the utter necessity of libraries and IPs being revealed by information poverty and disinformation, at a time when library closures and funding cuts are rife. The conference was a true call to arms in this respect. But, there was a hopeful feel in the air, themes of inclusion and diversity, resilience and adaptability, stories of lives touched by the work of IPs and a determined look to the future were profound.

So, “Keep going! All the way!” we shout as the player dodges tackles to run on the goal or try line. Good luck as you step into the Information Profession field, new IPs.

Dal i mynd new IPs, dal i mynd!

Contributor: Pip Jones works at Bangor University, and is enthusiastic about all things information, learning and research. An ecologist turned Information Professional in-the-making, you will find her in the library (or maybe on the sports field!) cheering you on.

Pip Jones gratefully acknowledges the bursary provided by CILIP Cymru Wales which allowed her to attend the CILIP Conference 2020 as a new professional.

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