Much like my own career journey, the pathway many information professionals have taken is not a linear one, but one which winds through many different avenues. In looking at several LinkedIn profiles of the hosts and speakers from the study tour, this has become even more apparent. For example, the three graduates from the University of Sydney panel discussion had different life experience and goals before heading into the same program. A. Cameron Smith had a background of lecturing, tutoring and pursuing his own further study before completing study in Information Services and participating in the Academic Services Graduate program which the university library offers (personal communication, March 29, 2023), while C. Catsanos went from an undergraduate degree in the Arts, completing her Master of Information Studies to then work in the medical academic support team in the university library for the graduate program (personal communication, March 29, 2023). All of the graduates expressed their appreciation of skills which information professionals need, such as the ability to source information and be relational in their assistance. Much like the research reviewed in Bracke’s study (2016), these professionals have worked collaboratively with teams and library users for the best outcome for all.
The career of Monique North, Head Teacher Librarian at Loreto Kirribilli, also shows a variety of steps to end up in the position she is in today (North, n.d.). Of particular interest is that beyond the initial teacher librarianship qualifications, a second Master of Education degree was completed, with the focus of knowledge networks and digital innovation (North, n.d.). North’s ability to head a team in the library setting, including a library manager and library assistants along with working with academic staff is indicative of the leadership qualities which North possesses (personal communication, March 30, 2023). The leadership style of being a host or servant leader has been employed by North where she is effectively getting a seat at the table in decision making processes and is able to be a voice where she looks at the bigger picture than just departmental discussions (M. North, personal communication, March 30, 2023). Indeed the very act of opening up the library and sharing her journey with the study tour is a sign of servant leadership as reported in Bier (2021) where it is done in a relational manner.
A professional development action which I wish to take, having analysed the pathways which other information professionals have made is to be intentional in the relationships which I foster from my position in the library. While I am currently privileged to be in a teacher librarian position, there are times when I am not part of teaching team discussions. Intentionally offering the library as a meeting place or attending additional meetings where the relationships with teachers are fostered is something which is an immediate action I wish to take to assist with leading from the middle with the bird’s eye view of a differing perspective (Cox & Korodaj, 2019). This relational view of librarianship will also be fostered into the community, where I would like to deepen parent community connections through avenues such as events or attending community meetings.
References
Bier, M. C. (2021). Servant leadership for schools. Journal of Character Education, 17(2), 27-46.
Bracke, P. (2016). Social networks and relational capital in library service assessment. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 17(2), 134-141. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/PMM-04-2016-0019
Cox, E., & Korodaj, L. (2019). Leading from the sweet spot : Embedding the library and the teacher librarian in your school community. Access, 33(4), 14-25. https://doi.org/10.3316/aeipt.229255
North, M. (n.d.). Home [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 16, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-north-27708382/