Taking your library career outside the square: from cosmpolitan Melbourne to the Tropical Islands of...
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Transcript of Taking your library career outside the square: from cosmpolitan Melbourne to the Tropical Islands of...
Taking your career outside the square: from cosmopolitan
Melbourne to the tropical islands of Samoa
Susanne Newton
Australian Youth Ambassador
A taste of Samoa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYM72hUUkzU
What is AYAD?
• A government funded program sending 400 skilled volunteers a year to developing nations in Asia, the Pacific and Africa for short term programs of 3-12 months.
• The aim is to make a positive contribution to development and strengthen mutual understanding by building the capacity of local people through skills transferring.
Samoa
• A group of islands in the South Pacific, halfway between Australia and Hawaii
• Population of 200,000, mainly Polynesians
• 100,000 more Samoans in New Zealand, 40,000 in Australia
• Tropical climate
• First Pacific Island to gain independence
• Homeplace of Robert Louis Stevenson
My role
• Library Management Officer at the National University of Samoa
• 12 month position
• Sent to Samoa with five other AYADs – a permaculture officer (organic farming), a cricket development officer, a small business development officer, a graphic designer, and a lab technician
Libraries in Samoa
• One dated public library with two branches serves the population of 200,000 Samoans.
• Most libraries still rely on a card catalogue and a print-based collection
• Problem of collections derived largely from donations – old and irrelevant material
• Major lack of funding and trained staff
Libraries in Samoa
• Approximately five ‘bookshops’ in Samoa, mainly selling stationary and religious texts
• Books very expensive – 80 tala ($40AU) when the minimum wage is 2 tala per hour ($1AU)
• Humidity!• Books seen as precious commodities and
are not easily accessed
Nightmare!
My assignment aims:
• Market the new law collection
• Liaise with the Australian Attorney General’s Department Library, who donated the law collection through the Pacific Law Library Twinning Program
• Review Library policies and procedures
• Develop Library management policies
The assignment aims:
• Educate library users in IT and using the collection
• Undertake reference and research enquiries for academics and researchers
• Train staff
Plus all the other stuff:
• Lecturing 40+ young Samoans
• Being on the Library Association of Samoa
• Running National Library Week
• Dealing with masses of irrelevant material
• Insect-ridden material – termites, giant African snails
• The Samoan tsunami aftermath
Achievements : Library Week
• National Library Week through the Library Association of Samoa– Short story competition– Literary high tea– Parade through town– Costume competition for best dressed book
character – Movie nights
Achievements: Lecturing
• Lectured on a course teaching 40 young Samoans to work in school libraries
• Basic skills such as being professional, customer service, filing, cataloguing, recommending books
• Hindered by lack of organisation and money
Achievements: Law Library Twinning Program
• Well run program matching an Australian Law Library with a Pacific Law Library
• Australian Library provides books, support, training
• First meet up of all Pacific Participants in Vanuatu in May 2009
Achievements: Post-tsunami recovery
• Samoan tsunami hit on September 29, killing over 150, affecting everyone in Samoa in some way
• Hit the beautiful south side of the island
• Apia, the main town, is on the north side of the island and was not affected by the tsunami
Challenges
• The tsunami. Information management skills were useful to the Red Cross
• Being a young skilled female in a hierarchical environment with different cultural mores
• Dealing with workplace bullying and resistance to change
• Humidity; resistance to weeding when relying on donations
Challenges
• Technological limitations and frustrations
• ‘Island time’, the slow pace of work, the fact that it is often easier to do things yourself then capacity build
• Lack of formal training opportunities
• Lack of money and resources
• Lack of motivation
• Outdated attitudes about libraries
The best parts
• Getting to know enthusiastic library workers doing their best with few resources and little to no training
• Working with my all-Samoan staff at NUS
• Being able to use my library skills to aid development
• Seeing a different culture and changing my world view of what is/isn’t important
Creating lasting change? Is the experience rewarding?
This is difficult to answer!
Yes and No
To be an overseas library volunteer
• Expect the unexpected
• Don’t expect anything to be like it is at home
• Build a support network around you – this is the number one way I got through the hard times last year
• Know that there’s only so much you can do in a year
To be an overseas volunteer
• You have the ability to affect change
• Adaptability
• Flexibility
• Negotiating with others
• Library and technological skills
• Being able to adapt to a new place and new culture
Considering applying?
• Great for newgrads – Both Romany and I were straight out of library school
• Good for young people, as there are other people your age volunteering as AYADs and Peace Corps; could be harder as an older volunteer when other foreigners are often ex-pats with a good deal of money
Why do it? What will you get out of it?
• Challenge yourself and push yourself
• Professional development
• Facing all different challenges makes you discover you can do anything!
• Life experience
• Help others who need it
Why not do it? Why it can be hard
• There can be major frustrations • The gap between the AYAD rhetoric of ‘you can
change the world’ and the realities of the difficulties of development
• One year is short; you are temporary • You won’t always have access to technology• It’s a huge life change, and as I’m finding,
coming back is as hard as going • Supply and demand / different cultural needs
Links
• AYAD: Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development www.ayad.com.au
• VIDA: Volunteering for International Development from Australia www.vidavolunteers.com.au
• AVI: Australian Volunteers International www.australianvolunteers.com
• ABV: Australian Business Volunteers www.abv.org.au
Conclusion
• Volunteering as a librarian overseas in development is amazing, challenging, difficult, life-changing, and good for your professional development.
• If you get the chance, take it.
Thankyou