ALIA New Generation Advisory Committee

Vanessa Warren (Chair)

Vanessa is a Liaison Librarian at the University of Tasmania, having completed a Graduate Diploma in Information Management in 2006. Vanessa has previously sat on both the ALIA Tasmania Committee as the new graduate representative, and the National ALIA New Graduates Group as the Tasmanian representative. In these forums she has enjoyed the opportunity to engage directly with students, new graduates and the wider LIS community.

Also holding a BA in Sociology from the University of Queensland, Vanessa is fascinated by changes and trends in the demographics, cultures and practices within the LIS industry, and is committed to ensuring that NGAC and ALIA consciously seek and reflect the opinions and needs of their constituents in advocacy and service development. Passionate about both the social and intellectual engagement with the profession, Vanessa has presented and published papers in local and international forums.

Jo Beazley

Jo Beazley is a new grad librarian, having graduated in 2009 with a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Library and Information Management) from Charles Sturt University. She also has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England. She is an Associate Member of ALIA, and part of the joint QUT/ALIA ePortfolios Project. Jo has over six years library experience and is currently working as the Youth Outreach Librarian for Logan Libraries.

She is passionate about emerging technologies and the role they will play in creating relationships between organisations, staff and customers, and how they can be used to enhance communication and create conversations. She is also interested in how guerrilla marketing can promote library services and programs.

Jo often drives herself crazy juggling family commitments, animals, new job, commuting and trying to find time to read, but is loving every moment of it all.

You can contact her on joannebeaz@hotmail.com, or via facebook and Twitter -@jobeaz.

Katie Hannan

Katie is a passionate librarian with 6 years of professional library experience following 4 years in the IT sector. Her employment history to date has been with a variety of different organisations; Local and State Government, academic and corporate. In 2007 she was selected to participate in an AusAID funded development program called Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development. She has been an associate member of ALIA since 2003. During this time, she has been on the executive committee of the South Australian Library and Information Network (SALIN) and the secretary for the ALIA Riverina Group. She has recently worked as a Faculty Liaison Librarian at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga. Having recently completed her Master of Information Management, she is now focussed on obtaining a PhD. You can follow her on twitter as katielhannan or contact her via email: katie@lost.net.au.

Clare McKenzie

Clare graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2010 with a BA (Library and Information Science) that took 9 years to get and is currently working as an Outreach librarian at the University of NSW, in only her second full time job in 18 years. She has joined NGAC to fill the gap previously taken up with studying and writing job applications.

Clare is passionate about networking and creating opportunities for new grads - particularly those working as OPL\'s and blogs about these experiences at http://newgradlibrarian.wordpress.com.

Working full time has helped Clare re-discover her love for weekends and public holidays. She spends them watching her teenage kids play soccer, texting the same teenagers to find out where they are, and going to interesting places on the back of the motorbike.

Hoi Ng

Hoi is currently having a great time working as an e-Services Librarian with the Town of Victoria Park Library in Western Australia. She is also part of the organising committee for 5th ALIA New Librarian's Symposium 2011 and enjoys the yearly involvements with the Perth Library Camp.

Hoi holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science and a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies. She has a keen interest in engaging the new graduate, and will be presenting her first conference paper at the Access conference in September 2010, on the topic of turning an idea into reality as a recent graduate.

Outside of the work space, Hoi reads non-fiction and waters her over-priced garden bed regularly. One of her dreams include converting a 1976 VW Kombi into a mobile library and provide free book exchange service. Follow Hoi on Twitter as librarianHoi or contact her via email hilibrarian@hotmail.com

Kylie Bailin

Kylie graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Masters in Applied Science (Library and Information Management) in 2010 and is currently the Outreach Team Leader for the Science, Engineering and Medicine Unit at the University of New South Wales Library where she manages Faculty Outreach Librarians. It is the role of the Outreach Librarians to be the primary point of contact for the Faculties and to communicate with them on library resources and services. Also at UNSW, Kylie has previously worked as the Outreach Librarian to Engineering and before that, was in the Document Services Team. Kylie started her library career doing a variety of roles in the US at small town public libraries.

While embracing new trends and technologies, she is also passionate about library as place and space and her research interests include user experience and library design. Kylie also holds a Master's in Environmental Management from UNSW and in her spare time keeps up a music photography blog at http://www.kyliebailinphotography.com

You can contact her on kbono@openix.com, or follow her on Twitter -@kyliebailin

Sonja Barfoed

Sonja is currently a Reference Librarian at the National Library of Australia (but usually works at Department of Finance & Deregulation Library). She has worked in government libraries since 2008 and is pleased to have successfully answered a request for "the orange book about careers" (Dr Ann Villiers' publication, however the most recent edition is yellow). Sonja has studied in both library and library technician fields, having completed a Masters of Applied Science (Library & Information Management) in late 2010 and a Certificate IV in Library & Information Services in mid-2011.

Prior to consummating her love of libraries through study and work experience, Sonja spent many hours in different libraries studying visual art - and if she had to do it all again, would definitely ask the art librarians for more assistance! Art continues to be her "night job". You can see her artworks on her website: http://sonjabarfoed.com

Get in touch via Twitter @SonjaBarfoed or the contact form on Sonja's website.

Sophie Blake

Sophie is a young passionate librarian who in 2010 graduated from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Business Information and Knowledge Management. Sophie is currently working as the School Librarian in a combined secondary school/community library in the North-West suburbs of Melbourne. Before graduating university Sophie dabbled in various roles to gain industry experience from large scale private enterprise in data analysis to executive online research at a recruitment firm, community outreach at an information centre, and copyrights at an Academic Library.

Recently Sophie volunteered in rural northern India working with young women and children teaching basic concepts of computers, the internet and literacy. Sophie aspires to continue working in under privileged countries teaching technology and English in the future and recently completed her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment Education to assist with this desire. Sophie has a particular interest in generational differences in information seeking habits in libraries and joined NGAC with the aim to represent challenges that new generation librarians may face as they enter an industry that has traditionally attracted a more mature aged workforce.

Contact Sophie at: sophie.e.blake@gmail.com