Revalidation a step by step guide

Revalidation... hav eyou started yet?
Introduction
Hello fellow procrastinators! For those of you already chomping through your RPR, this article is not really aimed at you. But if you have been attending SIG meetings, reading articles or running projects at work and have NOT documented these experiences yet, then this is your push forward toward a successful RPR. You’ve done the fun part. Now take a deep breath. You are ready for Documentation, and a pat on the back at the end.

Yes, for some of us, it has been more than a year since becoming a brand new Registered Professional Librarian. I’ve attended another Conference, helped my SIG committee run some interesting talks. I’ve participated in some major changes in my library and read some library focused articles that caught my fancy, and thought: “This could be of value for my library”, but I still have very little down on paper. I have thought about it though. Lots!

OK so why is it that we haven’t started? I’m guessing it has something to do with procrastination, but also the terminology is new and I wouldn’t mind a step-by-step approach to the process. It is time to formulate a plan of attack. I’ll write this up as I go along and then share it.

I’ve formulated a simple plan, with steps. I propose to follow said plan, demonstrate that it works, and pass it on to you. OK.


Preparation & Step-by-Step Procedure
1) Go to the LIANZA Website:

www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration, and print out any of the listed links that will help you get started. May I suggest?

o Now You Are Registered: A Guide To Revalidation ; this is a full overview of the procedure.

o The Revalidation Journal , which defines our skill set, represented by 11 distinct areas of proficiency and four personal qualities.

o Tips for the Revalidation Process ; a list of ideas for the BOK, by A Dobbie.

o Revalidation Activity template: a form for entering your experiences temporarily

o Conference and Seminar Attendance Template: a form for entering attendance details temporarily.



2) Read them with a pen and highlighter. Highlight helpful points. In your own words, write notes to yourself in the margin, relative to your own ideas of what these points mean to you.
3) Sort out definitions for: The Journal, A Body of Knowledge (BOK), Domain Areas and Activities
My Journal: It’s a diary. What have I done since registration? Hey, what a lot of stuff I’ve done!
Body of Knowledge: They want to know whether I can show some competency within 11 basic knowledge areas.

They are briefly stated:

1. Policy, ethics and history of librarians;

2. Information creation and use;

3. Assessment of information needs and response;

4. The ‘how-to’ of sharing information;

5. Retrieving or saving information;

6. Research methods;

7. Understanding information relative to your client needs;

8. Collection development and management;

9. Measure the value of information services and supplies;

10. Correctly apply and evaluate performance indicators for your services;

11. Apply information within an indigenous context for your client base.



Domain Areas: These are the 4 types of activities. I will look at my Journal entries and determine whether they illustrate Currency, Practice, Communication or Leadership. So, how have I applied these BOK pursuits?

1. Have I demonstrated the ability to understand a problem and pursue a path toward a solution?

2. Did I address this issue and communicate it to other librarians, our clients, others?

3. Can I “manage” a process from start to finish?

4. Have I shown some sort of leadership or guidance?

Then evaluate the undertaking.

I can do that!


Activities: These are what I have done professionally. My participation, attendance and/or achievements over the 3 year revalidation period. They don’t want EVERYTHING. They want at least 10 activities per year and try to cover at least 3 of the 4 domain areas, in each of the activities.


4) Gather information: At this point, I just put together material relating to my professional experiences since Registration. I started with The Events list from my LIANZA SIG page, beginning with my Registration Date, to help remember some of my professional activities. I looked back through notes that I had prepared for my boss from Conference attendance, dug out projects that I’ve worked on the year, and found a few reports written. I looked through the Interloan list for any titles that I read for particular projects. There was the odd article that I read and I participated in a professional net conference with other librarians from my firm. Find more options at: www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration.


5) Pen to paper: Too early to be overwhelmed here, so I started with my last professional activity. I chose one task with which to start populating the BOK. If you start with your latest activity, it should be fresh in your mind, be easy to complete and easy to determine which domain was covered.


6) Grab your spreadsheet with 11 BOK areas. Make a choice as to location. It would pay to look through the LIANZA “sample revalidation form” at this point to observe their style of entry. Go to: www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration/revalidation/example-completed-revalidation-journal for a link to an example of a completed journal. Note the red triangles at the top right-hand corner in each of the five basic elements. They are reminders, of the definitions, to help you formulate your entries there. If you are unsure that if you’ve chosen the appropriate BOK area, make a further entry “*” after the last used cell (G), at the far right to draw your attention back, after you’ve thought about it further.


7) Last step: Take a deep breath. You now need to establish a pattern, work it into your routine. If your choice of routine is not working out, change it, so you don’t fall behind again. Maintain a Jotter’s List to enter your professional activities. Now is the time to date the experience and write up how you or your library benefited. You can fill in the appropriate BOK later.

Two helpful LIANZA templates for note taking are to be found at: www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration. The links on that page are entitled: www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration/revalidation/revalidation-activities-template and www.lianza.org.nz/resources/professional-registration/revalidation/conference-and-seminar-attendance-template .



Tips:

• Set aside a regular time that works for you, to remind yourself to update this exercise.

• Revisit old entries, each time that you add new material, to update or further explain statements. This will help you standardise your inputs.

• Regularly assess which areas you need to cover – some BoKs and domains you will have many entries for, so don’t leave your troublesome ones til last.

• Notations at the end of your column entry are a good way to revisit incomplete entries (Column G).

• Go some place where you won’t be interrupted. I recommend the Public Library because I can leave the phone, washing machine and other chores at home.

• If unfamiliar with Excel spreadsheets, like me, learn how to format your cells with help from an Excel user, so that your text wraps around instead of running off of the page.

• Watch those abbreviations – remember that other people will be reading your diary.

• Get in the habit of attending interesting meetings, and take notes. Review the notes and make comments on their relevancy.

• Challenge yourself to fill the Gaps.

• Don’t get behind again. Keep a blank template handy to write up things you are doing. Even enter work plans upon which you will be working, so they don’t get left out.

• Use the empty cell just past the last entry (G) to write notes or highlight the fact that you need to come back later.

• When in doubt of where to place your activity (BOK?), explain to yourself why you put it where you did. If you can explain it to yourself and it makes sense to you, then it will make sense to your evaluator.



Summary:

• Review your instructions; translate and dissect.

• Redefine terminology in your own words.

• Gather your probable entries, remembering that they want:

o Quality not quantity,

o Relevance to the work that you do,

o Variety, the spice of life, and

o Clarity of what you have gained here.

• Chose a starting point, or professional experience, on which to write.

• You now have 4 domain areas from which to choose. Is it an example of professional currency, leadership, communication or a practical approach?

• Where does it fit in; chose an appropriate Body Of Knowledge area.

• Make a page, or utilise an unused (G) cell on your spreadsheet to write up entries with hiccups. Add those bits that didn’t quite work, were written up twice or were incomplete. It makes it easier to revisit those areas again.

• Give yourself that pat on the back.



So, that’s the getting started part. I think you’ll find, as I have, that it is easy to follow the guidelines now that you’ve cracked the code. So, turn back to page one and take that first step. You know you can do it!