LIPA Learning Services

Lots of new books have arrived this summer, and there’s more to come. So at least if there’s no sunshine outside there’s plenty of interesting stuff to read in the LRC! The use of technology in marketing is a growing field for publishers and we have a number of new titles on the subject. Including Twitter power by Anthony Robbins, YouTube for business by Michael Miller and The Branding of MTV: will internet kill the video star? by Paul Temporal. The role of technology in innovation and globalisation is also considered in Fenn & Raskino’s Mastering the Hype cycle, and Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is flat. Friedman’s book has recently won the FT/Goldman Sachs business book of the year award. If you’re interested in psychology The Decisive moment: how the brain makes up its mind by Jonah Lehrer, and Think again: why good leaders make bad decisions by Finkelstein, Whitehead & Campbell, should be illuminating.

A number of new dance books have also arrived. These include Essential guide to dance (3^rd ed.) by Linda Ashley, Dance composition: an interrelated arts approach by Janice Pomer and Further steps 2 by Constance Kreemer. Two excellent new collections of dance essays are also available; Dance, human rights, and social justice, edited by Jackson & Shapiro-Phim, and the wonderfully titled Ballroom, boogie, shimmy sham, shake: A social and popular dance reader edited by Julie Manning. This includes a large section on ‘the contemporary scene’. There’s not currently much published on contemporary popular and hip-hop dance so this should prove useful.

Finally, if you need a bit of inspiration to keep working hard take a look at Talent is overrated: what really separates world-class performers from everybody else by Geoff Colvin. In a similar vein to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers Colvin reveals that ‘Greatness doesn’t come from DNA but from practice and perseverance’  – maybe it’s time to start studying for the new term?!

Need some guidance or inspiration to plan your career after LIPA, or simply looking for an exciting way to spend the summer and still earn money? Then visit the Careers Information area in the LRC, it’s on the upper floor just before the IT area. Here you will find a selection of guides on:

• Creating CV’s
• Career planning
• Preparing for auditions and interviews
• Delivering presentations

along with many items on further training, higher education and job hunting. 

For quick access to relevant career websites for the performing arts visit our careers information section on Moodle

We have recently added some new stock to the collection, look out for A Singer’s guide to getting work this has lots of practical advice on marketing yourself and dealing with agents and managers. The Musicians’s guide to brides shows how to make money or maybe develop a full time business playing at weddings.

For those entrepreneurs among you who are thinking of starting their own company Start your own business 2009 will guide you through all the research, planning and promotion involved in getting a business off the ground.

The Creative careers series in TV, Film and Radio give good job hunting tips on how to get started in the industry and how to network.

Summer jobs worldwide 2009 will help you make the most of your summer. You can grape pick in France, DJ in Italy, Summer camp in the USA or do some film or TV extra work - earn money, get a tan and develop some skills for your CV.

Remember keep informed and plan ahead don’t be that guy who can’t turn up for reunions because he hasn’t done anything with his life!