Name: Catharina V
Role: Library Team Leader 
Location: Institute for Horticultural Development Knoxfield 

ABOUT MY CAREER 

What does a typical day in your job involve?
»My role is to manage and coordinate the five libraries and library staff in the Gippsland area. 
»As information scientists my team provides information in various formats to ensure that high quality research is produced by the staff at the Department of Primary Industries and Department of Sustainability and Environment. 
»We provide information and training to staff in the use of all our electronic services.
»We also perform the more traditional roles of collecting and managing information resources. 

What do you enjoy most about your job? 
»Working closely with people. 

Why did you choose this career?
»I like working closely with people and being able to help them. 
»Research libraries are about working with people not backroom jobs away from staff. 

What would you like to do in the future? 
»Library futures are changing rapidly. It is hard to predict or even have a feel for where I'll be. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF 

Where did you grow up?
»Mt. Evelyn, was then a very small town at the base of the Dandenong Ranges. 

How did this influence your choice of career?
»I don't think this had any real influence on my career choice. 

MY EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

Were courses in secondary school planned for this sort of work?
»No

Which University or TAFE course did you complete?
»Undergraduate Diploma of Librarianship.
»Post Graduate Applied Information Systems - Computing. 

Have you completed any work experience? 
»Work experience was built into our course but a lot of students were already working in libraries. I didn't and found it put me at a slight disadvantage. 

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES 

Is there a lot of learning on the job?
»Yes, I try to keep up to date by reading the latest association and subject journals. Sometimes there are conferences, workshops and training courses to attend.

Do you plan to do further study?
»No 

Do you travel much in your job?
»As the Gippsland Team Leader I visit both the libraries, I am responsible for various offices in the region. I go for several days at a time, 2 to 4 times a year. 

What are graduates from your course doing now? 
Some are working as: 
»Record managers 
»Library researchers 

ADVICE TO STUDENTS NOW

Primary Students 
»Libraries are changing all of the time. What is currently considered the typical library job will be only a small part of libraries in the future. 

Secondary/Tertiary Students
»At the moment there are limited job opportunities for librarians. A lot of big companies have closed their libraries and universities are only employing librarians during the school year (March to November). Librarians are taking their skills into other areas of work which is more difficult to do. 
»Unfortunately librarianship is one of the lowest paid professions. 

Other comments 
»Mainly I would like to reinforce that in the current climate librarianship as a career is not a good option. 
»I started my training in 1980 and it was something I wanted to do. At the time libraries were experiencing a good economic climate, jobs were easier to get and career paths were in place. By 1990 things had changed quite dramatically and jobs were fewer with limited opportunities to advance.