On Tenterhooks!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

As I mentioned, I applied for a grant a couple of weeks ago. I’m waiting to hear how I got on, but it’ll be a while yet.

But today, whilst I was on a bus to Dundee, I was whiling away the time by looking for research-related ephemera. And I found something interesting – it doesn’t change anything about my proposed project, but it would certainly be nice to have.  Thematically, there’s an indirect link.  Chronologically, it’s spot on.  I did nothing about my find immediately, but on the bus home, I couldn’t resist.  I ‘favourited’ it.

Back came a reduced price.

In went my counter-offer.

So, now I’m on tenterhooks.  Will I win the ephemera? Which happens to be overseas, needing to be repatriated.  And which is really only significant with relation to the grant topic …

Watch this space.

And I won the eBay item. Step 1, you could say.  But I’ve just bid for another  …

Image by OJart from Pixabay

Fruitful Days

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay
George Square Edinburgh University

Friday

  • Applied for a grant.
  • Wrote a blogpost.
  • Started to update my blog bio.

I think that will do for one day!

Weekend Activity

Who said weekends were restful?! Apart from the usual domesticity, and the organ-playing, I put in some more work on this blog.

  • Finished radically updating my Bio page to better reflect my two career strands.
  • Balanced my historical copyright page (Claimed from Stationers’ Hall) with a new one: Copyright Today. My career trajectory means I take a keen interest in copyright, intellectual property, plagiarism and so on. I might as well keep useful material handy, for myself or anyone else stumbling across this blog.

Applications: Read the Instructions!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

How often are we told this? Starting with school exams, in fact ….

So I’m here to remind you of this basic advice. Even if you think you’ve got it right, read it again, and then re-read it. Sometimes things aren’t what they seem on first reading. (Said she, having carefully copied out the instructions, broken them down into separate sub-instructions, compiled a beautiful submission … only to discover that A included B and C, and my word-count would have to be reduced by 40% as a consequence. Computers can tell when your uploaded document is too long!)

I blame myself. I jumped to the wrong conclusion. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easily I lost those surplus words. Anyone need a ruthless editor …?

What are Weekends for, if not for Applications?

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

Focus on the Positive

Well, this has been an interesting weekend. It has encompassed both the sublime (filling in a Fellowship application) and the ridiculous. Completing an application turned out to have been exactly the right thing to have done, in the circumstances, because it put the unrelated storm-in-a-teacup properly into perspective.ย  It even banished a migraineย  – quite remarkable! The expression, ‘Focus on the positive’ has a lot to be said for it.

Not, I hasten to add, that I have submitted the application yet – but at least I’ve written what needs writing.  I am NOT planning on turning to daytime TV in my 66th year – I can’t think of anything worse. So, plainly I need engrossing things to do, once I’ve had the dreaded birthday.

When it comes to filling in online forms, the best thing is to print them out for easy reference, and then to draft answers to the various questions.

Headings

That way, you can write under headings reflecting the different parts of each question; ensure nothing gets omitted; AND keep count of how many words you have used. I’m getting quite good at condensing down sentences and simplifying wording where my first response would have been just too wordy.

So, I’ve made up a title for my proposed project (I did that when I woke at 5.40 am and couldn’t get back to sleep!);

Composed a 50-word summary (that fitted the time between getting ready for church and actually setting off);

and answered all the questions, in between cooking Sunday dinner, eating it, and supper-time.

However, there’s another question I must ask myself: as well as writing under all the headings that the form requires, I also need to ensure I’ve showcased anything that I feel relevant.  That’s a task for Monday night!

I feel as though I’ve had a busy day, but I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. 

What will next week bring?!

Home from Stirling – after the Conference

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay
Stirling University Campus - photo from Pixabay

Conference: Reading and Book Circulation, 1600-1800

I am just back from a fabulous library history conference at the University of Stirling. Even better still, I was the lucky recipient of a generous bursary from the CILIP Library History & Information Group, meaning my attendance was fully funded.

I had many pages of notes to read through and reflect upon before I wrote my report – so many excellent papers to think about. My AHRC networking grant not so long ago was about music in libraries ca.1790-1836, and although I’m currently writing about more recent music publications, it was very interesting to see what else was happening whilst “my” legal deposit library music was being accumulated in libraries in England, Ireland and Scotland.

‘Claimed from Stationers’ Hall’ frock makes a comeback for the conference!

And of course, there was the networking. After the pandemic, lockdown, working from home, hybrid working and so on, it was quite a treat to be able to spend time with kindred spirits for two whole days!

My report will appear in the LIHG Newsletter in June 2023 – it’ll appear online on the LIHG pages hosted by CILIP. This might mean that only members can read it, but maybe I can write a summary of it to share here, once the whole report has gone live.

Image of Stirling University Campus by ๆ˜• ๆฒˆ from Pixabay

Researchfish – Safely reeled in!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

Funded research clearly has toย  be documented, and in the UK that involves uploading outputs to a website called Researchfish.ย  I’m glad I was just about up-to-date on my Researchfish entries, so it didn’t take excessively long to check a few entries and submit the whole thing.

It’s a good thing I checked, though.ย  The bibliography is on the blog – and the blog was logged literally ages ago.ย  But today I decided that the bibliography was such a huge output that it deserved its own mention.ย  ย And although I logged our Brio special issue over a month ago, elsewhere in my earlier narrative I had noted that it was “pending”.ย  I hastily updated that, too!ย  (The Brio issue is all there on Pure, our institutional repository, along with my other research outputs.)

fishing-3441090_960_720 PixabaySo as far as I’m concerned, the “fish” has been netted, weighed, documented and forwarded to the distributor!ย  I’ve hit SEND, and now all that remains is to apply for the next research grant.

Well, after a deserved coffee, anyway!

I Wrote a Grant Application …

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

Of course, it’s a highly competitive world out there. I can’t attempt to rate my chances. But I rewarded myself for getting it written and submitted on time, by ordering a wee Victorian Glaswegian souvenir jug. And we’ll see what unfolds!

Where are they now?

Meanwhile, I have amused myself by checking out some old Glasgow music publishers’ addresses. I wasn’t sure where they all were. And although the streets are still on the map, it was a strange feeling to see that places where businesses once thrived, have generally been replaced or kind of left behind by the passing of time. Only three addresses seem generally unchanged. Another – just a green patch of land – is on my morning bus-route, right beside an old public library.ย  ย (Physical and cultural landscapes have one big thing in common – they do change as the years go by!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Stationers’ Hall to the Wider World

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

With my most scholarly hat on, I can announce …

I have a magnificent idea for a research project, building upon my doctoral AND postdoc work, papers I’ve written, networks I’ve been involved with, and so on. I’ve written it all down as a discussion paper – I really think it could work. Watch this space!

 

Quiet Contemplation: but You can Help!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

direction-1033278__340

I’ve reached the point where I need to find more grant-funding! I seem to be at a bit of a cross-roads, needing to decide whether to forge ahead immediately with the Stationers’ Hall research, or take another road which will bring me back to it eventually, having gathered more useful data on the way.

There’s also the question of my own status as a researcher.ย  Neither “new” enough nor “old” enough for early-career or emeritus awards, nor established enough to say that I’m in a “permanent academic post”.ย  Permanent, yes.ย  Academic-related, certainly. But ….!

Meanwhile, please do give me feedback on what the Claimed From Stationers’ Hall network has achieved so far.

  • What have you enjoyed?
  • What have you learned/gained from following it?
  • Has it given you fresh ideas?
  • Have you shared information with other peopleย  or taken new actions yourself?

I posted similar questions on the Facebook page yesterday.ย ย I am more than happy for you to talk to me and share your ideas!

 

Why have I fallen silent? Well, not totally mute, but the thing is … I’m looking for more grant-funding and trying to…

Posted by Claimed From Stationers Hall: Early Legal Deposit Music onย Wednesday, March 20, 2019

 

Research Impacts: Asking You!

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

 

fishmosaic

The other day, I blogged about research outcomes.ย  Much joy has been experienced in the logging of these – it’s actually quite rewarding to look back and see what has been achieved in one and a half days a week.ย  (Okay, some was admittedly achieved in evenings and weekends as well.ย  But an outcome’s an outcome, isn’t it?!)

However, if you’ve had an opportunity to glance at my recent guest-blogpost for IAML (UK and Ireland Branch), you’ll realise that the outcomes are only one side of the story.ย  So, today I’ve been contemplating research impacts.ย  This project has made networking connections with loads of people, libraries andย organisations, so there’s no denying there has been impact within academia … but what about beyond the ivory towers?!ย  Some of the organisations have a preponderance of researchers, but others certainly embrace both academia and those in non-academic circles.

So, here’s my appeal to you: if you’ve been enjoying following the project, and you feel we’ve in any way influenced you in your academic OR non-academic existence, I’d positively love to hear from you.ย  I know I haven’t been blogging into a void, because people do respond to what they seeย … but I’d hate to think I had overlooked some impact or influence that was worth shouting about!ย  Similarly, do let me know what you’d like to happen next.

I’ve allowed comments on this post – but any form of communication, social-media or otherwise, would be very warmly welcomed!ย  Thank you.