The Sydney study tour of 2023 gave me a chance to look outward and inward in many ways. The opportunity to see information services in action in places and ways I did not even think of before has opened my eyes to the range of potential career paths I could take, should my favourite one of teacher librarian fall through.

I was surprised to see in black and white the range of roles which were available in an organisation such as the State Library of NSW (P. Fitzgerald, personal communication, March 28, 2023), having been looking at the tunnel of teacher librarianship, it didn’t occur to me that publication and digital imaging roles were part of running a state-of-the-art information space. The support of the State Library of NSW to other public libraries across the state also had not been on my radar, but in C. Morley’s talk about the range of services provided, from funding to library design templates (personal communication, March 28, 2023), made me contemplate the necessity of not only school, but public libraries as spaces for community and relationship. The focus on First Nations voices through the State Library also made me realise that protocols which are being established or updated within this space will come to schools too, making me wish to follow the work of Indigenous Engagement closely so that my practice in a small school library is respectful and up to date.

While each site which was visited on the study tour offered a differing insight into information services, a definite highlight of the time was being able to spend it with other likeminded professionals walking down the path to working in the information sector. The networking opportunities which this visit alone has opened up with the face-to-face opportunity alone has made this trip a highlight of the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course so far.