If a mature personal learning network (PLN) is a curated selection of resources and activities which enhance my professional life and development, where am I on the road to developing one?

Jeff Utecht describes the 5 stages of the development of a PLN as:

• • Immersion
  • Evalauation
  • (trying to) Know it all
  • Perspective
  • Balance

I think having worked in libraries for 15 years, and stepping away before coming back to do my MIS I am at the stage of having perspective in what is useful and interesting and the varied sources that can inform my professional and personal life and development. However, what I actually have is a very rudimentary, and somewhat at arm’s length network.

The things that I consider part of my network would be:

• Blogs such as The Conversation for general awareness of research and current issues, and Ask a Manager for practical workplace advice, and also excellent job search resources.
• Membership of ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association), and through that access to their online library. I have participated in events that they organise such as the Queensland mini-Conference in 2021, and the online Friday meet-ups during COVID lockdowns. They also have a professional development programme that you can participate in, and I look forward to exploring that in more detail when I have completed my studies.
• YouTube, specifically BookTubers, including BookishRealm, who recently has discussed how book banning is affecting her and the library she works in, in general terms.
• Current co-workers, who have a range of skills and experience and who are happy to discuss library related issues.
• MIS programme at CSU, and the staff and fellow students who are participants.
• My local public and State libraries.

The clear gap in my PLN is in social media, and having recently begun to explore further I have found some wonderful resources on Instagram. However, since this is not yet a 2-way street, to be a fully developed part of my PLN I would need to participate more. Perhaps I need to enter into the Immerse phase again to discover new resources and fresh perspectives. As I watch the demise of Twitter as a resource that is trusted and easy to curate, I wonder what will replace it. I have briefly explored the possibility of using Mastodon, and there are useful resources both from Buffer, and on their own webpage should I choose to go that route.

This leads to the conclusion that my PLN needs strengthened social media resources to continue to develop.

References

Ask a manager (2023) Ask a Manager. https://www.askamanager.org/

Australian Library and Information Association (2023) ALIA. https://www.alia.org.au/

The conversation (2023) The Conversation Media Group Ltd. https://theconversation.com/au

Oladipo, T. (2022, November 16). A beginner’s guide to Mastodon. Buffer. https://buffer.com/resources/mastodon-social/

Social networking that’s not for sale. (2023).  Mastodon gGmbH. https://joinmastodon.org/  

Utecht, J. (2008, April 03). Stages of PLN adoption. The Thinking Stick. https://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption/