Section 3: Critical Reflection

Prior to commencing my placement at the Ipswich Children’s Library, my supervisor, Tonille, devised a program that enabled me to explore the various teams that existed within the Children’s Library and wider Ipswich Central. This program included time with the Collections Management and Logistics team (inter-library loans, home library and LOTE), Picture Ipswich coordinator (digitised local historical archives), Public Programming team (Story Time, Toddler Time, Game On, Stream On), Maker Space team, and the First 5 Forever team (Story Boxes, and Tails and Trails). Primarily, my time was spent with the Children’s Library team, either on the main floor or within the office space observing or completing a variety of tasks.

Working on the floor of the ICL, I was assigned the jobs of shelving and self-reading, roving (tidying), front desk (assisting patrons), setting displays, collection maintenance, and library tours. Through my time on the floor, I improved in my collegial communication, learnt how best to meet the specific needs of the library’s patrons, navigate the library’s layout and collections, and how to work within an untraditional library space that is loud and, at times, messy. For someone with an anxiety disorder and fatigue, I was initially concerned about how I would cope with the over-stimulation of the library. During my preliminary meeting with Tonille, I expressed my health concerns to which she responded professionally and with empathy. Tonille, and the team, made sure I was always comfortable doing my assigned tasks and gave me options of less physical tasks when I was struggling with my fatigue. This level of understanding and respect made the whole experience positive and essentially anxiety-free; and as a flow-on-effect my commitment to work flourished.  The Queensland Government encourages workplaces to create similar healthy and safe environments where their employees can thrive and achieve their best; as result of these mentally healthy workplaces, there is potential for reduced absences, reduced employee turnover, increased performance, and increased morale and employee engagement (n.d.). The ICL has given me a much-needed morale boost across my placement and has encouraged me to apply for library positions once more.

When I wasn’t on the main floor of the children’s library, I was on level 3 of the council building; there I was allocated the run (inter-library loans, transfers, and holds), spent time educating myself in the library’s website and associated applications (e.g., Overdrive, Libby, Borrow Box, Press Reader, Kanopy, and Kinderling), learnt how to bank library transactions, and completed my induction training. I also completed light administrational duties such as printing, laminating, and organising storage and library pamphlets. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed completing the run, organising the interlibrary loans, and observing the different resources that were offered through the various inter-library branches and how they supported the wider Ipswich community. Additionally, through observing the interactions between the library team and other teams who shared the office space was insightful, demonstrating to me how expertise and interests can be shared and utilised between departments. Reflecting upon this, similarly, Teacher-Librarians are called to share their expertise and are also encouraged to utilise human resources found within and outside of their schools. Through leadership, collaboration, communication, and interpersonal skills, library programs can be adequately developed and maintained to meet a variety of stakeholders (McPherson, 2020). In the future, I hope to share my organisational skills, early literacy training, creative proclivities, and Montessori-infused learning approaches to meet a variety of needs, and to create programs that utilise the skills and expertise of others.

During my time at the ICL, I was also introduced to an unfamiliar library management system, Spydus. My previous experience with library management systems was limited to SCIS and Oliver during my time as a relieving Teacher-Librarian. I found Spydus to be straight forward and the basics easy to grasp, with more time and experience I think I favour Spydus over the other systems. In reflection, I wish to explore Spydus further, through professional development to understand its full capabilities.

Something I found impeccable about the ICL, was their communication, professionalism, and high level of policy and procedure. Through my time with the ICL I learnt that an effective information specialist is highly organised, has sufficient information technology skills, possess good communication and customer service skills, excellent research skills and knowledge of their collections, and good leadership skills (especially time management and delegation). Overall, I benefited greatly from the practical, hands-on, approach of the professional placement program; where the various teams encouraged me to learn through doing. Through my hands-on experience, I was able to analyse my professional learning goals of how patrons’ needs are met through creative and collaborative partnerships; the process of acquiring and cataloguing quality literature; how to provide and promote accessible and equitable services; and how to utilise ICT with young patrons. Concluding my placement, I continue to explore how the development and customization of library services impacts language development of young readers, and how to effectively deliver programs which do so.

References 

McPherson, M (2020). “The influence of Teacher Librarians’ Personal attributes and relationships with the school community in developing a school library program”. School Libraries Worldwide, vol. 26, no. 1, 2020, pp. 136-150. DOI: 10.29173/slw8254

Queensland Government (n.d.). For Gov: Creating mentally healthy workplaces – healthy minds. https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/182877/qps-creating-mentally-healthy-workplaces-2019-placemat.pdf