This library was an inspiring start to the study visit. It is evident that the staff have a passion
and respect for the work that they do. I
realised again the necessity of precise and meticulous care when
cataloguing, The sheer size of the
collection means that unless it is done to a paricular standard, it would be
impossible to find and retrieve a specific item. This was highlighted particularly as we
toured the stacks in the underground levels, where so many items remain
uncatalogued, awaiting discovery or rediscovery. The library staff are committed to providing
access to their huge and very interesting collection, while still keeping it
safe for future library users.
I enjoyed
the loveliness of the library and its different spaces. While school libraries are somewhat limited
by comparison (no stained glass windows or ornately decorated ceilings), it was
a good reminder that using space well is important if we are aiming to
encourage our community to want to spend time in our libraries. ABC Sound and Reference Library
This small specialist library serves a very specific community – producers
of content for the ABC. Although it
clearly serves its purpose, as content is definitely being produced by the ABC,
I couldn’t help wondering how anyone could find anything. There are 64 databases, a number of different
cataloguing systems for different types of material, at different points in
time, one which won’t allow additions to be made after this month. It seems overly complex, and there is no plan
to commit time or resources to changing/streamlining the current
arrangement. I don’t know why the
reality of budget constraints surpirsed me, we all have budgets, I just
imagined that in an industry like television that the money would be there.
Having been
reminded anew of the importance of concise cataloguing by our morning session,
I was struck by how haphazard the cataloguing seemed to be in this library.Australian Museum Library
The collection is driven by the needs of the library community, ie, the
scientists who work at the Museum, although it is accessible to the general
public, who are even allowed to take photos.
The librarians are required to carry out high level cataloguing of the
collection items, when I completed ETL 505 I remember wondering what kind of
library would need to catalogue Dewey numbers to 8 digital places, I now have
my answer. With the bulk of the
collection falling in the 500’s, those digits are necessary.
The focus
has changed from making print materials simply functional, to preservation and
conservation. The two librarians have a
marked respect for their collection, and I had the sense that they were
frustrated by all the things they would like to be able to do but weren’t able
to because of time and money constraints.
Customs House Library
This branch of the City of Sydney libraries, is required to share space
with other entitiies (exhibitions, a café and restaurant and venue hire areas). It is an unusual situation, further
complicated by being a heritage building.
Library staff have found creative workarounds for various issues.
I love that
this library is an important community space, this is what I want for the
school library, that it is valued by the staff and students and is a place with
a lot to offer. Customs House offers so much, including a large collection of
daily newspapers from around the world, free wifi access and reading rooms, as
well as the large collection of print and other items (including DVD’s and
musical scores). They also offer free
computer courses run by the staff. Jessie Street Womens Library
This was the only library we visited that wasn’t anxious about their
budget –they don’t purchase books (they
are given donations from private collections, and they ask publishers for new
works. All staff are volunteers, and
many of them are (or were) librarians, so their library management seems to be
done well. The women who work there are
passionate about their collection, and the work they do – they are there
because they want to be. They are funded
through memberships and fundraising, and they seem to plod along comfortably.
This is
another specialist collection, and users include feminists, students,
journalists and biographers. It is a
repository of works, and the focus is holding rather than loaning (there is
aloan collection, but it very small) – very different to a school library where
my focus is how to interest the children in borrowing.AFTRS Library
This library exists to support the school’s curriculum, very much like the
library collection in the school where I have been working. The library has grown with the school, part
of the original plan.
Unlike the school library though, there is a big push towards ebooks. Their collection of this type of resource is
large and growing. They also subsribe to
video streams. This would help with the
ever present problem of space, a universal theme for libraries.
While the library is open to the public, it is clear that their focus and
passion is their students and supporting their learning. Being a small and specialised school, they
kow all the students – their services are very personal.
There are 6
staff, and at present they are all trained librarians.Sydney Institute of TAFE - Ultimo
Throughout our Masters studies, there has been an emphasis on showing that
the work of the TL is of value, and this mantra was evident in the TAFE
librarians address. The focus of the
work and the collection at TAFE, is the community of users, and the librarians
work hard, and work strategically to earn their place, by giving their users
what they want, sometimes before they know that they want it.
The library is seen as being similar to a commercial space – displays are
changed, to add interest, everything is part of the plan to support the
students and staff.
They don’t
just guess at what their community wants, they are also proactive and ask
through surveys for ideas, and feedback on what is currently available. When I have a school library of my own, I
think this would be a worthwhile practice.
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