A new chapter of life begins

I thought I'd give myself some time to reflect before posting anything about my presentation, and I'm pleased to report it was well received. I didn't realise how nervous I was about the whole thing until my nerves kicked in on the morning of the presentation and I felt quite ill. I think I hid it well.

During some parts of the presentation I felt I was repeating what I'd said back in 2005 during my presentation "Multi-skill me: secondment opportunities and issues at QUT Library". But it was all relevant to bring the findings of the research together. Reflecting on the process there were perhaps things that could have been done better. For example, when sending out survey's to library technicians who had participated in secondments, I only used the word secondment. But secondments also embrace job exchange, rotations, and acting roles. Had I reworded the survey I may have received more responses. That said, from the responses I did get, it was refreshing to note that most had similar experiences, and the research supported this.

I am really hoping that employers utilise the suggestions within my report and either introduce secondments as a means of professional development for library professionals, or evaluate their current secondment policies and ensure that they meet the recommendations outlined in the report.

Once all the loose ends have been tidied my report will be submitted to the ALIA07 team for publishing online. I'll post the link once this is complete.

So is this the end for me as far as research is concerned. I sincerely hope not but for now I'm happy to move on from secondments and focus on my family, my last subjects to complete my Bachelor of Arts (Library and Information Science), and my role in NLS4 . I have a few ideas up my sleave for some conference papers but I think I'll give myself a bit of a break before putting myself out there again.

This has been a wonderful experience for me and I'd like to thank all those that supported me throughout this journey, including those that have continued to read this blog. I recommend anyone who has some ideas for research projects to seek out assistance and apply for the ALIA research grants.