Name: Laraine Stephens

Position: Head of Library and Audiovisual Services

Qualification:

Bachelor of Arts

Diploma of Education

Graduate Diploma in Librarianship

Organisation: Firbank Grammar School

Previous positions: House co-ordinator; teacher; supervisor of night classes

What’s great about your job?

Endless variety and a mix of the routine and challenging. I also love working with teenage students and teachers.

What’s the most fun experience you’ve had at work?

Book Week assemblies. This year the Library Captain and I dressed up as “Rocky” with boxing gloves and so on, and we promoted the theme of “Books that packed a punch”. The students always expect some bad jokes and fun during Book Week.

Describe a typical day at work.

I answer queries about where to find information or novels that the girls would like to read; I teach research skills formally and informally to students and I enjoy the interaction of assisting students to become independent learners. I do displays and prepare units of work using Dreamweaver and interactive whiteboard software.

What do you find rewarding and challenging about your job?

School librarianship requires that you have a good general knowledge, but you are always learning new skills and knowledge and that’s exciting. Finding the right resources and information, both print and online, for the teachers and students can be challenging. The integration of technology into teaching and learning is an area with which you have to keep up to date and that’s something I really enjoy. You’re always learning something.

What are the personal skills & attributes that you need to do this job?

These days you need an aptitude for and interest in technology. You need to be interested in students, teaching and learning and enjoy working with people. You need to be well-organised, methodical and be able to multi task. It’s vital that you have a sense of humour and have flexibility in your approach to your job. Also, you need to be pro-active, not reactive, and be prepared to market and promote the library.

Home - Upcoming Events - Career Options - Learning Institutions - Workplaces -  People - Salaries - Media - Working Overseas - Top 10 - Using this wiki