Welcome to ALIA Top End Thursday 18th Feb

Welcome to a great year of ALIA Top End events. Join us at Rydges Airport Hotel Thursday 18th Feb, 5.30pm. Catch up and discover what's on the agenda!

Profile: Caddie Brain

For library lovers month this February ALIA Top End are showing profiles of people working in the library and information industry. Today we hear from Caddie Brain the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Northern Territory Library.

What other roles did you have before working in libraries?

My journey to libraries was through journalism! I came to the Northern Territory as a radio reporter for the ABC in Alice Springs. It was wild. I spent lots of time meeting incredible characters on cattle stations, in Indigenous communities, roadhouses and small towns. I was intrigued by Territory history and was drawn to the many incredible collections held by the museums and libraries here – many of which are being documented and displayed for the first time. I love the idea of using social media and storytelling to connect people to their own histories. In all the fields I’ve worked – web design, journalism, museums and now libraries – information, storytelling and change have been the constant elements.

What would you tell someone who is interested in working in libraries?

People really love libraries, so you get to work with that love. And working with collections - rare and precious maps, photos and manuscripts - is fascinating. If you love history, reading, storytelling, meeting interesting and super-skilled people (and, in a place like Darwin, air-conditioning) - libraries are for you! And you don’t have to be a librarian to make a contribution.

Tell us about one project that you are working on now?

It can be tricky finding good historical information about the Northern Territory online, particularly on Wikipedia, which is often the entry point for people who are new to a subject. The knowledge is out there and there has been lots of incredible research done, but there are big gaps on Wikipedia. I’m laying the groundwork at the moment to launch a Wikiclub soon at the Northern Territory Library. It will undertake regular edit-a-thons to update significant Territory people, places and events. It should be great fun and valuable too!

What do you think will change about libraries over the next five years?

There will be big changes as libraries bounce back from the challenges thrown at them by technology. I think you will see the rise of outward-looking libraries with stronger online presences, offering dynamic public programs that lead people to a new understanding of where the library fits into their world. Part of that is also about creating interesting spaces and making collections accessible in intriguing ways. But while we’ll see plenty of change, there will still be a place for those magical meetings between a member of the public and a librarian, as they discuss, research and discover a topic together.

Profile: Maeva Masterson

For library lovers month this February ALIA Top End are showing profiles of people working in the library and information industry. This week we hear from Maeva Masterson.

Maeva Masterson has been the Manager Library Services at the City of Palmerston Library since 2009 and will taking on the exciting challenge of Manager of Library Sector Services for the NT at the Northern Territory Library in May 2016 after taking some time off to give birth to her second child.

Maeva has a particular interest in leadership and leading for success principles, presenting at the 2015 ALIA Top End Symposium. Maeva has worked in the private and public library sector as well as spending a few years in London as a law librarian. Maeva has used her entrepreneurial and business leadership skills to improve library services and staff engagement at Palmerston City Library, as well as taking a lead role in the strategic development of the Public Library NT network. 

·         How did you first get involved in working in libraries?

After graduating university with a Bachelor of Arts, I quickly realised I needed something extra if I was ever going to have a career and I discovered Library and Information Management. Luckily for me, it was a brilliant decision and I haven’t looked back.

·         What surprised you most about working within the public library sector?

Public Libraries are the most vibrant, creative and modern spaces to be. Libraries and library staff are continuously reinventing spaces, programs and services. The sector is in such an invigorating space, I absolutely love my job!

·         As you are moving into a new library position what is one thing you will take away from working at Palmerston Public Library?

I have been extraordinarily fortunate to have a library team at the City of Palmerston Library who were just so willing to jump in and be creative, risky and innovative. It really brought home to me just how much our public library sector wants to try new things if given the opportunities to explore push the boundaries of traditional library services.