NEW professionals and those who had never presented at a Conference before were invited to give lightning talks at this year’s CILIP Conference and Expo in a session chaired by Binni Brynolf, digital resources librarian at Chatham House and CILIP Trustee. The speakers were also asked to write a diary of their experience of presenting and networking at the conference, and their thoughts on life in the profession.

Nicola Semple, Library Officer, The Manchester College and UCEN

In 2019 I changed careers and started the Library and Information Management MA at Manchester Metropolitan University. Since then I’ve been trying to say “yes” to as many opportunities as I can, both to challenge myself and to grow as a library professional, but also because the past two years have been unpredictable. Saying yes is one thing we have control over, and though it may lead to more unpredictability, it’s almost always in the most positive ways. A lightning talk at CILIP conference seemed like a great opportunity to challenge myself on all fronts. The topic of sustainability was ideal for what I’d been working on over the past year – improving the usability, accessibility and sustainability of a library website. Having a topic that felt right made it so much easier to put it all together.

Sadly, due to covid, I couldn’t attend, but a recorded presentation and by following the CILIP conference hashtag on Twitter, I was able to connect with library and information professionals that I probably would never cross paths with otherwise.

Knowing that you have something important to share, and that people are ready to listen (regardless of how long you’ve been in the profession) is incredibly encouraging as a new professional. It also says a lot about our willingness as library and information professionals to stay open and to acknowledge that there is always something else we can learn. That is what I love about being part of this community. Changing careers can raise a lot of questions in your mind, which ultimately come down to “have I done the right thing?” and “is this right for me?”. For me, attending library conferences have been the perfect antidote to this line of self-questioning and presenting a talk even more so. This may have been my first, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Patrick Malone, Library Manager, Roehampton Library

Even before the lockdown, public libraries were developing their digital arsenal, but not everyone had embraced e-books, audiobooks, online newspapers and the rest. So I came up with a scheme called “Your Library Made Easy” – for this I taught groups how to use our E-products and tried to prevent people being marginalised by the digitisation of the public library.

After being accepted to talk at the conference it was time to prepare for speaking publicly about my ideas. This involved reading my speech to my partner over and over again. I borrowed a few books on public speaking from my library but was frustrated to repeatedly read that there was no one single approach to public speaking that was guaranteed to work. ¬Finally on the day of the presentation I sat on the stage alongside the other speakers with very sweaty hands. Thankfully I didn’t trip on my way to the podium and no one in the audience booed. I spoke about the need for library staff to teach users how to use E-products and understand how programmes work differently on different devices. I also advocated for showcasing E-resources in our libraries; installing PCs dedicated to PressReader and bookmarks in stock available in digital copy.

After breathing a sigh of relief I marched off to enjoy as many talks as I could. One that stood out to me was ‘Information literacy: a social justice issue’. Professor ¬Julian McDougall outlined that media literacy is not a solution to anything, that the architects of fake news and other ¬untruths were themselves media literate. So do librarians have a duty of care beyond nurturing critical and independent thinking? Should we encourage social responsibility too or do we risk turning libraries into morally imposing places? These questions are relevant to my day-to-day work, as members of the library I manage continue to have different views on what a public library should and should not do.

Karen Veitch, Institutional Repository Support Assistant, University of Strathclyde

Only a couple of days after I returned from a camping holiday I discovered I had Covid. The timing was terrible…, it finally got me the day before I was due to travel from my home in Glasgow to Liverpool for CILIP Conference. With a sense of resignation, I emailed the conference organisers, thinking that would be the end of my participation in this year’s event.

However, shortly afterwards I received a reply inviting me to submit my presentation by video, if possible. Thankfully, as I had already prepared my slides it wasn’t too much effort to put together the recording despite being unwell.

Even though I was not able to attend the conference in person, I avidly followed events from a distance via the conference hashtag on Twitter. Following along via Twitter gave me an excellent snapshot into the conference highlights. On the morning of the New Voices panel, I was able to join in by following accounts live tweeting from the session and sharing key messages. Moreover, I was delighted to receive positive feedback on my recorded presentation from delegates present in Liverpool. In the evening I was also entertained by the social side of the conference, as delegates tweeted photos of librarians cutting shapes on the dancefloor to the music of my fellow countrymen, The Proclaimers! I was certainly joining in in spirit, though not in person.

It’s great that CILIP facilitated the New Voices panel session and I appreciate that I was able to take part from a distance. I would encourage other new professionals to come forward next year and consider submitting a proposal to present. It’s vital that the sector benefits from the fresh ideas and perspectives that new professionals can contribute. I very much hope to see some of you in person for the CILIP Conference 2023!

Katie Goddard Senior Library Assistant, Brierley Hill Library and Netherton Library

The opportunity of doing a lightning talk first came to my attention as an item on GLL Dudley Libraries weekly team brief. I was interested but reluctant, as I had never done any public speaking before – let alone at a conference for fellow library professionals. I then received an email from Libraries Connected about the opportunity and this gave me the final nudge I needed to apply.

I decided to do my presentation on ¬using Makaton in a public library setting as I feel using Makaton in Story Time sessions will add to the sustainability of libraries by encouraging children to visit libraries and by being open and accessible to all the community a library serves.

My application was successful but, on the day before the conference the nerves began to set in, I double checked my luggage for about the 100th time and made my way to the taxi. When I got to the conference, I was handed a CILIP lanyard with a ‘Speaker’ badge attached. I put it round my neck and thought “there is no turning back now, I am actually speaking at a conference”.

The first person I met was Shaheen (another speaker) and her puppet. We spoke to Binni Brynolf, the chair for our session, and they put us at ease. We then sat on the stage waiting for our turn to speak. When I heard my name, I stood up and moved to the podium and I clicked the laptop to start my presentation – it was not mine that started to play! It was the previous speakers. After a couple more clicks my slides started. I felt nervous but when I began speaking, I really enjoyed doing it and I gained the confidence to be able to speak publicly and I am hoping to do it again in my future Library career.

Melissa Matthews – Creative Programme Manager, Suffolk Libraries

The call out for the New Voices, Big Ideas session asked for submissions to unpick the question “What is Sustainability?”, which had incredible scope.

Since joining the library service, one of things that has always fascinated me was the dynamism of our staff and that even with limited resources they rally and get things done. If you ask them what they do they will reel-off list after list of daily tasks, activities, and services. With this in mind, I wanted to present a question to the space – is this sustainable? As I practised and honed the presentation, I realised more and more that this was a love letter to libraries and I wanted to acknowledge and drum into the people in the room “stop being humble, you’ve got an incredibly important job to do!”

Preparing for the conference was a gentle hell. However, I practised, filmed myself practising and edited out as many quirks or vocal wobbles as I could. I remembered comments from colleagues (who also happened to be opera singers) – “lower not louder” and then practised again. In the end the whole thing was completely painless and over in a flash. This was my first CILIP conference, I enjoyed having the opportunities to connect with colleagues and to be inspired. The opening keynote Sayf Al Ashqar embodied this peer-to-peer connection heart and soul. The conference gave me some much-needed time to pause and reflect on the bigger picture. As a sector our dynamism can sometimes also be our downfall and the opportunity to stand back and reflect on the collective triumphs and challenges of the future felt poignant – with Suffolk Libraries approaching its tenth birthday as a charity – and this has crystallised a collective vision for the future. The experience has been thought-provoking and eye-opening. Same time next year?

Imogen Loucas, Business Support Officer and Librarian, Bromley & Greenwich Libraries

In late April, my boss encouraged me to put myself forward for the New Voices, Big Ideas session because sustainability is something I have a personal interest in. Daunting, but overall excited to not only attend my first Library Professional Conference, but to actually speak, to voice my ideas. As someone still in the early stages of my career it was an opportunity I didn’t think would be possible. So it was wonderful that CILIP has brought to life the New Voices, Big Ideas panel, and I hope it is something that will continue at future conferences to give more people the opportunity. My work further supported me by arranging the Day One attendance, so I could have the full experience. I cannot understate how fortunate it is to work in a group of Libraries (GLL) that supports your career and personal development.

Thursday, I didn’t attend as many talks as hoped, instead I spoke to many stands. TheDesignConcept; knowing they follow a sustainable ethos, was interesting to learn the different ways they achieve this. The Health Librarian Group; changed my perspective how all libraries offer a level of health librarianship, and International Library & Information Group; talking about different public & mobile libraries across the globe – hearing about how other countries manage the public service was really inspiring!

Friday morning (Day Two)! Eager, yet nervous – comforted by the fact this was a first for all speakers. It was encouraging seeing the audience nod in agreement at parts of my talk, with people coming up afterwards to learn more about making the library service more sustainable. Overall highlights were listening to Krystal Vittles on the Thursday, and Sue Williamson on the Friday, who offer ¬insight and passion for public libraries and their place in the future, it really helped solidify I am where I want to be.