How many library people in your suburb?

Are you curious to know how many librarians, library assistants, or library technicians were recorded as living in your local suburb during the 2006 Census?

Find out using the Census Tables product on the ABS website: www.abs.gov.au/census

5 Easy Steps:
1. select 'View Census Tables by Topic'
2. choose the topic 'Occupation'
3. select the option 'Occupation by Sex - 2006 ANZSCO Alternative View: Culture and Leisure Occupations'
4. click the 'Select Location' button and type your suburb name into the search box
5. click the 'View Census Tables' button and open the Excel table under the 'Details' tab.

Farewell to Sandra Henderson

Sandra Henderson retires in mid-April after more than 30 years service with the National Library. During this time Sandra’s career has moved through many phases. From a beginning in the Library’s then specialist science section, Sandra has worked across a broad range of functions and leaves the Library a much valued member of staff.

After completing a Bachelor of Science at the Australian National University and a Graduate Diploma in Librarianship at the Canberra College of Advanced Education, Sandra started at the National Library in early 1977 as a science reference librarian. In 1978 she moved to the Life Sciences Section, which provided a MEDLARS search service for Australian health professionals, and participated in the development of the Australian MEDLINE Network. This was real ‘pioneer’ work and Sandra’s strong IT capabilities came to the fore at this stage.

As the MEDLINE Network expanded, Sandra took on roles in training, customer helpdesk support, indexing and newsletter editing, and became the Principal Librarian of the section in 1983. In the following years APAIS and ANB were added to the Section’s responsibilities and in the early 1990s the focus shifted to the production of APAIS and AMI. It was during this time that Sandra acquired significant expertise in indexing and she remains an active member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers.

Soon after the indexing services moved to the Library’s Collections Management Division in 2000, Sandra moved to a position in the Coordination Support Branch within the Executive area of the Library, where her responsibilities included national and international liaison, for example providing support for bodies such as the Australian Library Collections Task Force and the Conference of Directors of National Libraries. In recognition of her dedicated work in this area, Sandra was awarded a National Library staff Australia Day Award in 2006. More recently, she has organised a number of Australian and international conferences held at the Library, managed the Libraries of Asia Pacific website and been the project manager for the initial stages of the Library’s rights management project.

Sandra will be greatly missed when she retires. Over the years she has acquired an in-depth knowledge of Library activities and is able to turn her hand to any task. She embodies the word 'professional', and those outside the Library who have worked on conferences, seminars, visits and many other things besides, attest to her abilities through their letters and emails of thanks.
In retirement Sandra will pursue her interests in birdwatching, indexing and gardening.

Jasmine Cameron Assistant Director-General, Executive & Coordination Support – NLA

(This article was published in, Gateways, Number 92, April 2008)

Vale Peter Sinfield (1950 – 2008)

Peter Sinfield (1950 – 2008)

Peter, who passed away from cancer on 25 March 2008, had worked as a librarian at the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) for 13 years prior to his retirement at the end of 2006.

Peter was born in Melbourne on 27 February 1950. At the tender age of 15 he joined the Royal Australian Navy as a radio apprentice. He served in a number of ships, including the HMAS Sydney in its role as the Vung Tau Ferry on supply visits to Vietnam, and HMAS Hobart, his sentimental favourite. His naval service also saw him in Darwin helping the clean-up after Cyclone Tracey. During his naval career he became a qualified teacher and he was an instructor at HMAS Leeuwin, and later a recruitment officer. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Prior to retiring from the Navy, Peter studied librarianship at the Canberra College of Advanced Education (now the University of Canberra), obtaining a Graduate Diploma in 1989. He then commenced a career as a librarian, working in a variety of government libraries in Canberra. He started at the Department of Health, Housing and Community Services, moving to ATSIC and then the Australian Customs Service, before commencing at the ANAO in 1993, followed by some short stints at the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Peter and I became work colleagues when I commenced at the ANAO in 1994 as a cataloguer and systems librarian – he was by then a well respected and knowledgeable reference librarian.

In 1997, Peter was acting Library Manager when the ANAO library underwent a major review and restructure in 1997. He oversaw the implementation of the review’s recommendations, which saw the library change its name (to the Information Research Centre), location (from the 3^rd to the 2^nd floor) and focus (from traditional collection based services to more research-oriented services utilising electronic resources). The library review also saw the abolition of the library manager position and a change in our roles, with both of us providing research services and co-managing the library. Peter generously shared with me his corporate knowledge and reference skills, and helped me to morph from a cataloguer and systems librarian into a “research librarian”. His professionalism and amiability also ensured our unorthodox partnership endured until his retirement.

Outside of the ANAO, Peter was active in the Australian Government Libraries Information Network, and the Military History Society of Australia. He helped produce the Society’s journal Sabretache for many years, and also organised the annual HMAS Canberra memorial service.

In his younger years, his transport of choice was motorbikes. As a responsible family man he had stopped riding, but the yearning remained. In his mid fifties he purchased a motorbike and joined the Ulysses Club. His wife supported him in this aim to “grow old disgracefully” and bought a large motor scooter to join him on the road.

Towards the end of 2005 he started to plan for, and look forward, to his retirement, giving himself and the ANAO a year’s notice. Things went slightly awry in February 2006, when on a regular weekend ride Peter uncharacteristically came off his motorbike on a gravel road. Medical investigations revealed that he was suffering from something more serious than just abrasions and cracked ribs. After a major operation for cancer, he spent several months convalescing at home before returning to work and seeing out his plan to retire in December 2006.

Unfortunately 2007 saw a recurrence of the cancer, and Peter had little opportunity to enjoy his retirement or motorbike, between medical appointments and further treatments.

He is survived by his mother and brother, wife Sylvia, daughter Patricia and son Andrew.

Vale Peter! A great librarian and human being.

Christine Herrmann

Research Librarian

Beth Rogers, Convener for ACT OPALS

I have been the convenor for the ACT OPALS for a couple of years now. In my library career, have always worked in small, one person libraries,and enjoy it mostly, for the flexibility and autonomy which it gives you. I like getting my own systems in place and running an efficient, personal and high profile library. I have always enjoyed excellent support from my directors and principals in my library positions.

As a one person librarian, I know that networking with colleagues isabsolutely vital. Previously, as a teacher librarian, I participated in various networking groups in Sydney and in Canberra and found it vital in discussing technology, and other operational issues, as well asmany other work related issues. Once I was established in my library here, I realised that I needed to be able to network with similar colleagues in government libraries, so went about starting a group, with the assistance of the Group's coordinators at ALIA.

I certainly appreciate the support I receive frommy ALIA colleagues and AGLIN colleagues, and I continue to make aneffort to keep the OPALS rolling along, to fill that networking and friendship need we have, since most of us work in organizations where weare the only ones, so no-one else really has any idea of what we do, orour daily issues. I hope to have a least one guest speaker this year, and am always on thelook out for events we can participate in.