Your committee members...

Janetta Mascilongo

Convenor

Janetta has a varied background in libraries. Most recently she has stepped into the role of Marketing and Information Literacy Librarian at Victoria University Library. Prior to this appointment she was an Academic / Professional Sales Executive for James Bennett, which saw her working primarily with academic and TAFE libraries across Australia and New Zealand, but also with a diverse range of public and special libraries. She began her career in South Australia having obtained a Graduate Diploma in Information Studies at the University of South Australia in 2000. She worked at Flinders University Library (where she was successful in entering the graduate traineeship offered there) as well as in the TAFE and special library sectors. Janetta has been an ALIA member since 2003 and has actively participated in ALIA group committees since this time both as a general committee member and office bearer, including convenorship of the Academic, Research and Collection Management (A RCoM) group and ALIA SA. She is a strong believer in taking a strategic approach to career development, taking the occasional calculated 'leap of faith' and being open to the opportunities that serendipity often throws in one's path!

Simone Hys

Secretary

After four years spent finding Wally and Wanda, pushing a mobile library through flood waters to make it to the Friday site, and dodging lightning strikes with the largest radio aerial strapped to the truck, Simone was well prepared to spend the next four years working in academic libraries.

When not burying herself in her vegie garden or boogie-boarding up the coast, Simone can be found behind the reference desk at Griffith University's Logan Campus. Here, high school and primary school assignments have been replaced with queries for words she still can't spell or pronounce (those nursing students study some weird things).

Narelle Bell

Treasurer and Newcastle Regional Co-ordinator

In Narelle's previous life (when she was aimlessly working to live - not fulfilling her life's ambition) she worked in various accounting functions. She then progressed to household management and finally enrolled at CSU in 1999 when her youngest child started school. Narelle is currently a casual relief librarian for the Hunter Institute of Technology as well as a part time teacher to library students.

Daniel Giddens

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from La Trobe University in 2004, which he thoroughly enjoyed, quenching his thirst for literature and history in a variety of areas, Daniel's desire to pursue a career in librarianship was stronger than ever: it is something that had been bubbling away in him since childhood. Pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Information Management part-time over two years at RMIT in 2005-2006, volunteering at a public library at the time too, he thought this sector would be a good place to start his career. But then he had a great experience on a placement in an academic library, and thought this was worth serious consideration as well. He enjoyed studying at University and saw that it would be great to be among students and academics with passions for their own disciplines, helping them in some small way to achieve their goals, to navigate the information they need.

In July 2007, he was lucky enough to land a part-time job as a Reference Officer at RMIT's Bundoora Campus Library. He works with a great team, and every day he learns something new. He enjoys challenges and the opportunity to join the New Grads Group in Victoria in 2008 was one he couldn't pass up. The chance to provide a valuable outlet for New Grads, organise events, meet other New Grads and people in the profession generally, make connections, are all plusses!

In his leisure time, he enjoys listening to an eclectic mix of music, surfing the Net on topics of interest, reading a good autobiography and socialising with friends.

Noriko Kuchi

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

After teaching LOTE (Japanese) to VCE students for 8 years, it was 'time to change'. Noriko enrolled in the RMIT Graduate Diploma in Information Management in 2006 and started her first 'library' job at Vision Australia Library in 2007. She gets the most satisfaction whenever she manages to provide the exact information clients are looking for, from ready reference to finding academic papers, to finding information for a friend (scientist) who works in research.

She loves socialising, travelling (though the high cost these days makes it difficult), and playing (or bashing?) Japanese drums known as 'wadaiko'.

Rachel Crowe

Editor, New Grads Newsletter.

After completing an interesting but fairly useless undergraduate degree in home economics, Rachel rediscovered her love of libraries and completed a Master of Applied Science (Library & Information Management) through CSU. An opportune work experience placement at Queensland Health Central Library later resulted in her first library job in 2003. After a stint as the Librarian - Manager of the Alcohol & Drug Service Library (another Queensland Health Library) she is now trying her hand at a Systems Librarian role back at Queensland Health Central Library. She loves the work she does and sharing her passion with others. In her spare time she loves watching British television, making cards and scrapbooking.

Kate Gordon

Regional co-ordinator, Tasmania

Kate completed an Undergraduate degree in Performing Arts in 2002, and decided, in the end, NOT to become a performing artist as, on the whole, performing artists are wallies (not all of them, though, so if you are a performing artist, don't be offended)! Both her parents are school librarians, and so the library had always been like a second home, so pursuing a career as a librarian just seemed natural. After completing her Graduate Diploma, Kate worked for a year on a State Library scholarship in State Library of Tasmania Systems Support & Development. Being in a school was where she wanted to be, though, and this year she was lucky enough to attain a position at St Virgil's secondary college in Austin's Ferry, Tasmania. It's a big challenge, working in a school of nearly 500 adolescent boys, but Kate is loving every minute of it!

In her spare time, Kate reads a lot. She seems to be particularly reading a load of YA fantasy fiction of late, because it's what the boys read and she's just a sucker for anything with dragons and elves and swords in it anyway (did anyone say geek...?)! She also writes quite a bit (and yes, there are dragons, elves and swords involved...), supports the Greens and the Hawthorn Football Club, and just enjoys being a newlywed - while it lasts!

Rebecca Parker

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

Rebecca Parker is the Assistant Content Management Librarian at Swinburne University Library. She helps manage Swinburne Research Bank, an online collection of research produced at Swinburne designed to showcase and increase access to institutional research. Rebecca is passionate about finding new ways for academic libraries to support research within universities, and is currently the consultant on author name variants for the ARROW-funded NicNames Project.

Rebecca also contributes to Swinburne’s online gallery of archival photos and videos and the Library’s online journal and conference hosting services. She has a background in writing and editing, and holds a Master of Information Management from Curtin University of Technology. Rebecca is an active member of the ALIA New Graduates Group Committee and is interested in changing the prevailing attitudes to librarianship both in the industry and the wider community.