Latest Update

It has been a while but I thought I'd share that I am yet again venturing out on another adventure. I have been successful in obtaining a branch librarian position with Bellingen Library in NSW. It is a branch of Clarence Regional Libraries and presents some wonderful professional and personal challenges for me. I finish up here at Ipswich this week and then have 2 weeks to relocate and get settled before starting my new position.

Another wonderful bit of news is that I have finally finished my Bachelor of Arts (Library and Information Science) and will offically graduate next year.

So stay tuned for a new blog sharing the experiences of living in a beautiful part of the world.

The Report is now Available!

The report is now available via the conference site.

Please feel free to direct any questions about the report to me at anytime!!

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.

Congratulations!!

A congratulations to Rebecca Evans who has been awarded the Dunn & Wilson Scholarship for 2008.

Presentation

Well tonight I head down to Melbourne and tomorrow morning at 9am I present my report. I'm a bit nervous arriving in Melbourne at 9pm as I've never been there but I'm sure I'll find my way to the hotel. I'm also nervous about speaking for such a long time - I've been allocated an hour. I hope there are lots of questions!! 8-)

I will write a post on my return to share my thoughts on how I went and also the presentations I saw at the conference.

The Report is Complete

At last, my dear blog readers and Dunn & Wilson groupies, I can share that the report is complete. Now my work is cut out ensuring I create a presentation that will not leave people sleeping in their seats!! 8-)

I will not make this my last post as the whole project is not finished but it is drawing to a close. It will be a relief to close the book on it but sad at the same time. Two years is a long time to devote to a project, especially when life does not run smoothly, but we devote even longer to our children and this is really a "blink and you'll miss it" event in my life. Just as one day I'll look back on my university studies as a short hurdle in a long life (I hope long life).

Life can not be lived to its fullest unless one challenges themselves and pushes the boundaries. It is easy to sit back and watch others put the hard yards - but there's nothing like being amongst it!!

PS this blog is being archived by National Library of Australia - http://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/66967

When it rains it pours

Well no it hasn't been raining much in South East Qld but I have been doing a fair bit on the work front. I managed to pick up a bit of work in circulation this last week gone. It's been over 10 years since I worked in circulation at the Ipswich Library and Information Service so it was fun to catch up with the changes and realise how much I enjoy working in circulation if not just to chat with the customers and see what books everyone is reading. Bit by bit I am gaining that "big picture" view of my new (or old) workplace.

On a personal front, the last few weeks have been tough for us. My husband recently lost his job so you can imagine the extra stress this places on the family. I tried to pick up every available extra hour of work I could do and really didn't get much done with regard to finishing this research project off nor my presentation. Now uni is back (as of today) I'm guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with what's on my plate. This has not been the first rough patch we've been through since starting this research project - mid last year my husband was retrenched and we went through the same stresses. We've always believed that things will not be handed to us on a silver platter and we'll have to work hard to get where we want to go (I'm sure there are lots of other families out there in the same boat). But it does become a little hard to pull yourself out of the rut when with each step forward there's two steps back.

On top of this we have been blessed with a child that does not sleep all that much. A half hour nap during the day and very random sleep patterns at night. I think after 18mths I've become used to living on little sleep and sometimes amaze myself at what I can achieve in zombie mode. However, it has not made this journey any easier.

I thought I'd share this with you just to let others know the little things that can prop up when committing yourself to a research scholarship and how it all looks under control at the beginning does not mean that there will not be moments of chaos throughout. This is not to discourage those wishing to take on a research scholarship, but just adding a touch of reality to what sometimes appears to be smooth ride. There are times when I feel I should've said no to some of the things I've taken on board - however, the skills and experiences this scholarship has provided me can not be replaced and I never regret taking this on.

Holiday - let's celebrate!!

If we took a holiday, oh yeah oh yeah, took some time to celebrate. Come on let's celebrate!!.....

Ok well I submitted my last assignment for the semester last week and our little family took a weekend away to Noosa North Shore Tourist Park to celebrate. Since our little person has just started walking, the weekend was not really that relaxing but I got to drive our Jeep on the beach, get it bogged, and get it out of the bog!! *clap* And our little person decided to go swimming even though it was very cold. She had managed to get in and out of the cabin (little step) without injury until the morning we left and she fell out the door head first onto the cement. A bit of a scrape on the head but nothing serious. Back home and back to reality!

So with the holidays comes the chance to put the finishing touches to my D&W report and get the presentation together for the conference - please note registration is now open so get in early!! I hope to see regular blog followers there!!

I've also been keeping tabs on my former workplace QUT and am happy to report that secondments continue to happen allowing library employees the chance to continually develop their skills and experiences.

Public library work has been treating me well and I'm continually adding to my skills and experiences. I'm particularly enjoying the Home Library Service work I've been doing - mainly selecting items for clients. It is an interesting part of library work that you don't often hear much about. Maybe a conference paper is in order - hmmm will wait till there's less on my plate!!