Thing 14 for CPD23 focused on tools to aid the recording of references – oh how I wish I’d had something like this when I wrote my dissertation a decade ago! Even now attempting to tie my evidence and evaluative statement for chartership together is proving to be difficult, so how I managed for my first degree and post grad I’m starting to wonder – post its and a highlighter pen probably!
So i took sometime at work this afternoon to see how I might be able to use these tools..... The first for review was Zotero. Unfortunately I couldn’t look at this as we run off Internet Explorer at work and it wasn’t compatible with that (and that’s before we even start to think about downloads)
The second tool was Mendeley. This involved downloading a file to the desktop which I couldn’t do at work so couldn’t look at it. Even if I could have downloaded it the other issue is at work I regularly move desks and use various PCs so this being a desktop application would limit my use of it.
If I was working in an academic library I think I’d feel the need to go home and look into both of these further as I’m sure they are an invaluable tool for those currently studying.
The third and final tool was citeulike and I could access it from work! I didn’t sign up, but did spend some time browsing the site and can see the benefits of it – I found some interesting articles with just a few general keyword searches.
Even in a public library I can see the benefit of knowing about all of these resources, maybe not for using ourselves to any great degree but for assisting customers who are studying as an example. I don’t use tools such as this as much as others may because of my current job role, but I can honestly say that if I was in a different sector (or role) I’d be digging into all of these that much more!
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