ETL507 Study Visits

I have just completed Study Visits in Melbourne for my Professional Practice course for th MEd (TL).  Having been to the Victorian State Library, SWETS Services, NGV Library, CAVAL and the La Trobe Library, Public Records Office and the Melbourne City Library, it was really meaningful to see libraries with a new understanding of their value as a service to the community, their high level of commitment to their patrons, their professionalism, generosity of spirit as well as their concerns.

Overall, I learned that there is a far greater variety of librarianship skills and range of library services than I had previously imagined.  I learned that librarians are passionate, highly skilled and generous in their willingness to showcase their facilities and services, to share their knowledge and to be adaptable and innovative in maximising technology for the purpose of making access to information easy for users.  Most of all, people involved in information management services care about their customers; about the quality of service they provide, pay great attention to detail and are very focused on the specific purposes of their organisation.  It was so inspiring to see so many people enjoying their work, engaging with people, getting great satisfaction from providing access to information and using their skills to problem-solve despite constant budget and space restraints.