Month: September 2023

Information professionals are everywhere. Sometimes you forget that there are people in many organisations that do a version of what you do but have snagged a gig that looks diverse and special.

Information professionals have a range of opportunities – if you know what to look for and have confidence to apply. Many of these roles seem out of reach due to their uniqueness and lack of direct career progression towards them, however, can be attained through experimenting with different roles including volunteering to gain insights and skills. This gives early career professionals like me both hope and inspiration to move beyond the typical roles and explore beyond into areas that might be rare, intriguing, and interesting. I think there might be a limit on how many times I can name that book with the boy wizard when being described by a requesting library user.

There are many issues that I have face already as an early career Teacher Librarian that I have now come to see as universal across differing information agencies and with highly experienced information professionals.

The lack of understanding at times from colleagues and management in both what your role is, but also what support you can provide others is one of the key issues that is present among different agencies. When working in a highly specialised environment or simply as the only person in your role isolation is another key issue to overcome. There are solutions to these issues, but networking and the building relationships is a common theme in supporting yourself and others. The need to feel connected and share information seems almost fundamental to the nature of the role: ensuring the access and sharing of information, yet it can not be so obvious what you do not know when you are working alone.

As a sole person in my position in a large organisation, and also in my initial role as an information professional as a Teacher Librarian, I am sometimes a bit lost. How will I know if I am doing the job right (besides people telling me that I am doing it wrong?). What makes a good information professional? Learning how to perform the role and the skills and experience that are needed in the wider information agency world will help to alleviate some stress and inspire me as a new information professional in a wider community.

There is rarely a direct path to an information professional’s specific role (McLellan, 2023, Wee, 2023). Archivists such as those in narrow roles such as the Collection Manager and Archivist, Clare McLellan, at the Basser Library and Fenner Archives of the Australian Academy of Science has a role that is unlike any other in the country. Similarly, the role of Senior Librarian, History of the Book and Arts aka Rare Book Librarian at the State Library of Victoria held by Daniel Wee, is likely the one role to have that title, maybe in the world. Both roles are so unique in that they both have had diverse careers filled with volunteering, study, odd jobs, and networking, that have eventually led to their current roles (McLellan, 2023, Wee, 2023).

Even unique roles follow professional expectations and standards. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA, 2020) provides a summary of the knowledge and skills for information professionals across archives, libraries and records management. These help to define the expectations for individuals who may be working alone and under further workplace policies in their roles. Furthermore, the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA, 2023) outlines the Code of ethics guiding archivists on legal and ethical standards. The use of these standards can aid in the reflection that should take place by librarians and archivists as practitioners (Hull et al., 2011) to improve themselves and the services they provide.

Roles in information agencies can be isolating (McLellan, 2023, Wee, 2023). The need for networking between information professionals in similar roles is paramount not only for professional development but also professional confidence (Smith, 2018). In addition to the need for collegial relationships, there is a strong need for a high emotional intelligence and social skills to build rapport and adequately service all users of an information agency (Blessinger, 2002, Hiller Clark, 2015).

Relationships are imperative to information professional’s roles. Without them I probably won’t survive as a Teacher Librarian. I need to work on building relationships within the workplace to show my value to users and management. Also within the network of Teacher Librarians to gain insights into the role that I have yet to understand. Lastly, build relationships to cater for the range of social and emotional users of the library space. But these relationships are also likely need to further my career goals through networking and also buddying up with the IT professionals when my skills run out.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2020). Foundation knowledge, skills and attributes for information professionals working in archives, libraries and records management. Australian Library and Information Association. https://read.alia.org.au/foundation-knowledge-skills-and-attributes-relevant-information-professionals-working-archives-0

Australian Society of Archivists. (2023). Code of ethics. Australian Society of Archivists. https://www.archivists.org.au/about-us/code-of-ethics

Blessinger, K. D. (2002) Problem patrons: all shapes and sizes. In K. Sarkodie-Mensah (Ed.), Helping the difficult library patron: new approaches to examining and resolving a long-standing and ongoing problem (pp. 3-10). Routledge.

Hiller Clark, A. V. (2015). Transferable skills: from rocks to books. In D. Lowe-Wincentsen (Ed.), Skills to make a librarian: transferable skills inside and outside the library. (pp. 38-17). Elsevier Science & Technology.

Hull, B., Churkovich, M., Oughtred, C., & Turner, D. (2011). Understanding libraries: communication is the issue. Chandos Publishing.

McLellan, C. (2023, September 6).  Basser Library and Fenner Archives virtual study visit [online recording]. ETL512, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_71124_1&content_id=_6040729_1&mode=reset

Smith, S. (2018). No librarian is an island: making good connections. The School Librarian, 66(3), 146-148.

Wee, D. (2023, September 7).  Rare books collection, State Library of Victoria virtual study visit [online recording]. ETL512, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_71124_1&content_id=_6040729_1&mode=reset

As a new Teacher Librarian who has started working in an information agency: a high school library, I am yet to fully discover my role in providing for all users (students and staff). The initial questions I have are around what services do users need and what can I do to tailor these for my users?

The Australian Library and Information Association suggests that it is essential for professionals in archives, libraries, and records management to be familiar with information organisation, services and access of users (ALIA, 2020). With this, comes the difficulty of promoting resources and services to the unique users that visit information agencies, with some using these and their spaces for wellbeing and other non-information needs (Blessinger, 2002, Harris, 2023). This need to further diversify the traditional services and accessibility of a modern library for modern users is particularly relevant to digital access requirements which is the expectation of younger generations (Turner, 2011) and being accessed increasingly by all generations (Harris, 2023).

Focusing on the digital space and access to their collection online has been imperative to the City of Sydney Archives to support free access (Villata & Smith, 2023). The advent of a user-centred design allowed for greater access in a mode that balanced the needs of users of all kinds whilst maintaining a rigorous archival system (Smith & Villata, 2020). To ensure a quality experience for different users who might skim content, or deep dive into a research, consistent processes such as brief descriptive names on all sources have provided the Google Generation a way to avoid spending much time on a page for a group who have little time to lengthy information (Rowlands, Nicholas and Williams, 2008). Bundaberg Regional Libraries are focusing on the digital literacy of all generations through workshops that vary to cater for all groups including gaming, using mobile phones, 3D printing, and computers to access social services (Harris, 2023). This is driven by the interaction of staff with users and the wider community through discussions with external organisations to identify data on the needs of local users.

Data analysis plays a role with services at Bundaberg Regional Libraries and also the collection development. Harris, has identified the need to keep a collection diverse to reflect the users of the libraries (2023). Similarly, the City of Sydney Archives have made their user interface interactive and meaningful for the users based on data analysis. Villata & Smith identified the prominence for location-based searches and now add geolocation data to the collection of the archives so these can be searched on a map (2023).

In my new role I will prioritise getting to know my users and their needs. Using formal data of past borrowing, frequent search terms, and weeded resources will begin to understand existing patterns. However, a more thorough discussion with teachers and surveys of students will likely help to decide what the future might look like in terms of collection management and services that can be provided.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2020). Foundation knowledge, skills and attributes for information professionals working in archives, libraries and records management. Australian Library and Information Association. https://read.alia.org.au/foundation-knowledge-skills-and-attributes-relevant-information-professionals-working-archives-0

Blessinger, K. D. (2002) Problem patrons: all shapes and sizes. In K. Sarkodie-Mensah (Ed.), Helping the difficult library patron: new approaches to examining and resolving a long-standing and ongoing problem (pp. 3-10). Routledge.

Harris, S. (2023, September 11).  Bundaberg Regional Libraries virtual study visit [online recording]. ETL512, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_71124_1&content_id=_6040729_1&mode=reset

Rowlands, I., Nicholas, D., & Williams, P. (2008). The Google generation: the information behaviour of the researcher of the future. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 60(4), 290–310.

Smith, M. & Villata, J. (2020). Applying user centred design to archives. Archives and manuscripts, 48(3), 239-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/01576895.2020.1798790

Turner, D. (2011). Breaking down the library walls; responding to the needs of the Google generation. In B. Hull, M. Churkovich, C. Oughtred & D. Turner (Eds.), Understanding libraries: communication is the issue (pp. 139-153). Chandos Publishing

Villata, J. & Smith, M. (2023). City of Sydney (Council) virtual study visit [online recording]. ETL512, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_71124_1&content_id=_6040729_1&mode=reset