Quill 106[1], January 2006

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Fiona M. Doyle

The committee would like to thank Fiona very much for her contribution to Quill.

For the past three and a half years I have been actively involved in a number of ALIA committees and activities in Brisbane and I have reached a point where I feel the need to stop and smell the roses. Before I go, however, there are a few things I need to say.

My career in libraries is still in its infancy but I have had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting and working with so many wonderful people. My introduction to librarianship was in a hospital library in Ireland. I worked for a fantastic lady by the name of Angela Rice. Angela's enthusiasm for her profession was infectious (no hospital pun intended). She was my inspiration for becoming a librarian and she has been my role model to this day.

Following my unplanned return to Australia, I enrolled as a student in the Grad Dip Library course at QUT predominantly under the tutelage of Gillian Hallam and Helen Partridge. What a team they make! Building on the foundation set by Angela, Gill and Helen both displayed that same passion for librarianship and made me feel that this was the career for me.

I joined ALIA just after half way through the library course and I began attending Quorum meetings immediately. I quickly volunteered myself for certain tasks such as being on the Quill committee when our Far North Queensland colleagues decided to pass the reins to South East Queensland.

As the years passed, I got involved in a number of Quorum ventures including being the events co-ordinator and NER*D organiser, Quill articles, a few New Grad things and I saddled up with a stint on the organising committee for the 3rd International Evidence Based Librarianship Conference. Before I knew it I had developed an addiction!

My circumstances are a little different now and I'm going cold turkey on the commitment front. I would like to just say thanks for letting me run riot for the last few years. I have had a few months off already and I'm re-discovering hobbies and remembering what 'spare time' means! I should also pass on a message of thanks from my partner, Steve, who is glad I now have time to spend with him.

I would like to thank all of you who have supported me over the last few years and I can heartily recommend becoming an active member of ALIA. It is really rewarding to be a part of a professional family.