Study Tour Reflection

Over the course of the study visit, the theme of advocacy was significant and reoccurring. Whilst overall, it appeared that the information profession in Wellington was well resourced, and in some cases, growing, each of the institutions engaged with some level of marketing strategy to promote and celebrate the services they provided to the community. These marketing or advocacy strategies varied in scope and form and included research papers, Library High Teas, book bikes, use of social media, and formal reports. Staff at each of the institutions understood that they needed to prove their worth and relevance in the dynamic, future-focused work environment of the 21st century.

The prominence of library advocacy demonstrated in New Zealand is consistent with the library landscape in Australia, were organisations such as the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) have carried out a deliberate and systematic advocacy calendar in line with key literary (Australian Children’s Literature Alliance, 2016) and political events for the past five years (ALIA, 2017). Indeed, practitioners in the field, such as Karen Bonanno suggest that librarians only remain relevant in the modern information environment if they adapt and change to meet new challenges (ASLA, 2011, Bonanno, 2015).

This study visit has encouraged me to evaluate my own advocacy practices. Currently, I undertake a number of measures to advocate for school libraries, including development of a professional learning Google Classroom to build staff capacity, leading professional learning workshops, writing newsletter articles and formal reports to the school board and active involvement with my union and ACT Library Network. In addition, I am currently developing a library webpage and am making a slow entry into Twitter. Whist these are effective and within my capability to maintain, I gained several new advocacy strategies from the Wellington institutions that will be helpful in carrying out sustainable, long-term advocacy for school libraries (ASLA, 2009).

References

Australian Children’s Literature Alliance. (2016). Leigh Hobbs is the new Australian Children’s Laureate. Retrieved from Australian Children’s Laureate website: http://www.childrenslaureate.org.au/2016/02/leigh-hobbs-is-the-new-australian-childrens-laureate/

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2017). Advocacy campaigns [website]. Retrieved from ALIA website: https://www.alia.org.au/advocacy-and-campaigns/advocacy-campaigns-0

Australian School Library Association. (2011) A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan. Keynote presentation, Karen Bonanno. Retrieved from: https://vimeo.com/31003940

Australian School Library Association. (2009). Advocacy: reason, responsibility and rhetoric. ASLA XXI Conference Committee, 2009 ASLA XXI Biennial Conference proceedings: engage, explore, celebrate, Karen Bonanno & Rob Moore. Retrieved from: http://www.asla.org.au/advocacy/School-library-advocacy.aspx

Bonnano, K. (2015). A profession at the tipping point (revisited). Access, 29(1), 14-21. Retrieved from CSU Library: http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=064399679084070;res=IELAPA