Seeking Library Technicians Interested in Secondments

Back into research mode. I once again require your help. If you are interested in secondments but have never particpated in one, I need you to answer the following questions and get them back to me!! 8-)

Secondments are the temporary transfer of a staff member to another organisation, or section of their own organisation, to perform a specific job or project, to cover someone else’s job, or to fill a gap in service.

• What organisation do you work for? e.g public, academic, special, school etc.
• Are you interested in participating in a secondment opportunity? If yes, why? If no, why?
• Does your organisation offer secondment opportunities? If no, why not?
  

Please note that all replies will be kept confidential so please ensure that you direct the email to me.

How to get Secondments

I received an email a short time ago from another LIS professional asking how one gets a secondment outside of their organisation.

If one works for a QULOC University Library (see http://www.quloc.org.au/ for a list), then a secondment or staff exchange can be organised by following the guidelines on the web page: http://www.quloc.org.au/working_parties/staffing_issues/reports/Inter_Org_Exp_Program.doc

If you work in an organisation that supports external secondments then they may already have a policy in place that outlines how to go about applying for a secondment. I have a list of policies in one of my previous posts: http://dunnandwilson.blogspot.com/2006/01/secondment-policies-and-more.html

For those that are unsure, I would advise you to contact your HR/Staffing Officer and see if they can advise.

Why Libraries Don't Offer Secondments

It's been a while due to my daughter and I trying to establish some form of routine - yeah right!! Regardless, here I am now.

So why don't all libraries offer secondments? The main reasons I've found are that some libraries are just too small, i.e. not enough staff, to sustain secondments. This then made me think if these smaller libraries might be able to get together and offer secondments across departments or industries. One library professional said that this may be impossible due to different salary levels, but if for instances, all of the libraries within the Qld Goverment offered secondments then there would be some standard of salary levels. And if all libraries in the CSIRO set up something for secondments then the salary levels again would be similar. I think perhaps the private sector (Law for instance) may have the greatest difficulty. I also found schools lacked secondments too.

Is there anyone out there who works in a smaller library or private sector library that know of secondments or staff exchanges working well in their industry? Can you please contact me or share through replying to this blog.