So, a year ago yesterday, I arrived back in Melbourne, with no job, no secure future, and really no idea of what I was going to do with my life.
The only thing I was sure of, a year ago, was that it was the right move for me. In fact, I wasn't at all scared or uncertain. It just felt like the natural thing to do. Follow my instincts, without a real sense of forward-planning.
Over the last five years of career-planning, and careful thinking about what was best for my professional development, this was the best thing I'd done.
But now, a year later, I'm in a different place. I've actually managed to work out exactly what I want to do with my life for the foreseeable future. It's a really satisfying feeling, to just know what I want to do, what I really love, and what fulfils me as a person.
And it scares the crap out of me.
It's a bit like being locked in a room with everything you could possibly want, and being told that you can leave the room, but you can never come back again.
And the problem with such certainty is the possibility that I might be wrong.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Forget Cleo...
Since the title of my blog alludes to popularity competitions of literariness, I feel compelled to direct you to the 2010 Cleo-UN Writer Bachelor of the Year, as nominated via Twitter, and moderated by Tom Cho
You can only vote once, but you can vote for as many people as you like.
You can only vote once, but you can vote for as many people as you like.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Listless...
I recently found myself opening iGoogle for the first time in a very long time. You see, I'm a bit of a list person, and I live by to-do lists. In a former lifetime I used to use a Task List widget in iGoogle. This was what was sitting on it from the last time I checked it...
---
Leave Darwin
Wed, Mar 25, 2009
Meet Lisa, 1pm at Cinque
Thu, Mar 26, 2009
Move into new house.
Sun, Mar 29, 2009
Martin Martini and the BPO
Melbourne Uni, lunchtime
Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Meeting with Paula
3:30pm at Tulk.
Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Coffee with Penni
Meet at Creative Arts building, on the steps. 11:30am
Tue, Mar 31, 2009
---
Oh how times have changed in just under a year...
---
Leave Darwin
Wed, Mar 25, 2009
Meet Lisa, 1pm at Cinque
Thu, Mar 26, 2009
Move into new house.
Sun, Mar 29, 2009
Martin Martini and the BPO
Melbourne Uni, lunchtime
Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Meeting with Paula
3:30pm at Tulk.
Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Coffee with Penni
Meet at Creative Arts building, on the steps. 11:30am
Tue, Mar 31, 2009
---
Oh how times have changed in just under a year...
Monday, March 8, 2010
Turning the tables
In the past, I have called into the question the practice of employing non-librarian professionals into roles that have traditionally been performed by qualified libraries. This happens in the APS where any qualified graduate with the required skills can work at the National Library of Australia. We're seeing similar things happen in public libraries more and more. Being a card-carrying member of my professional association, I value the quality control that an accredited qualification brings to the profession, and the consistency in service standards that results in the industry.
And yet, I now find that the tables have somewhat turned on me, having moved to the education industry.
Last week, when I attended the SLAV event, I raised some of the issues mentioned in my previous blog post. It was explained to me by a few people that they didn't consider SLAV to be a professional association for librarians per se, but a professional association for teachers. Furthermore, they saw the school librarianship to be intrinsically a teaching profession, and that ALIA had very little bearing on their profession.
Furthermore, some implied (and others stated quite frankly to my face) that I will never be a school librarian without a teaching qualification.
Whilst I found this quite discouraging (and slightly demoralising) I also found consolation in the fact that people were judging me purely for the piece of paper that I had, and not necessarily on my merits. There was also a certain comfort in mixing with a couple of other professionals at the SLAV event who weren't necessarily teaching professionals, but were holding distinguished positions in the school library and learning industries.
And here's the thing: I've addressed the skills and criteria necessary to work as a school librarian. I can talk to school kids for hours about children's and young adult literature. I can run workshops on writing essays and using proper referencing and citation. I can run research skills sessions using authoritative online sources, and subscription databases. I can run recreational reader development activities. I can assess, maintain and develop a collection, according to a collection development policy. I can network with local businesses, community organisations and libraries in developing partnerships for projects. I can manage workflow in a small team. I can perform basic original cataloguing - certainly to the degree necessary for a school - and oversee copy-cataloguing. I can manage a budget, and prepare project plans for creating new innovations, such as digitising a/v collections, establishing notebook computer loan schemes, etc. I have prior experience working with schools and teachers in public and state libraries. I have performed roles that have required an understanding of VELS. In my current role, I've already started fitting into the school culture, assisting with co-curricular and sports activities. I've worked to establish a professional relationship with the teaching staff, and a welcoming and helpful relationship with the students. And, as I said before, I'm a card-carrying professional librarian.
Most importantly, I am very passionate about what I do. I am 100% dedicated to providing a safe environment where students can learn and share information and culture, and that they will value as a social and recreational hub in the school.
Yes, a teaching degree would certainly enhance my current skills. But the reality is that (a) I can't financially afford to take a year off work to study teaching, (b) I've committed myself to this role as a school library manager, and (c) there's no guarantee that a teaching qualification would necessarily lead to me getting a "better" job, so where's the sense in spending a year of full-time and university fees? Finally, (d) a teaching degree won't necessarily make me a good teacher. I'm not really convinced that I would be a good teacher, otherwise I would have gone and studied teaching, back in the days when the government would have financially supported me in my studies.
So, this is where I'm at. I'm quite proud of my achievements. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm pretty confident that I can perform my role well and at least meet expectations of my employer. Without a teaching degree.
(Of course, if anybody wants to financially support me for a year, and pay my uni fees, to study teaching for a year full-time, then I will happily obliged. You have until October to raise the funds.)
Finally, I'll also add that in my current team there's me, the library manager, a teacher librarian who does a combination of teaching, managing part of the collection, and working the circ/ref desk, and a library technician. We work as a team, and between us, we certainly have the required range of skills and knowledge to provide a top quality service.
And yet, I now find that the tables have somewhat turned on me, having moved to the education industry.
Last week, when I attended the SLAV event, I raised some of the issues mentioned in my previous blog post. It was explained to me by a few people that they didn't consider SLAV to be a professional association for librarians per se, but a professional association for teachers. Furthermore, they saw the school librarianship to be intrinsically a teaching profession, and that ALIA had very little bearing on their profession.
Furthermore, some implied (and others stated quite frankly to my face) that I will never be a school librarian without a teaching qualification.
Whilst I found this quite discouraging (and slightly demoralising) I also found consolation in the fact that people were judging me purely for the piece of paper that I had, and not necessarily on my merits. There was also a certain comfort in mixing with a couple of other professionals at the SLAV event who weren't necessarily teaching professionals, but were holding distinguished positions in the school library and learning industries.
And here's the thing: I've addressed the skills and criteria necessary to work as a school librarian. I can talk to school kids for hours about children's and young adult literature. I can run workshops on writing essays and using proper referencing and citation. I can run research skills sessions using authoritative online sources, and subscription databases. I can run recreational reader development activities. I can assess, maintain and develop a collection, according to a collection development policy. I can network with local businesses, community organisations and libraries in developing partnerships for projects. I can manage workflow in a small team. I can perform basic original cataloguing - certainly to the degree necessary for a school - and oversee copy-cataloguing. I can manage a budget, and prepare project plans for creating new innovations, such as digitising a/v collections, establishing notebook computer loan schemes, etc. I have prior experience working with schools and teachers in public and state libraries. I have performed roles that have required an understanding of VELS. In my current role, I've already started fitting into the school culture, assisting with co-curricular and sports activities. I've worked to establish a professional relationship with the teaching staff, and a welcoming and helpful relationship with the students. And, as I said before, I'm a card-carrying professional librarian.
Most importantly, I am very passionate about what I do. I am 100% dedicated to providing a safe environment where students can learn and share information and culture, and that they will value as a social and recreational hub in the school.
Yes, a teaching degree would certainly enhance my current skills. But the reality is that (a) I can't financially afford to take a year off work to study teaching, (b) I've committed myself to this role as a school library manager, and (c) there's no guarantee that a teaching qualification would necessarily lead to me getting a "better" job, so where's the sense in spending a year of full-time and university fees? Finally, (d) a teaching degree won't necessarily make me a good teacher. I'm not really convinced that I would be a good teacher, otherwise I would have gone and studied teaching, back in the days when the government would have financially supported me in my studies.
So, this is where I'm at. I'm quite proud of my achievements. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm pretty confident that I can perform my role well and at least meet expectations of my employer. Without a teaching degree.
(Of course, if anybody wants to financially support me for a year, and pay my uni fees, to study teaching for a year full-time, then I will happily obliged. You have until October to raise the funds.)
Finally, I'll also add that in my current team there's me, the library manager, a teacher librarian who does a combination of teaching, managing part of the collection, and working the circ/ref desk, and a library technician. We work as a team, and between us, we certainly have the required range of skills and knowledge to provide a top quality service.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
New assocations...
Tomorrow, I’ll be embarking on a new professional networking mission.
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to my first SLAV event. It’s a cocktail party, celebrating SLAV’s 50th anniversary, so I can safely assume that most people whom I should know from the School Library industry – all the movers and the shakers – will be there.
Since moving to this sector of the library and information industry, it’s slightly perplexing as to why there are multiple organizations that have the same goal. Here, we have SLAV – the School Library Association of Victoria – but the qualification is accredited by ALIA, with whom I have been an actively participating member for a number of years. Surely it makes sense to have one central point of contact for all library and information professionals. This just strikes me as double-handling.
And, indeed, it’s no surprise that declining membership is a major concern within our professional associations. ALIA has, amongst its many duties, the responsibility of maintaining quality control of the profession, through the accreditation of its courses. It relies primarily on membership revenue to operate. And this is one of the main reasons that I support ALIA.
But all of this costs money, usually out of the pocket of the individual. Why should I join another association, when I’m already a member of one. One that already contains professional peer networks which address my needs.
Why? Professional networking. I need to connect with my peers in the school library industry.
The unfortunate reality is that ALIA seems to be somewhat devoid of school librarians. Why this is, I don’t know, but I’m told that if I want to network with them, I should go to SLAV. I already feel somewhat conflicted about this – almost like I’m cheating on a partner, but I guess I’ll get a clearer perspective of the situation once I go along tomorrow.
Personally, I’d like to see a stronger crossover between ALIA and SLAV members. If both can work together, and, for example, offer reciprocal benefits to members, then it’s going to be a big win all around. There’s a lot to be gained from partnership I think it’s so important for all professionals to support their association, and if, for whatever reason, there’s some schism between the two associations, then it’s ultimately counterproductive for everybody.
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to my first SLAV event. It’s a cocktail party, celebrating SLAV’s 50th anniversary, so I can safely assume that most people whom I should know from the School Library industry – all the movers and the shakers – will be there.
Since moving to this sector of the library and information industry, it’s slightly perplexing as to why there are multiple organizations that have the same goal. Here, we have SLAV – the School Library Association of Victoria – but the qualification is accredited by ALIA, with whom I have been an actively participating member for a number of years. Surely it makes sense to have one central point of contact for all library and information professionals. This just strikes me as double-handling.
And, indeed, it’s no surprise that declining membership is a major concern within our professional associations. ALIA has, amongst its many duties, the responsibility of maintaining quality control of the profession, through the accreditation of its courses. It relies primarily on membership revenue to operate. And this is one of the main reasons that I support ALIA.
But all of this costs money, usually out of the pocket of the individual. Why should I join another association, when I’m already a member of one. One that already contains professional peer networks which address my needs.
Why? Professional networking. I need to connect with my peers in the school library industry.
The unfortunate reality is that ALIA seems to be somewhat devoid of school librarians. Why this is, I don’t know, but I’m told that if I want to network with them, I should go to SLAV. I already feel somewhat conflicted about this – almost like I’m cheating on a partner, but I guess I’ll get a clearer perspective of the situation once I go along tomorrow.
Personally, I’d like to see a stronger crossover between ALIA and SLAV members. If both can work together, and, for example, offer reciprocal benefits to members, then it’s going to be a big win all around. There’s a lot to be gained from partnership I think it’s so important for all professionals to support their association, and if, for whatever reason, there’s some schism between the two associations, then it’s ultimately counterproductive for everybody.
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