Day 11: Things to be grateful for.

It's a "long weekend".

I worked yesterday and today.

When I woke up yesterday, I went to ride my bike to work and the back tyre was flat.

I support I should be grumpy about these things.

But Canberra is an excellent city for walking - something I do a lot of when I have things on my mind.

Winter dusk in Canberra. #nofilter

A post shared by Andrew F (@lib_idol) on Jun 11, 2017 at 12:12am PDT

And with views like this, it's hard to stay grumpy.

(Just make sure you have warm clothes.)

Day 10: The subtle art of career progression planning for librarians.

So, in my earlier blog about reasons to join ALIA (or not), I mentioned the advantages when it comes to developing one's career path. This is especially the case for students and new graduates who are seeking that elusive First Library Job. When I was convenor of the ALIA New Graduate's Group, the most popular sessions by far were presentations on how to address key selection criteria, prepare a resume, and perform at a job interview in the library and information industry.

But I'm sorry to say that, as tricky as it is to get a First Library Job, it's far from smooth sailing once you've got your foot in the door. The idea of career progression for librarians is an interesting one - unfortunately, we're not exactly an industry full of ladder-climbing overachievers! Many librarians I know would be quite happy to be doing the job they're in for the foreseeable future, and have little interest in applying for another job. Many others either get stuck where they are, or leave the industry altogether, with only the most ambitious moving their way up through the ranks. I say ambitious only because it takes resilience and real strategic thinking (and / or a lot of luck) to achieve what I personally think should be a normal career path for a professional.

And I am the first to admit that I am the worst at career progression planning. I'm good at getting interesting and challenging jobs - my pitfall comes when I ask the question, "What will this job lead to, and is that the right direction for me?" The other vital question is, "How long will I be happy to do this job for?" The eventual result of this questioning is that I take off and do something completely different, which has led to a wide range of experience and skills, but lacking the professional context of having worked for one organisation continuously for ten years. Which means that, starting a new job, I have to take all those skills and knowledge, and put them in my back pocket for a while, whilst I learn the ins-and-outs of a new role, new team, new systems, and new backstory of why everything is the way it is.

So, what might librarians need to do in order to perhaps plan their career path a little better than I might have?

1. Know where you want to be in 20 years, and plan your career path accordingly. Okay, so this one is completely unrealistic, because rarely does anybody know where they want to be in 20 years, nor do the opportunities arise to perhaps follow that path.

2. Be aware of the culture in the industry. There's a hierarchy in the library world. No matter how awesome you are, it'll be easier to move from a legal library job to a TAFE library job than the other way. Aim high in the hierarchy - it'll be easier to move down if you don't enjoy it, than try to climb up.

3. Take on mentors and champions. It could be as a formal mentor, such as the one currently offered by the ALIA Mentoring Scheme, or just finding your own champions in the industry who can keep you motivated. Make connections, build networks, share ideas, show initiative, and get help from your mentors and champions to succeed.

4. Figure out what you don't want to be doing, and then stop doing it. Some librarians love to whinge about how unsatisfied they are with their job - or maybe it's not the job itself, but the organisation, or sector, or the people they work with. Identify these elements that create barriers or frustration, and minimise them from your professional life. Also if you don't know what you want from your career, then through the process of deduction, this is one way of figuring it out.

5. But seriously, figure out exactly what you want to get out of your career. I really struggle with this one sometimes, but I think I'm getting closer. When you're a new graduate, you can be forgiven for not knowing exactly what direction you want to go in, and I wholly encourage new grads to explore the field and experience the range of work out there. But sooner or later, you're going to have to make a choice. The sooner you do it, the sooner you can get your career on track, and then you can keep your eyes on the prize. (It really is going to take 20 years in some cases.)

A lot of this is so much more easily said than done - especially in a tough and uncertain industry. But you chose to be a librarian for a reason, and chances are that it wasn't your only option. Make it count!

Day 9: Top Five recent musicals that you possibly weren't aware of yet...

So, unless you've been living under a rock for the last two years, you've no doubt been caught up in the fandom of Hamilton: An American Musical. A diversely-cast, pop and rap-infused retelling of the story of one of American's lesser-known founding fathers, this brilliant work cleaned up the Tony Awards last year.

And whilst creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has moved on from the title role on Broadway (and several off-Broadway productions), and working on Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, I've recently found myself wondering - where do we go from here?

Well, fear not - for I am here to help you move forward and discover new shows - especially since this Sunday night (or Monday morning in Australia) the 2017 Tony Award winners will be announced. Here's my top five recent discoveries...

5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 

So, the Disney animated movie musical about racial discrimination, sexual repression / liberation and the corruption inherent in the Catholic church, set in medieval Paris, completely slipped under my radar when it was released in 1996. I only recently got around to watching the film recently when I discovered that it had been developed into a fully-staged off-Broadway musical, and yes, some of the darker elements of the storyline had been sugar-coated, but I loved the music - especially when I realised that they'd been written by musical theatre legends Alan Mencken (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics). Last year, the Studio Cast Recording was released, and it blew me away. Such a shame that this show never made it to Broadway - it would definitely have been a contender at the Tony's...

4. Waitress

I only first heard of this musical last year when one of its beltiest ballads "She used to be mine" was performed at the Tony Awards.

Yet another musical theatre adaptation of a film - this time, a bittersweet indie romantic drama about a waitress with a passion for making pies who dreams of escaping her unhappy relationship and the small town that she lives in. These dreams shatter when she discovers that she's pregnant, and whimsical drama ensues when she starts having an affair with her doctor. Music by largely-underrated pop singer-songwriter, Sara Bareilles, who made her Broadway debut earlier this year when she took over the title role. This show is pretty much all about the songs, and they are very good.

3. Come From Away

I recently discovered this little gem a few months ago on NPR's "First Listen". This musical recalls the events surrounding a small town in Newfoundland immediately following the New York City bombings of September 11, 2001. 38 planes with almost 7000 passengers were grounded in this tiny community when US airspace was shut down, and the residents mobilise to try to accommodate this sudden influx in visitors. I was a little skeptical at first, to be honest, but this musical grew on me very quickly. It's very much an ensemble piece, about community and supporting one another in difficult times. It follows a diverse cast of characters, exploring a whole range of attitudes and perspectives, and the reality of how an event like this can change the way that people see and relate to one another.

2. Dear Evan Hansen

A month ago, this was my latest obsession.

A modern musical about awkward teenagers dealing with social anxieties, and the peer pressures involved in just surviving high school. The music, written by young songwriter and composer duo Benj Hasek and Justin Paul is pop-infused and infectious, and this is very much a musical for the YouTube and social media generation. It hits all the sweet spots and will make you laugh and bawl and want more.

1. Groundhog Day

Yes, another musical based on a movie... but this one has been penned by Tim Minchin. The Broadway cast recording was released last month, and it is musical and lyrical genius. Where the film was a quirky parable about a mean weatherman who is doomed to live the same day again in the small town of Punxatawny, the musical draws much more strongly on the themes of how we waste our lives getting stuck in our own loops and meaningless habits. And the question is posed - if we could have our time again, would be do things differently or exactly the same?

It feels like Tim Minchin has poured so much of what I've loved about his work in the past into this magnificent mid-life-crisis masterpiece. There's a lot of his trademark misanthropy - so much commentary on how people waste their lives, whether it be in natural remedies, religions, or just general shallow-ness. His lyrics are sometimes profound, sometimes crass, but always impeccably placed. I listen to this musical and get lost in a combination of existential angst and inspired motivation to do more with my life. It also makes me want to go and watch the original Bill Murray film again.

So, that's my Top Five for today. Sorry to all the Great Comet fans... I know that this musical will probably clean up the Tony's but I just can't seem to get into it at the moment.

And if you want to listen to any of these, here's a handy Spotify Playlist I made... enjoy!

Day 8: Libraries aren't for everyone...

This post has been prompted by Kathryn's excellent post, "Are you THEIR librarian? G is for goat!" where she recounts a situation at a literary festival where nobody suggested "a librarian" when posed with the question of who they could go to for a book recommendation.

Obviously, it didn't occur to these people - perhaps they weren't library users, or they just didn't utilise the librarian at their local library. Maybe their experience of using the library was that the librarian was too busy doing librarian-y things to be burdened with their possibly-trivial question. Maybe there wasn't even a librarian around, as far as they could see, or didn't feel comfortable approaching the librarian at the desk.

The thing is, libraries aren't for everybody.

They may want to be, or try to be, but it's simply not possible. Imagine if every person in the community suddenly woke up tomorrow and decided to join their library, ask the librarian a question and / or borrow a book. Okay, that's an extreme example.

But even when I'm not being facetious, there are many people who don't use libraries.

People who don't think they need libraries.

People who aren't literate in the local language. (Even if the library holds collections in their language, they might not know they are there, or find the library, or ask for help, or know how to read the website - there's a limit to what Google Translate can achieve!)

People who don't feel welcome at the library because of their cultural background or level of education.

People who don't think the library would hold any books that are relevant to their interests.

People who can't afford to travel to the library, or have a disability that prevents them from being able to visit.

People who don't have a local residence or don't have sufficient identification to prove their local residence.

People who have a library fine from that one time that they borrowed a book and returned it late, and now can never borrow again because they can't afford to pay the fine.

People who would like to use the library, but it's never open at a time that's convenient for them.

The list goes on...

I posed the question - should libraries be focusing on serving the demands of their community, or the needs? Because there's a difference.

The unfortunate reality is that, as much as libraries would like to be for everybody, they generally only have the resources to meet demand - if that! And why would they risk losing the clients who are actually using the library by using resources in outreaching to those who need it more, but may or may not actually use it. Resources are often stretched tight enough already, and libraries need to be responsible in using their funds to develop collections that will be best used by their community.

I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this train of thought... I thought I could put a positive spin on it! Well, obviously the solution is, "Well, why can't libraries meet demand *and* reach out effectively to everybody else in the community who needs them?"

But, until that happens, libraries really aren't for everybody.

Day Seven : Five perfectly good reasons to join ALIA... and not to join.

Since my last couple of posts, there have been a few interesting comments. I think it's interesting that people have their own reasons for joining their professional association - or not. My professional priorities have changed through the years, and sometimes they've been aligned with ALIA's activities... other times, not so much.

So, here's a listicle of five perfectly good reasons to join, and five perfectly good reasons not to.

To Join...

1. I want to be a certified professional who has a portfolio of continuing professional development that is externally assessed and accredited.

2. It's an organisation that aligns well with my personal and professional views, and I want to support it's goals.

3. I want to support a culture of ongoing discourse, academic or otherwise, in my professional practice, and ALIA provides the forums for this to take place, whether it be at a conference or in a journal.

4. I want to make professional connections that will help me learn and develop my own career path within the industry.

5. I want to support an organisation that holds our universities accountable for what they teach our future librarians, and set the standard for accrediting people with the professional qualification.


...or not to join.

1. Membership costs money. I don't need to be a member to get a job, and being a certified professional won't help me get a better job.

2. The organisation doesn't align with my personal or professional views. (i.e. it's too conservative, it focuses too much on the library industry and not enough on the information industry.

3. It's just a platform for high-achievers to boast about their achievements and discuss idealistic best practices when the reality for most of us is we just don't have the resources or the knowhow to implement them.

4. My job already provides me with all the career development opportunities that I want or need.

5. The tertiary qualification doesn't guarantee a quality industry-ready professional, and there are plenty of GLAM industry jobs that don't even need an ALIA-accredited qualification anymore.

They all make fairly compelling arguments, depending on one's experience, priorities in life, and future aspirations. I guess the final question is not whether you should or shouldn't join, but do you want to? Is this an organisation that you want to be a part of?

If so, great! If not, then that's fine too.

Day Six: ...and why I joined ALIA again.

So, within a week or so of returning to Australia last October, I found myself attending the ALIA NSW Library Unconference in Sydney. After 18 months working for the UN overseas, I thought I'd give the library industry another decent shot, and had a couple of good opportunities open up to get my foot back in the door of the library world. I figured that an ALIA event would be a good chance to get a feel for the professional community again.

There were a number of familiar faces - one of whom was a former colleague and now ALIA staffer, who encouraged me to join ALIA again. I promised that I'd join as soon as I'd landed a permanent job in the industry. I neglected to mention that it had been over eight years since I'd had a permanent job. But, on the whole, it was an interesting crowd - and I was surprised at how optimistic everybody felt about the state of the industry and the future of their careers. It was nice.

A few months later, I attended an ALIA event, where it was announced that ALIA were making some changes to their constitution - specifically "To endorse the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19, and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in response to the many challenges faced by the world today and into the future."

This was something new, and it certainly caught my attention - especially as somebody who had spent the previous three years immersed in work that was intrinsically tied to the SDGs. Furthermore, when I spoke at the ALIA conference in 2014, one of my main points was on the similarities between many of the core objectives of library and information work and capacity-building in the developing world.

With this inclusion in ALIA's core aims, it felt like they were making a very deliberate shift toward professional values that were already important to me.

At the same time, my career had taken a turn for the better, working in one of my top employers of choice, which I found enjoyable and stimulating and challenging in a good way - BUT - it's the kind of place where one can easily disappear into a well-insulated bubble that keeps its focus on internal operational functions.

So, for me, I now feel like ALIA involvement can provide that opportunity to make the connections between the operational work I do as a professional in the workplace and the opportunities to interact with the wider community, especially in the field of International Development.  ALIA has its Asia-Pacific Spectial Interest Group (APSIG), and I'm curious to see how an increased focus on the SDGs will prompt further opportunities to perhaps form regional partnerships. And I'm keen to use these opportunities to connect with others who have worked with others who have worked in the space where libraries and international development intersects.

Furthermore, as a new employee in a large organisation, I'm hardly going to be an agent for substantial change in that part of my professional world. But getting involved in ALIA, once again I can pursue the areas of the industry that interest me that I wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to pursue in my work.

It's not the most common reason for joining ALIA, but it's one that works for me. It feels like an organic convergence of everything that I've done in my career so far.

When I first joined ALIA, I did so because I thought it would be good for my career, that it would help me find a job, and that by banding together with other librarians, it would make us a more "serious" profession. I believed that all librarians should contribute to their professional community, supporting each other in career development and lifelong learning and, in the process, create innovation in their work and futureproof the profession. That's what ALIA membership meant to me back then.

Honestly, I don't care about those things so much anymore. But the idea of ALIA as a development organisation - in similar ways to IFLA with last year's International Advocacy Programme - that's definitely something that I can get behind.

That said - I got that permanent job, so I pretty much had to keep my promise and join.

Also, ALIA membership is tax-deductible. Strangely enough, also a deciding factor.

Day 5: Why I cancelled my ALIA membership...

So, two and a half weeks ago, I joined the Australian Library and Information Association. It wasn't a decision that I took lightly. You see, there was a time when I was once an ALIA member, and I cancelled my membership, with no intention of ever re-joining.

But before I can explain why I left, I need to first explain why I joined ALIA in the first place.

It would have been about eleven years ago - back in early 2006, when I was working as a Serials Officer with a public library service, and studying to become a librarian - when one of my librarian colleagues encouraged me to join the ALIA NewGrads mailing list. It opened up a world of ongoing discussion amongst students and new graduates, and all of a sudden I was connecting with a whole bunch of my peers from around Australia in a way that my university's online subjects never seemed to manage to do, despite their best efforts. It was through the mailing list that I found out about the New Librarian's Symposium, and I was determined to go there in December, and meet a bunch of these other librarians I'd been chatting to.

In September of that year, I got my first professional librarian job - in Darwin. When I arrived, the local librarian community was welcoming, and were keen to get me involved in the ALIA Top End Group, but I would need to become an ALIA member first!

It turned out that the difference between the member and non-member registration for NLS was actually greater than the cost of ALIA new graduate membership, so I was saving money by joining - so that was that!

In the following two and a half years of living in Darwin, ALIA membership meant that I was an active part of a professional community. I was Secretary of the Top End Group, and was involved in the organising committees for the Top End Symposium in 2007 and the New Librarians Symposium in 2008. It was a big part of my life - I was particularly passionate about creating events and spaces where library professionals could come together and share ideas.

And then I moved back to Melbourne in mid 2009, and became the convenor of the New Graduates Group and took up a role on the New Generation Advisory Committee to the ALIA Board. I think it was somewhere in 2010 when I started hitting the wall. I still had a few good friends from the ALIA scene, but I also started losing that sense of community. The more I pushed, the more I started to feel like the library industry didn't care - that I was surrounded by librarians who just treated their job like a source of income, rather than a life-long calling that they should be pouring all their energy into like I felt that I had to. And I started to resent them for it.

Furthermore, as much as I hate to admit it now - I kinda started to hate libraries. I hated that we lived in a world with such scope for innovation and creativity, and yet libraries were still, on the whole, stuck in 20th century attitudes.

And here was ALIA - an organisation that I felt was responsible for inspiring and facilitating vibrant communities for professional development and knowledge-sharing... and yet, from what I could see at the time, did none of this.

Whether I was justified in feeling this way at the time is certainly questionable - looking back now, I recognise that I was often impatient with an industry of professionals who often have to juggle work with managing a family and a household, whereas here I was, a early thirty-something year old with all the time to do all of the things. And, for all its scope for innovation, it's still a relatively conservative field, all things considered.

But I figured, in spite of all my efforts, I'm not really making much of a difference in the industry, and I'm not feeling connected with my community or inspired in my work. It's time for a change.

So I left in mid-2011. Left the country and lived in the Japanese countryside for a while. Let my ALIA membership lapse after five years of membership, and told them I'd left the country and the industry. That year off did wonders for my perspective - not just on my career but my life.

A year later, I came back to a library job - tentatively - with more of a focus on community development and arts programming, which I didn't really consider "real" librarianship. I worked in fringe and literary festivals, and then spent a few years working in international development programmes. There were huge challenges and frustrations, but the achievements were extremely rewarding.

Looking back, I think ALIA membership was important to me as a new graduate in the industry, trying to find my feet and connect with the real issues in the industry - but it could only get me so far. I needed to hit that wall in order to realise the limitations of what I can expect from a professional community and industry. The industry does not owe me job satisfaction, and my peers don't have an obligation to care more about the professional community than their own non-jobby lives.

And yet, six years after cancelling my membership, I've joined up again. My reasons are different now........ (to be continued tomorrow)