Library Technician Views on Secondments

Back on track and making the most of Anaki's sleeping time!! 8-)

For my research I have made contact with a number of practicing Library Technicians and asked for their views on secondments and how their organisation offers them. So far I have received responses from the following sectors:

• University;
• Specials;
• Government;
• TAFE;
• State Library.

I would love to get some responses from Library Technicians working in public libraries - so if you work in a public library or know of someone who does, please contact me: http://alia.org.au/~suthmann

Now to give you a small taste of some of my findings, here are some quotes from Library Technicians as to what they found are the benefits of secondments:

"It gave me the experience to work in a different field to my normal one and thus I then faced different challenges and issues."

"Benefits gained include project management skills, policy and report writing, policy development and implementation processes, increased technical knowledge particularly in the area of document security, negotiation skills, problem-solving skills, political skills, and greater understanding of broader organisational issues, particularly with regard to information privacy."

"Gained new knowledge, experienced a different environment not only physically but with patrons as well, for instance different disciplines and broadened my associations with staff."

"I was able to refresh my skills. I also was given the opportunity to learn new skills. My secondment gave me much more variety and a new enthusiasm for work."

"Increased awareness and knowledge of other areas in the library. More self-confidence in dealing with different aspects of jobs. More knowledge of what other staff do, and also learning more about individual members of staff who I don’t normally work with."

Secondments offer staff a wonderful opportunity for professional development. My next post will discuss a little bit why some libraries are not in a position to offer secondments and brainstorm possible solutions to this!!

Now my turn to have a sleep!! 8-)