Keep this under your hat but we information professionals are not renowned for being loud and proud. Used to promoting our library services, but when it comes to marketing ourselves? Not so much. We want to empower library staff to get out there and engage as scholars – actively looking for opportunities to publish papers, present at conferences and use social media. 

This lively and interactive workshop will cover how to write a conference abstract, how to choose an appropriate journal for publication (peer-reviewed or otherwise) and how to start with small scale in-house research projects. Future superhero librarians will also be encouraged to reflect on the scale of pride they feel in their profession and will be given practical tips on how to engage more fully with the professional opportunities offered by social media. The impact of previous Roadshows has been zero to hero. A growing list of pieces published, blogs uploaded and papers delivered, not to mention new converts to Twitter.

• Attendees will be challenged to rethink their subconscious self-image as knowledge providers, analysing where they stand on the Superhero Scale of Professional Pride
• Delegates will leave with practical advice on how to become loud and proud by engaging in scholarship through presenting and publishing
• Library practitioners will feel inspired to buck the stereotype and have the confidence to market themselves and evangelise about their achievements

Get your capes on. The Superhero Librarians are coming! 

Read more about the Library Superhero Roadshow in the most recent issue of SCONUL Focus. 

Leo Appleton is Library Director at Goldsmiths where he has strategic and operational responsibility. He has held library leadership and management positions in a number of further and higher education institutions and his professional interests range from performance measurement and quality assurance, space and buildings planning and library and information technology. Leo has written and presented widely on several aspects of library technology and digital information including electronic information resources and use of social media. A chartered member of CILIP, Leo has been chair of the Multimedia and IT Group and has played an active role in the group’s sustainability and development over many years. Leo is also currently part way through a PhD study at Edinburgh Napier University where he is researching into ‘The value and impact of UK public library services on citizenship development’.

Wendy Morris is a chartered librarian with a background in special and academic libraries. Now Senior Information Advisor at Kingston University London, she currently specialises in outreach initiatives including the HeadStart programme, which supports students from groups typically under-represented in higher education. She has published and presented internationally on a range of topics particularly shared reading initiatives including Kingston University’s Big Read project. Wendy is co-founder of The Superhero Librarian Roadshow, an interactive workshop for university libraries which encourages library staff development through active engagement with scholarship. She is an Associate Fellow of the HEA and Winner of the Times Higher Award 2017 for Widening Participation (as part of the KU Big Read team).