Professional Registration by Sue McKenzie

"To be, or not to be, that is the question." (Shakespeare). I have been procrastinating about my professional registration for a while now. It’s easy to put it to one side and blame the day-to-day job for not having time to do it.  So, when I was invited to attend a CILIP Professional Registration workshop at our local Educational Library Service, I decided it was the encouragement and kick I needed to get going. I was to find out that this was exactly the same for several others who were attending as well as a few who had not yet registered.

An investment in your future

We all know that getting professional acknowledgement will not necessarily get us more pay.  But I decided long ago that it wasn’t about the money - I don’t think many of us work in libraries for the money! For me it was about the recognition of doing my job well. Throughout the professional registration process, the candidate is encouraged to reflect on their learning and become more engaged with the profession. This is what interested me, as it would assist me to take control of my own learning.

"Let’s start at the very beginning…" (Mary Poppins)

The initial part of the process is to decide which level to go for; Certification, Chartership or Fellowship. All 3 levels are accomplished in much the same way, but generally in varying depths of understanding. I had already decided to start at the lowest level, with a view to working up. I now understand that with my experience I could have skipped Certification and gone straight to Chartership but I will carry on, with something to aim for in the future. Once enrolled, it’s time to find a mentor to help you through it.

"A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself." (Oprah Winfrey)

There are a great number of mentors to choose from.  

We were told that it is good to choose a mentor who works for either a different stream of libraries or for a different authority. This helps to get viewpoints from a different perspective or specialism. At present I have an old colleague. My mentor is very professional and we communicate by email or in person. When it comes to communication, it’s up to the individuals involved.  Do you prefer to talk in person, Skype, social media, email or telephone? These are the things that need to be taken in to account when selecting from the long list of mentors. It is advisable to talk to a few before, deciding. It’s good to talk…
Right, once it’s decided which level to enrol on and a mentor has been identified, what do we do next?

"Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse." (African Proverb)

The Professional Knowledge and Skills Base fills me with dread.  It looks complicated but it isn’t really once you pull it apart. The main thing that we are doing is assessing our current knowledge and skills and identifying where we need or want to improve and how to go about it.

Where you go from here is up to you.  For me it has so far involved job shadowing and visits, e-learning, training, blog reading and writing and organising events. 

The evidence can be produced in any form you like.  It may vary between report writing, annotated notes, photographs or emails, just so long as the information supplied is relevant and it has been reflected upon.

"Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflecting without learning is dangerous." (Confucius)

All pieces of evidence should show reflection and an application of what you have learnt from it. This is the hardest bit for me. Where do I start? Reflective Writing if, like me, you’ve never done it before, sounds complicated. Fortunately, it’s not and there are so many models that you can read about and follow. And believe me, I read about them! The easiest for me to follow are:

• What? Outline the situation
• So What? Discuss what you have learnt
• Now What? Identify the implication 
• What happened? 
• What did you have to do?
• What did you do to solve it or improve it?
• What was the outcome? Explain what you learnt

I’ve managed to use one or other of these as a base to follow and found it has made me ask myself the right questions to reflect on what I have learnt from my experience. Now I have my evidence, I’m told the end is in sight! 

This looks so much easier than I imagined it to be. What is needed now is to select the evidence to submit. There should be 15-25 pieces, which seems a lot, but when it is divided into 3 areas of learning it is not so bad and I find that I have plenty to choose from. The 3 areas are Personal Development, Organisational Awareness and Wider Professional Context.

I must say at this point, that this is where your mentor can really help you. It’s always difficult to see what we do day to day as a learning experience. But when we do anything new or when we encounter a new situation we should always REFLECT on it. Note it down whilst it’s fresh in your mind and write the report later.

Time to put it together

So I’ve gathered my evidence, now what I need is: 

• Evaluative statement (reflective)
•  Evidence (15 pieces over 3 areas)
• PKSB self-assessment reports – one from the start stating what you want to focus on and one from the end identifying where you still want go
• CV (annotated)
• Job description (annotated)
• Mentor/Mentee completion form

The help is there if you need it. The lovely people at CILIP North West can help you if your mentor can’t.

Closing thoughts

I attended the workshop. I made some new friends. I met old colleagues. I shared ideas. I left feeling like I could do this. All my self-doubt and procrastination has subsided and I have moved forward.  I am far more confident about getting things done.The message I took away from the workshop was to go for it and if you need help, ask!

To anyone working in libraries and thinking of doing CILIP professional registration, I would encourage you to do it. 

With the words 'Read', 'Learn', 'Reflect' and 'Apply' spinning around my head, I’m off to write more evidence.