Today was the first time I've been to a library since March! My local library service is only offering click and collect at this stage. You place holds online, and when they are ready you come to the library during set opening times to collect and check them out.

The room with the hold shelves in it is normally a meeting room, and is separate from the main library space. It's unstaffed, and I must say it felt a bit surreal to be in the library with no other people around ...



Take care, Sally XO


Continue reading ...

Last night I attended the VALA AGM and 2016 Williamson Lecture at the University of Melbourne's Baillieu Library.

Mal Booth is the University Librarian at UTS (University of Technology Sydney), and the 2016 Williamson Award recipient. He spoke about the UTS Library Artist-in-Residence Program that he began in 2012. I loved hearing about this program - such a great initiative that has reaped wonderful rewards in terms of cultural engagement with the library and its collections.

Mal has a great s...
Continue reading ...

One of my first library jobs after completing my Grad Dip was at the William Angliss Institute. For those who don't know it, the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne is a training institution that specialises in food and hospitality courses. They specialise in vocational education programs, but also conduct a range of short courses for enthusiastic amateurs :)

There were two main perks to working at the William Angliss Institute Learning Resource Centre (Library). One was ready access to the...
Continue reading ...

This year I passed my 10 year anniversary of working in libraries. I've been thinking about the journey I've taken over that time - the things I've done, the skills I've learned, the places I've worked, the people I've met, and the friends I've made. So please forgive the listy-listy-list nature of this blog post, as I take a trip down memory lane ...

I have worked in university, parliamentary, TAFE (vocational education), special, and corporate libraries. I also did a work placement in public...
Continue reading ...

This is a re-post of my original blog post "Thing 21: Voice interaction and recording" that I created for the ANZ 23 Mobile Things course last year.

*************************************************************************************************

I think we can all agree that one of the great things about modern mobile devices is the variety of ways that we can interact with them. Unlike older phones and desktop computers, we are no longer restricted to a keyboard (or mouse) interface - we can ...
Continue reading ...

This is a re-post of my original blog post "Thing 19: File sharing - Dropbox" that I created for the ANZ 23 Mobile Things course last year.

*************************************************************************************************

This week's thing is file sharing using mobile devices. The portability of mobile devices makes them an ideal tool for accessing and sharing files on the move. We will look at sharing / syncing files across multiple devices (eg. your smartphone, tablet and PC)...
Continue reading ...

I love a bit of retro style, and these vintage library posters are fantastic! I think they could still be used today :)







And for the fiction buffs ...



There's a whole Flickr album of these posters, collected by a library technician who goes by the username Enokson.


Continue reading ...

I regularly monitor Twitter and other channels for news and developments related to accessibility in libraries and the broader community. I recently came across this YouTube video from the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) that explains the work of their National Library Service in the United Kingdom. I was so impressed by it - very professional with a clear communication of the library's value and how advocate on behalf of vision impaired readers. The contributions of some of t...
Continue reading ...

In February this year, I was fortunate to be able to attend VALA2012 in Melbourne. This was my second VALA conference, having also attended VALA2010. And just like last time, I found VALA to be an amazing experience in terms of content, presenters and attendees.

My attendance was funded by my employer, Charles Darwin University (CDU) Library, this time around (I paid my own way in 2010), so after the conference I put together a summary of some of the major themes of the conference as they ap...

Continue reading ...

Today I attended a forum called "Finding Solutions: Assistive Technology in Education, Training & Employment for People with Disability or Learning Difficulties", organised by the National Disability Coordination Office Program and held at Charles Darwin University.

Accessibility is an area that I've long held an interest in and felt strongly about, so I was really glad to have the opportunity to attend this forum and learn more about what is being done in education, and what *can* be done - e...
Continue reading ...

I really like the Library Minute videos produced by Arizona State University Libraries, featuring librarian Anali Perry. They have a wonderfully light touch, are visually interesting and professional looking, and manage to impart plenty of information (but not too much!) in the space of a single minute.

Have you seen them? If not, do be sure to check out their YouTube channel. Here's one of my favourites:



Continue reading ...

I consider myself fortunate to work in a small but energetic team of liaison librarians at Charles Darwin University (CDU), and I love that new ideas for providing innovative and relevant services to our clients are encouraged here. This year we created a fun activity that incorporated library orientation, mobile technologies, learning about our on-campus and online students, promotion, and activity-based learning.

Last year, when the call for abstracts for the Third International m-libraries ...
Continue reading ...

On May 26, the ALIA Top End group held its annual Library & Information Week dinner, which was combined with the presentation of the 2011 ALIA NT Recognition Award. A great night was had by all :)

This was the second year that the ALIA NT Recognition Award was, well, awarded. A'Mhara Russell from the NT Department of Health Library was named as the winner, for her innovative use and promotion of Web 2.0 technologies in the library.

I was really impressed by the achievements of all of the nomine...
Continue reading ...

There will be actual library-related posts appearing during this month, but they're all in draft form and awaiting further attention. In the meantime, please enjoy this offering.

With thanks to my colleague Julie for sending this my way :)

Dustin McLean's literal video version of Tears For Fears' "Head Over Heels". Strange goings-on in the library ...




Continue reading ...

The Library Day in the Life project began in 2008, inspired by a blog post from Bobbi Newman. In 2011, more than 200 librarians are taking part in the sixth iteration of this project (#libday6) to share their day, and give others a look into what librarians do :)

For those who haven't visited my blog before, I work as a Liaison Librarian (Health Sciences) at a regional University in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. We're in the middle of our summer break, so there aren't many students ab...
Continue reading ...

Well, today is the last day of #blogeverydayofjune



It's also my last day at work, having finished my contract at the Victorian Parliamentary Library. Again.

Although I'm ready for new adventures in new libraries in new places, I will always have the fondest memories of working with the wonderful group of people at "Parl" :)

I played tourist in my own workplace today and got snap happy. I hope you enjoy these photos of the gorgeous library that I've been lucky enough to work at for the last three...
Continue reading ...

This post was actually inspired quite early on in the #blogeverydayofjune challenge by @geomancer's gratitude post, in which she lists her eyesight as something she's very thankful for. This immediately touched a cord in me, as I also feel very fortunate to have my - heavily corrected by optometrists - eyesight.

I started wearing glasses as a teenager. Most of the time it's easy for me to take this vision correction for granted, but now and then I wonder what life would have been like for me...

Continue reading ...

I don't normally blog about my workplace, but I'd like to share an experience that I had today.

This afternoon I spent four hours on the reference desk, and during that time I encountered what is often referred to in library circles as a "nutter".

Happily, not in person. My workplace is a special library, and is something of a closed shop to the general public. But we do have a phone number, and sometimes take questions from members of the public, as long as they are relatively easy and quick ...
Continue reading ...

Thinking about becoming a librarian? Perhaps you should watch this vocational guidance film from 1947 ;)



You know, apart from the emphasis on books, I must say that this film's message and content has held up pretty well over the years!

Continue reading ...

This Friday is my last day at the special Government library where I work. My main role for 2 years has been a combination of conducting client (end user) training and reference duties, but I also spent 6 months selecting and indexing journal articles for an in-house database.

I've had such a wonderful time - I've learnt so much and gained confidence in my skills in several new areas. I'll be sad to leave this unique library and my first-rate colleagues, but I'm also looking forward to the nex...

Continue reading ...

- It started out with a terrific client training session in the morning, out at the clients' office. It was an excellent 2-way conversation and learning experience. We covered the library's services and resources, and much more besides. The session lasted just over 4 hours!

- After the training session, I took advantage of the inner city locale to visit a couple of interesting-looking bookshops. Yes, I found some lovely new treasures.

- I then enjoyed a very nice lunch at an atmospheric veget...

Continue reading ...

Righto, I'll start with some information about myself...

I currently live in Melbourne (Victoria), Australia. I've lived there for most of my life, with the exception of four years spent in sunny Canberra (Australian Capital Territory). Later this year, my partner, Tim, and I will be moving to tropical Darwin (Northern Territory) - a place we've always loved.

I work as a librarian, and think it's a terrific profession to be a part of. I really enjoy helping others find information and resourc...

Continue reading ...