Dunn & Wilson scholarship project 1995

Interview

Introduction
After considering the observation material, I identified five themes as important for elaboration by the participants during the interview process: their experience of getting into the position; their experience of being in the position; their continuing professional development (CPD); how they viewed the future for themselves and for the position; and the implications of their being in the position. These plus the subthemes identified from the analysis of interview data are outlined in table 1. Duplication of some information previously given may be apparent; this is purposeful in that the interviews revealed what the participants themselves considered important to their being in the position.

Experience of getting into the position

Career path
Two of the participants referred right back to early career decisions. John spoke of having a very early interest and that work in libraries became 'a firm career option probably when I was at secondary school'. Sandra decided on leaving school that she wanted to work in libraries and was successful in getting a position as a junior library assistant at the University of Melbourne where she was placed in the serials section. John helped out in the school library and his contact with the librarian led to her and her husband's support and mentorship of young John. Her husband, who was also a librarian, offered John his first job as a storeman at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Central Library, then after a couple of years pressured him to move on.

John emphasised that he never had a planned career path, and therefore that he 'arrived by accident' into the Level 6 position; 'I didn't plan to be here, I'm just here'. Wilma said that she 'fell into the position' because no one wanted to be in the acting position and the manager asked if she would take it on. Sandra focused her working life 'more towards the managing - the training and supervision areas' and actually consciously worked out what skills she would require to get into the position.

Work experience
Work experience was obviously an aspect of their experience of getting into the position for all participants. Sandra progressed to junior library assistant grade two then to library officer and finally to acting serials librarian before actually being appointed to the position. Along the way in addition to developing skills, she demonstrated her capabilities and training and supervisory potential. John spoke of his work at the Institute of Education (formerly the Melbourne College of Advanced Education) particularly in the acquisitions section where he was for five years, and the lending services section where he worked for twelve years. John stated that he ended up being the supervisor of lending services 'by virtue of the fact that I was there for a long time plus I could do that sort of thing - I was very focused on the staff and very good at customer service'. In addition to supervisory experience, John gained planning and project management experience in that position. Wilma spoke of her experience both at Sutherland Public Library where she had worked in many areas and her secondment to the position during which she developed an automated system to facilitate the handling, controlling and reporting of interlibrary loans.

Mentors and role models
Everyone spoke of the contribution of mentors and role models. Sandra pointed out that the serials librarian knew she had particular interests in training and supervision and supported her to develop skills. This was very important to Sandra who said she 'would have got nowhere' without such encouragement. She also spoke of a very supportive divisional head who 'always made herself available' for advice. Sandra's mentors also supported her creativity, to take risks and to learn from any mistakes. In addition to the contribution of John's early mentors mentioned previously, after John left CSIRO the librarian continued to provide mentorship and was keen to see John develop a career as a librarian. He was very supportive as was the university librarian and it was her support which resulted in John doing the library technician qualification. John believes that the university librarian and the divisional head had both recognised his ability; they certainly had been very encouraging. Wilma spoke more globally about the supportive environment at Sutherland Public Library where the librarians were very positive towards library technicians and where they were offered every opportunity to grow and develop Wilma also mentioned one significant role model with whom she worked closely, a library technician and a very positive person who did the professional qualification not 'to become a librarian but to become a better [library] technician'. John identified that his 'management style has come out of modelling myself on people who present a certain way': there was his first supervisor who always made himself accessible to staff; and there was a youth group leader and his own father from whom he learnt the skills and qualities of leadership. Sandra emphasised the importance to her of the serial librarian's modelling behaviour of encouraging staff, of being calm, of being people oriented and decisive, 'she was empathic but she was tough at times ... and I learnt that from her in that there are some hard decisions that have to be made that people don't like'. By modelling herself on others, Sandra had also developed the ability to consider what she and/or the staff did in relation to the achievement of sectional goals. Sandra could not identify any mentors/role models while doing the library technician course whereas John said he found some teachers were very encouraging and gave very good feedback.

Library technician qualification
Wilma was emphatic about the importance of the library technician qualification to her appointment, 'I wouldn't have got the [library] technician's position in the first place if I didn't have the qualification'. Also, she spoke of using information that she had gained during the course in assessing the interlibrary loan system which was in place when she was seconded, 'I knew there had to be a better way'. Wilma was able to identify that both she and the ALT who was doing the course had a higher hit rate, when searching, than other staff and that it might have been related to the analytical skills [developed as a result of the course] which they brought to the task: 'looking at whether a mistake had been made in the request'; 'considering other search strategies'. Sandra very definitely thought that doing the library technician course gave her a higher awareness of what was required in improving her work processes and in discussions with other staff, for example knowledge of cataloguing facilitated discussions with serials cataloguers. Sandra believed that the information gained during the course had the potential to empower library technicians. John believed that having the library technician qualification contributed and that it 'best trains staff for processing work ... because the style of teaching and the way of learning is supplemented by practical experience'. He saw the course as being a way of refining and formalising what he'd learnt through his work experience. In the main, however, John did not take the qualification into account when considering his development but related this more to having worked in the culture of the Institute of Education where a person's ability was far more important than their qualifications.

Personal qualities
Showing herself as being quick to learn when she was doing cataloguing and then being able to develop the ILL service when in the Acting position, Wilma considered to be factors in her getting the HEW5 position. In addition, she identified the importance to career progression of having confidence in one's self and one's abilities. John also talked of the importance of his believing in what he did and of having shared values with his colleagues; of being surrounded by people who supported one another and believed in a cooperative effort. Sandra emphasised her interest in training, which she viewed as 'the crux of an organisation', and in quality service which led her into a managerial role. She also identified the contribution made by library managers in providing her with opportunities for development. Her secondment to the INNOPAC implementation project team was an example of such opportunity.

Pre-appointment events
Wilma experienced being appointed to the Interlibrary loans position at HEW Level 5 and a re-evaluation of that position which resulted in it becoming a Level 6 position. The re-evaluation process included her completion of a complex form followed by discussion about same with her supervisor; they agreed that the position warranted upgrading to a Level 6. Wilma said that everyone was surprised by this because Level 5 was traditionally seen to be the level for base grade librarians and senior library technicians and anything higher than that was considered to be at librarian level. Sandra experienced being in the acting position where immediately upon appointment she was required to bring the work group together as a team and to appoint people to vacant positions. An essential aspect of her team building skills was Sandra's ability to select the right staff, those who could not only do the work but would fit in with the work group.