Tuesday 17 June 2014

Blog Every Day in June Day 17 : Winning the Library Lottery!

Three and a half years ago I won the lottery! Well not the NSW lottery or even Ozlotto but I was successful in applying for a traineeship at my local library. As a library trainee I embarked on a six year adventure including full time work and university studies through CSU. Although initially daunting and scary, enthusiasm and naivety assisted me through the first year. Working with a wonderful staff in comfortable, happy library environments has confirmed my suspicions that librarians, library assistants and library technicians are a special group of people.  Recently I attended a four day study visit in Melbourne where I found further evidence. The librarians we spoke to shared their experiences with us and were happy to answer questions and present examples of what they did and how they did it. I left Melbourne encouraged by their passion and confidence that libraries would survive into the future and that I could be a successful part of it.

One of the subjects I have recently completed was Marketing in libraries and information agencies and I feel that this is an area that requires further investigation. Every staff member is involved in marketing every day but may not realise it. Each transaction is an opportunity to offer additional information to our valued customers. When a person asks where our language books are I can offer other alternatives including our online resources such as Mango, which include English and our other language collection that we borrow from the state library. Can’t find an audio fiction you haven’t listened to, then have a look at our online Overdrive and Oneclick options and enjoy the convenience of borrowing from home at your leisure. Technology has forced many changes but also offered a vast array of options that our customers may not be aware of.  It is exciting to introduce these concepts and gratifying to receive positive feedback from a successful experience. We are a resourceful, problem-solving bunch with great ideas and creativity. I am proud to be part of such a special profession.

-Leanne Wright
CSU Student and Library Lottery Winner

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