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InterALIA February 2005EditorialFrom the editorWelcome to the March 2005 edition of InterALIA. In this issue we discuss gender in libraries, take a trip to the ski fields of Canada, and meet the staff of the Eric Sims Library. I know you are going to enjoy the writing of IA's new contributor, Ursula Henderson. ALIA SA has plenty of great events in the pipeline, so stay tuned! Benita Wheeler RegularsInterALIA asksMeet the staff of the Eric Sims Library (part of the children, youth and women's health service) First up Jennie Hanisch
Membership level Associate
What are you reading?
What are you listening to?
What talent do you wish you had?
Who do you find inspiring?
Where would you like to be in five years? And introducing Caryn Butler
Membership level Pending
What are you reading?
What are you listening to?
What talent do you wish you had?
Who do you find inspiring?
Where would you like to be in five years? Now for Ursula Henderson
Membership level Associate
What are you reading?
What are you listening to?
What talent do you wish you had?
Who do you find inspiring?
Where would you like to be in five years? And last but definitely not least Amanda Colbert
Membership level Library technician
What are you reading?
What are you listening to?
What talent do you wish you had?
Who do you find inspiring?
Where would you like to be in five years? Breaking news, don't miss thisAcquisitions SA have organised a tour of the refurbished West Torrens Council Hilton Library. 4:30pm Monday 4 April, Hilton Library, 1 Brooker Terrace, Hilton. Rsvp by Friday 1 April to Jenni Jeremy ph 83020318. Specials April ISLD, Wedensday 20 April, Treasures of special libraries - informal meeting at café, participants to bring a special item to talk about. Details to be confirmed. Feature articlesToo many females? A library staffing issue.Try this experiment. Ask a child what they want to be when they grow up. A girl might say she wants to be a ballerina or a hairdresser. A boy; policeman, builder or athlete. We are bombarded from an early age with stereotypical images for most professions. And it seems most of us live out that stereotype. How often do you meet a female mechanic, or a male secretary? Leonie Clyne, of the Australian National Training Authority, says that too many women are opting to work in unskilled positions or are neglecting to consider non-traditional occupations (The Advertiser, p15, 19 March 2004). Does the same apply to men, who tend towards the more physically-demanding, technically intricate jobs? Are males afraid of copping some insults from their mates if they take on a 'girly' career in an arts or cultural field? Do we need to take action similar to training institutions trying to encourage women to diversify their career options? Do we need an award for best male librarian each year? Currently almost 85 per cent of our library workforce is female. How can we even this out? And should we? Personally, I feel that library staff recruitment should not be about gender, it should be about attracting all types of people to the profession. The choice to become a librarian often comes back to those who enjoyed reading as a child, and they are often female. Librarianship should be promoted to those who are good at organising information, and have logical minds. Perhaps we should aim to make librarianship more of a family business? Mother (or father) to daughter or son. It happens in many other professions, why not ours? Some of the reasons behind my becoming a librarian were gender related. As an industry with a high proportion of women I thought it should be easier to work part time, and have a family-friendly life balance. But I chose this career mainly because it suited my personality and the way my mind works. And I do prefer having a mix of gender in the workplace. From a quick survey in the SALIN e-list, it seems many agree that a mix is preferred. Jennifer Osborn said she feels lucky to be in a 50/50 male/female environment. 'I have had experience working in large departments with a huge gender imbalance (on the female side) in two quite different institutions and I wouldn't describe either as a healthy or productive working environment'. Similarly, an all male environment can be a negative. Robert Franchini commented that working 'in a male dominated area prior to becoming a librarian has not inspired me to work in an all male environment again.' The appearance of a high proportion of females in the industry did worry him but he has enjoyed friendships with female colleagues since taking this career path. 'In the past I had considered and tried for positions in the police force, armed forces and as a fire fighter but I found the competitive nature of these predominately male areas off putting.' A male staff member of City of Onkaparinga Libraries had a similar opinion. He found, after working as a carpenter and retraining, that libraries are less stressful and people are less uptight than in a male dominated area. He has no problem working predominately with women, in fact it seems to be quite the opposite! An important point was his opinion that libraries have a low profile generally and are not promoted as a workplace to school leavers. For the right type of male, it is a great choice. Benjamin Wheal also had some sound points on the issue. 'Professional life tends to be gender-neutral - indeed, good work-places enforce codes of conduct designed to transcend gender, generation, race, sexuality, and religion. If you adopt such a mentality then gender is no issue. My professional role models are both male and female.' 'We should be trying to attract the best and brightest of both sexes into the profession. To this purpose librarians should focus on pursuing core professional values, raising our status and establishing our place as a robust sector. To argue that more men are needed to do these things is problematic logic indeed!' Ben declared. So it seems we do need to aim for a gender balance in our industry. We need to start a marketing campaign to career guidance counselors and Centrelink advisors. We need to tell our students that being a librarian is an option they should consider. We need to change our image and promote the library and information industry as one that is challenging and enjoyable for both men and women. Bibliography Sexton, Kristy 'Workers who break though the old barriers - the people who refuse to let gender divisions come between them and their chosen career', The Sunday Telegraph, p28, 30 May 2004 Pengelley, Jill and Sheridan, Bridget 'Training Authority wants culture change for apprentices: women urged to trade-in job traditions', The Advertiser, p15, 19 March 2004 Goodfellow, Nhada 'Awards recognise women who rewrite the gender manual', The Advertiser, p9, 29 May 2002 Statistics from the federal department of employment and ABS, via Phil Teece, ALIA National Office. And thanks to all respondents of my SALIN gender survey. Canadian library adventures
Skis... check Welcome to Whistler. One of Canada's top ski resorts and the home of the Whistler Public Library. Located in the province of British Columbia about two hours drive north of Vancouver, the Whistler Public Library is a relatively small municipal library, catering for a local population of around 9500 permanent residents. The library is located in a transportable-type building in the marketplace, a central retail and hotel area. The library's holdings stand at approximately 40 000 volumes, incorporating a large children's collection and including five internet access PCs. Perhaps the defining feature of the Whistler Public Library is the seasonal fluctuation in the size of the patron base. The area's population expands rapidly every November, the start of the Canadian snow sports season, with the influx of nearly 5000 seasonal workers coming from all over Canada and internationally. During the peak christmas - new year period, the Whistler population swells to around 45 000. Library membership is free to residents, including both Canadian and international seasonal workers. It is also free for members of InterLINK libraries, a co-operative federation of seventeen public libraries. Visitors to Whistler are allowed restricted borrowing rights with the provision of a refundable deposit and the payment of a service charge. The changing patron base creates a unique set of challenges: from creating and justifying a collection that manages to meet the needs of the greatly expanded winter population, to chasing up an overdue book when the patron has gone back to their country of residence or, quite possibly, their next working holiday destination. Concerned about low numbers of youth and young adults using public libraries? Not so at the Whistler Public Library. The library is a major port of call for the 18-28 age bracket, with the combination of free internet access and DVD/video collections proving irresistible, particularly for those on a seasonal worker budget. The 2003-04 winter season saw a resurgence in the debate over the building and preferred location of a new, purpose-built permanent library for Whistler. The good news is that construction is scheduled to begin in April 2005, reaffirming the importance of the library in the community, for both locals and seasonal workers. Keep your eyes open in 2010, with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and the alpine, nordic, sliding and paralympic events being held in Whistler. You might just catch a glimpse of the Whistler Public Library. Further information on the new Whistler library project is available at: http://www.whistler.ca/Community/Arts_Culture/Library.php Ski and snowboard aficionados can visit the main Whistler-Blackcomb resort website at: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/
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