Marlene Cantwell
Welcome to my e-portfolio.
I have worked in a variety of roles over the past twenty years in both archives and libraries. Since the completion of my library technician course I have worked as an archival officer and library technician in a broad range of information agencies including private, public and State libraries. My initial role after completing the library technician course was working as a college archival officer where I set up an archive for a college with a school population of over 1100 students and with a collection dating from the 1800’s to present. My strong organisational skills enhanced my ability to create order out of chaos. I catalogued, appraised, organised, and preserved thousands of photographs, documents and artefacts in addition to developing polices around acquisition, donor gifts and preservation. The establishment of the archive provided students with a sense of identity, historic classroom resources and continued their relationship with the college. It was also very fulfilling for me to see the resources being used and appreciated by the school community.
I am currently employed as an access services officer with the Victorian State Archives (PROV) and this is the final subject in my Bachelor of Information Studies specialising in Record Management and Archives. My varied work experiences include working as a library and archival cataloguer for government and specialised library institutions, and also as a customer service role in a fast-paced and multi-cultural public library. Working both in technical and customer service roles has kept me abreast of the skills required to assist a diverse community in a continually changing information landscape. These diverse experiences have greatly enhanced my knowledge, versatility and skills and have contributed to my goal of working as an archivist/librarian where I can not only improve acquisition, discovery and access to formerly hidden archival treasures; but also help preserve the histories from diverse communities that form our society.
In my current role I especially enjoy creating and developing outreach activities such as workshops and training sessions to improve access and utilisation of public records to the community.
I am passionate about life-long learning and equitable access to information for all the community. The skills obtained using public library services and programmes improve a sense of well-being, education and work satisfaction. In my free time I enjoy bushwalking and gardening and generally enjoy observing the wonders of our natural world.
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