Month: May 2025

The 5 day, face-to-face, study tour was a highly anticipated event. As a rural teacher librarian in a small school library, not only was I eagerly awaiting the chance to explore the vibrant city of Melbourne (and all of its inherent cultural and culinary delights), but I was also keen to observe what libraries with more resourcing, more expansive collections, and situated in more diverse communities might look like- and might offer me in terms of ideas to take back home. What I had completely failed to foresee was the breadth of roles that libraries, and information agencies can require. My limited experience with school and community libraries was centred around services and information literacy, however sites such as Melbourne Museum, CAVAL, PROV, ACER and the SLV had a strong dedication to provenance of information as well as a commitment to preserving this information, both digitally and physically. My second epiphany was the complexity of such large organisations, and the collaboration and flexibility required in various roles. In my current TL role, I often work in solitude, craving a more cooperative environment. In the information agencies I visited, I witnessed the collective planning, organisation and collaboration required to manage information behind the scenes as well as face to face with patrons. Finally, I think that I have also taken for granted the way that the information landscape has so rapidly changed and how quickly information professionals have had to adapt. While have always been grateful for having digitally information so readily available, I had never taken the time to learn about the digitisation process or the ways in which shared digital catalogues, interlibrary loans or web-based collection tools are formed and maintained. The study tour has made me more aspirational, more informed and more excited about the work that I do currently and for what I might do in the future.

Information management and librarianship careers encompass an immeasurable span of experiences, across various contexts and settings. While information management is a rewarding profession that can provide many pathways for an individual throughout their career, there are barriers and pitfalls to be carefully considered, so that they may become opportunities for professional development instead.

Merga (2022) acknowledges that libraries are dynamic places that are constantly evolving in response to changing demands from within, and beyond, the libraries’ community. Fluctuating funding, and predominantly underfunding, is a pitfall faced my many librarians (Nadarajah, 2025). Pru Mitchell (personal communication, April 2, 2025), Manager Information Services at the Australian Council for Educational Research, advises that information agencies, and those who work there, must adapt, expand or evolve to ensure that the information agency remains useful, providing the services needed for a changing context. Comito et al. (2012) identifies funding as an issue that may provide an opportunity for librarians to become active in library advocacy.

Pavey (2024) agrees that change can indeed be an opportunity for growth and professional development. Adam Howells (personal communication, April 1, 2025), Teacher Librarian at Melbourne Grammar School, identifies new technologies, AI and the changing infosphere as a possible barrier that aspiring librarians or information specialists are likely to encounter. However, he suggests that fulfilling the role of lifelong learner and committing to continual professional development is key to turning this barrier into an opportunity. Howell’s (personal communication, April 1, 2025) advice regarding technological change is to ‘…see where things are going and adapt’. Pavey (2024) agrees that libraries are often at the forefront of social, technological and educational change and as such it is vital for librarians to be well versed in how to navigate change.

Most information roles involve an aspect of community service. The State Library Victoria (SLV) team (personal communication, April 4, 2025) shared advice on the many ways in which SLV actively work to build a visitor-centric culture that has developed shared values around positive patron experiences. Pavey (2024) explains that collaboration and networking are key to being successful in an information service role. She believes that librarians often innately have the passion for their community and the communication skills to ensuring quality connections are made with library users.

As an aspiring teacher librarian, I am committed to gaining ongoing professional experience. As a result of this study tour, I have decided to volunteer for the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) conferences to take place later in the year. Pam Saunders (personal communication, April 1, 2025), Executive Officer, SLAV, promoted the benefits of volunteering to gain industry experience as well as contribute back to the profession.  As I am currently fulfilling a Teacher Librarian role in a small, rural school, my professional connections are very limited. Visiting the various information agencies on the study tour made me realise the scope of librarianship work and the need to learn from colleagues in other libraries. By attending a SLAV conference as a volunteer, I will have the opportunity to network with other librarians as well as become informed on current issues, contemporary research and new ideas that will benefit my practice within my own library.

References

Comito, L., Geraci, A., & Zabriskie, C. (2012). Grassroots library advocacy. American Library Association.

Merga, M. K. (2022). School libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing. Facet.

Nadarajah, A. (2025). ALIA Blog: regional libraries reaching millions on a shoestring.  https://alia.org.au/Web/Web/News/Articles/2024/January-2024/Regional_libraries_reaching_millions.aspx

Onunka, O., Onunka, T., Fawole, A. A., Adeleke, I. J., & Daraojimba, C. (2023). Library and information services in the digital age: Opportunities and challenges. Acta Informatica Malaysia, 7(1), 113-121.

Pavey, S. (2024). The networked librarian: the school librarian’s role in fostering connections, collaboration and co-creation across the community. Facet.

Information needs vary across settings, and evolve within contexts, over time. However, the rapidly changing information landscape has provided opportunities for information agencies to tailor their use of technology to engage with users and better meet their needs (Ballard & Johns, 2024; Woolls, Dawkins & Valenza, 2024). Through digitisation, hybrid collection development and online information access points, libraries are working to ensure information access is future-proofed and increasingly responsive to patron needs.

Digitisation is a technological advancement that is enabling information agencies to better meet the needs of a globalised clientele. The ability to attach metadata to digitised copies allow resources to be more easily found and used by patrons (Hider, 2018).  The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), within the Melbourne Museum, is a prime example of how digitisation is developing relationships and addressing the changing technology needs of users. By digitising existing biodiversity literature, and making it openly accessible, the BHL library has connected naturalists, researchers and scientists from across the world. Through digitisation, a larger number of patrons can more easily gather relevant information, using database functions such as search, filter and sort (Onunka et al., 2023). With contributions from 62 institutions and over 650 000 pages already digitised, the BHL project is an exemplar of collaboration through technology.

In response to changing technological needs, libraries have expanded to curate their collections across digital domains (Onunka et al., 2023). Since its development in 1930, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has transitioned to a hybrid collection aiming to build relationships with users across education related contexts, including edu-research, professional resources, corporate services and assessment delivery. ACER’s online repository of publications ensures that up to date information is available to meet the unique needs of their diverse patron base. Further developing relationships with their users, ACER offers an in-house cataloguing service for educational publications, often at no charge, to allow new material to be added to their catalogue and own hybrid collection for research and interlibrary loans.

Other institutions, such as Melbourne Grammar School, also utilise online spaces to organise and collate information. Drawing together Britannica, ProQuest and EBSCOhost, the school’s LibGuide supports students to see the library as an essential partner in their research journey by presenting reliable sources in an age appropriate, web-based format, complimenting an extensive physical collection (Dobbs et al., 2013). Similarly, the State Library Victoria also provides patrons with access to digital databases, including a digitised catalogue of their current collections, many viewable as images. Alongside this, research librarians are available via phone, email and face-to-face to connect with visitors and assist with research and information needs. This strong culture of service strengthens ties with the community the library serves (Ballard & Johns, 2024).

Libraries have long served as hubs that serving the information needs of patrons and building connections with their communities. By evolving to provide digitised resources, carefully curated hybrid collections and online information access points libraries continue to be an invaluable service, in an evolving 21^st Century context.

References

Ballard, S. D., & Johns, S. K. (2024). Elevating the school library: building positive perceptions through brand behavior. ALA Editions.

Dobbs, A. W., Sittler, R., Cook, D., & Library and Information Technology Association. (2013). Using libguides to enhance library services a LITA guide. ALA TechSource.

Hider, P. (2018). Information resource description: creating and managing metadata (Second edition.). Facet.

Merga, M. K. (2022). School libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing. Facet.

Nadarajah, A. (2025). ALIA Blog: regional libraries reaching millions on a shoestring.  https://alia.org.au/Web/Web/News/Articles/2024/January-2024/Regional_libraries_reaching_millions.aspx

Onunka, O., Onunka, T., Fawole, A. A., Adeleke, I. J., & Daraojimba, C. (2023). Library and information services in the digital age: Opportunities and challenges. Acta Informatica Malaysia, 7(1), 113-121.

Woolls, B., Dawkins, A. M., & Valenza, J. (2024). The school library manager: leading through change (Seventh edition). Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited.