Musings of an Academic Librarian

A good manager: Understands staff work  with  them, not  for  them. They are a team with mutual respect for each other. Is kind, positive and listens to their staff. Being tough and uncompromising is counter productive - it just leads to low morale. When they need to talk to a staff member about a problem with their performance they always begin/end by saying something encouraging about the staff-member's work.   Does not just make demands but supports and encourages staff. Builds rapport with staff through everyday chitchat, etc. Has a genuine sense of humour.

New Zealand Tertiary College’s eBook collection via the EBSCO database has clocked triple digits.  Since the addition of new titles in 2016, the College’s collection has passed the 100 mark with its range expanded to add variety and the most up-to-date titles. Young Children in a Digital Age: Supporting Learning and Development with Technology in Early Years and Childhoods: Growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand are just two of the titles that have been added to the EBSCO collection. “The advantage of eBooks over print books is that students can access them from a digital device like a smartphone from anywhere and at any time. They don’t need to be borrowed and then returned like physical books so there’s no chance of getting an overdue fine,” said NZTC Librarian Angus Johnston. Another advantage of a digital book is the ability to do a keyword search to find relevant information and eBooks accessed via the EBSCO database show students how to reference the book in APA format. St...

Requested and got a book trolley for the library (before we were using a box trolley - very unsuitable) Weeded and disposed of about 2,000 items, mainly brochures from government ministries and also lots of journal duplicates Mended hundreds of books Fixed hundreds of cataloging errors, including reclassifying hundreds of books Changed the loan category of numerous books from Reference to General Loan for the benefit of students Created new library guides, e.g. how to use EBSCO host Research Databases Ordered and catalogued lots of new resources, e.g. the library now has over 100 EBSCO eBooks on ECE Organised and managed a successful library second hand book sale Had changes made to the student portal to make access easier to the Liberty library homepage Helped IT implement EZproxy access to some of our journals Completed a stock-take of the general collection - scanned 10,000 items

There was a period in my career where I was finding it a struggle to transition from a library assistant to being a full time professional librarian.  Finally, after much perseverance and the support of colleagues and friends, I achieved my goal. For several years I had worked at a university library as a lending assistant.  During this time and after completing my MLIS, I was seconded twice as a liaison librarian which I enjoyed both times.  Then a permanent position came up but the interview went badly and I wasn’t offered it so I began applying for other jobs.   One position which I had particularly high hopes for was liaison for a subject which had been my BA major.  I was also very interested in an internal vacancy that was involved with curating the university’s research repository.  However, no job offers were forthcoming and I experienced some bitter disappointment.  The support though I received from some of my colleagues with my job...

Some of the jobs I have applied for: Liaison librarian/subject librarian, assistant librarian (law library), junior research specialist (special library), media librarian, customer services librarian, library assistant (law firm), law librarian, library training specialist, research publications officer, subscriptions librarian, information services librarian, assistant librarian (learning support services), librarian (sole charge), resources and access assistant, librarian (public library) Jobs I've thought about applying for: Team leader (campus library), resources librarian, secondary school librarian The job I got most excited about was subject librarian for Classics at the University of Auckland.  I have a BA in Classics and I have always had an interest in the subject.  It was a one year secondment and I even knew the guy who had the job from my TELSIG group.  I wrote a very good, passionate cover letter but I did not get an interview.  Why the hell n...

A job interview I had a few months ago that went terribly badly was for a very junior internal position that I really only applied for because some of my colleagues had encouraged me to go for it.  It got off to a bad start with the first question: why do you think you're the best person for this role?  That threw me - how could I honestly say I was the best person?  What I wanted to be asked was: why are you interested in this role?   Then I was asked to describe when I had used a technology at work.  This threw me as well - it was such a basic question.  Where would I even begin?  Here I am writing about technology in a blog!  Further very simple questions followed which I stumbled over as I was not expecting them.  I had expected a more relaxed, conversational style interview about the job and why I wanted it.  But it became clear that the interviewers were pretending that they did not know me, that I had not worked in the libr...

I've been really enjoying using my Kindle, especially when I go on holiday since it's a lot more convenient than taking a bundle of paperbacks with me.  I think its best feature is its built in LED's to illuminate the screen (it is not backlit).  Here is an explanation of how it works.  The illumination is adjustable and it is handy for reading in low light.  Also the battery life is very good and it is easier to hold than a book.  All in all the reading experience is excellent. Will I buy any more print books?  Yes I will, but I buy mostly kindle books these days.  Do I feel a little guilty about this - supporting a corporate giant like amazon rather than local bookshops?  Yes but the technology is so good now and it's so convenient to purchase books with the WiFi.  Also amazon has such a huge range of titles and they are cheaper than buying print.