Personal Learning Networks

I participated in a trivia fundraiser for a library over the weekend, and I noticed that there were a lot of librarians on the teams. At first, I attributed this to the fact that this was fundraiser for a library, but then I started to think about a comment my step-father made to me. When I told him I was going to participate, he joked that he had been on this team at last year’s event, but didn’t perform very well. He thought that they were looking for “some talent” and that I had been asked as a “ringer”.

All of this ties into what I’ve been reading this week. Seeking The Killer Connector For A Social Academic Library Site from ACRLog discusses how academics are working to make their web sites more social. As with all disciplines, librarians are looking at ways technology can assist with our connections with our users. I also listened to 24 Minute Video on Crap Detection 101: 21st Century Literacies by Howard Rheingold. (Thank you Stephen Abram for the redirect!) The truly powerful piece for me was when Rheingold began to talk about the social aspect of information literacy and personal learning networks.

It’s funny, but I had only heard the term, personal learning networks or PLNs, a few months ago. I was reading one of the blogs in which I subscribe and followed a link to a site that kept referring to the term. I was interested enough at the time to read more about PLNs, but I felt that they were just another term for life-long learning. PLNs are “the people and information sources that help you accomplish your goals” (David Warlick) but what I’ve breezed past was the relationship to social networking. As Warlick so aptly writes “there are techniques for finding people and resources worth of your connections. They include, but are not limited to, socially maintained lists of bloggers and other resources, blogging search engines, news searches, and social media sites.”

For me, both of these pieces focused on building relationships. This made me think that PLNs may be the “connectors” that we are seeking. Librarians and libraries need to be part of the social media so that users can connect us to their PLNs. But can librarians sell the point that they are a critical connector in PLNs?

At the trivia night, we had a lot of fun with family and friends, but it was interesting to see the respect my occupation had with new acquaintances on my team. It was amazing to me that I was accepted as an expert because 1. I was a librarian and 2. I had been recommended by another team member. The librarian stereotype has some negative connotations, but also some positive ones—librarians are thought of as smart, knowledgeable, and well read. As social networking sites continue to blossom, it’s important for librarians to be where they can capitalize on their reputations and relationships.

Oh, and yes—we won the trivia night competition—if only bragging rights.

Other PLN resources:
http://thingsonasticknews.blogspot.com/2010/02/thing-50-personal-learning-networks-pln.html
http://onceateacher.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/pln-your-personal-learning-network-made-easy/