Your committee members...

Melanie Chivers

Convenor

Melanie moved to the bright lights of Melbourne from Otago, New Zealand in 2006 after completing a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. She soon found that all the jobs advertisements she was drawn to had ALIA accreditation requirements and as a result embarked on her childhood dream of becoming a librarian. Melanie studied full time in 2008 and completed the Graduate Diploma in Information Management at RMIT which, despite the workload, she loved. It was exciting to be surrounded by like-minded and stimulating people! In January 2009, Melanie started full time in the underworld of Library, Resources & Access department of the Swanston RMIT Library. A desire to stay surrounded by motivated library folk led her to get involved with the ALIA New Grad group. In her spare time Melanie enjoys getting into nature either on foot, on her bicycle, or just lying in the sun with a good book. She also enjoys all the good food Melbourne has to offer (a work in progress), good company and good wine.

Romany Manuell

Secretary

Romany graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) in 2002. She spent several years travelling around the UK, Japan, and Canada, teaching English to support her adventures. Eventually she found herself outside Vancouver Public Library, wondering how she might get inside. On her return to Melbourne, she completed the Graduate Diploma in Information Management (2008), which led to a position as an Attendant and then Officer at RMIT University Library. She spent a year as a School Librarian in Vanuatu (through Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development) and is currently an Information Services Librarian at Holmesglen Institute of TAFE.

She is always online.

Noriko Kuchi

Treasurer

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'.

Rebecca Parker

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

Rebecca Parker is the Research Services Librarian at Swinburne Library. She helps manage Swinburne Research Bank, an online collection of research produced at Swinburne designed to showcase and increase access to institutional research. She is also involved in Swinburne's online publishing activities. Rebecca enjoys finding projects around universities that could benefit from library content management skills, and she is passionate about finding new ways for academic libraries to support research in their universities, both through services to faculties and to corporate departments. Rebecca has previously consulted on author name variants in institutional repositories for the ARROW-funded NicNames Project and is currently a member of the advisory group for the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) Party Infrastructure Project, a collaborative project between ANDS and the National Library of Australia.

Rebecca is interested in changing the prevailing attitudes to librarianship both in the industry and the wider community.

Hiba Kanj

Regional co-ordinator, NSW

Hiba graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a BA in Communications (Information and Media) and is currently working as a Children and Youth Services Librarian.

She is passionate about creating spaces for young people and believes libraries are the perfect place to encourage social change.

When she is not working, she will most likely be found at one of the many international film festivals, developing her photography skills, or watching Anime.

Heather Leaf

Regional co-ordinator, NSW

Heather has recently graduated from UTS with her Graduate Diploma in Information Management. As of October 2011, she works as a library assistant at Boston University Sydney Campus and has just found herself a temporary library technician position with the Cancer Council NSW - which she is looking forward to very much.

Heather likes organising events for like-minded people and using social media to her advantage. With a background in digital media, she has a strong interest in technology, creative arts and Web 2.0. She is slightly obsessed with books, particularly contemporary literature, and enjoys playing with her iPad in her free time.

Alisa Howlett

Regional co-ordinator, QLD

Alisa has recently embarked on her career in library and information science as a Technical Library Co ordinator at Virgin Australia, where she is responsible for the maintenance of technical data, including aircraft maintenance manuals and service documents, as outlined in the Civil Aviation Act (1988). Prior to this, she worked at the regional airline, QantasLink, as a Data Management Officer (Technical Librarian).

She is a current student in the Masters (LIS) course at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In 2008, she completed a Graduate Certificate in Business Information Management at University of South Australia, by distance. Her Bachelor of Business (Marketing) was completed in 2006 at QUT.

She loves to travel and discover places, history and cultures. Last year, her travels took her to Ireland and Europe. Highlights include visiting the Book of Kells and the old Trinity College Library in Dublin; watching the sunset at Giant's Causeway; having beers at the HofbrauHaus; seeing the Eagle's Nest in the Bavarian Mountains, and of course, seeing the ancient city ruins of Rome.

Kelly Johnson

Regional co-ordinator, QLD

An avid reader and library patron since she was a child in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in the US, Kelly never envisioned herself as a librarian. Instead she tried such various careers as movie theatre manager, ESL teacher, textbook writer and editor, bartender, and more. After moving to Queensland in 2009 it all finally fell into place. She enrolled in Queensland University of Technology's Master of IT-Library and Information Science program and will graduate in December 2011.

Starting in February 2011 she got her first library job at QUT as a virtual library adviser answering reference questions via live chat and email. This was a crash course in all types of academic library clients and client needs juggled simultaneously. Surviving that while studying full-time just made her want more. From semester two, she became a Cross Team Library Adviser at QUT working on the desk (virtually and face-to-face) as well as supporting the liaison librarians with collection management and special projects. Attending ALIA New Grads events from the start of her study, she has developed a wonderful support network. She wants to give back and help other new grads become advocates for libraries and themselves as librarians.

Outside of work she is a huge music and film fan, a voracious reader, and a traveler (She has also lived and worked in Japan, Taiwan and Jamaica).

Rebecca Whitehead

Regional co-ordinator, S.A.

When Rebecca completed a BA in Multimedia Studies in 2004, she still harboured a childhood desire to become a Librarian, so she took the plunge and completed a Graduate Diploma in Information Studies. She is the Nursing & Midwifery Liaison Librarian at Flinders University. Before this, she was a Trainee Graduate Librarian at the University of Adelaide, working as a cataloguer and reference librarian.

Before entering the wonderful world of libraries she worked for 3.5 years as an Information Officer at Flinders University where she was able to apply a lot of her information seeking skills, as well as honing her experience in web and desktop publishing. Rebecca is addicted to her Saturday morning pump class, loves the buzz she gets from teaching hands on training and thinks in her future life she might be a part-time Librarian/part-time wedding planner.

Yasmine Shaheem

Regional co-ordinator, S.A.

Although she didn't know it at the time, Yasmine's future as a Librarian and eternal book lover was cemented by the childhood arrival of the Flinders Ranges Mobile Library.

Her career in Libraries began in Alberta, Canada with the Edmonton Public Library Service and continued in Adelaide at the Adelaide City Council, where she worked while completing her Graduate Diploma in Information Studies at the University of South Australia. She moved to Flinders University in 2009 to work on the ERA (Excellence for Research in Australia) Project.

Yasmine, now happily ensconced in academic libraries, is employed as the Lending Services Librarian (Sturt Library) at Flinders University.

She loves reading trashy genre fiction, watching sci-fi shows and spends way too much time on the Internet.

Karina Tumon

Regional co-ordinator, TAS

Karina's passion for libraries started in her school days and has continued ever since. The smell of the books and the escape of the library have always felt like a second home.

In 2008, she completed a BappSc (Library & Information Management) and is currently taking postgraduate studies in Information Studies at Charles Sturt University. Her first stint in library work was a relief librarian at the State Library of Tasmania. Following on from that was a cataloguing project at the Drug Education Network where she implemented a new integrated library system and catalogued approximately 1500 items.

In her spare time, she enjoys bushwalking, travelling, gardening, social networking and looking after the 5th Wiggle - a naughty but cute 2 year old son.

Tamara Capper

Regional co-ordinator, W.A.

Tamara has recently graduated with her Post Graduate in Information Sciences at ECU in Perth, Western Australia in 2011. Tamara has always been interested in helping people and realised that libraries are the place for her! In 2009 she graduated with a Bachelor in Graphic Design from ECU and was working at the ECU library during this time. Although she loves to be creative, she did not want to work in this industry but instead chose Libraries where she could work with the community and help teach and aid people in their information needs.

Currently Tamara works at ECU as a Library Assistant as well as volunteering as the sole Librarian at the organisation Greening Australia. As of this year she has been developing a photo archive for the organisation and in the process of developing a new service for the staff, which delivers information designed to meet each of their individual needs and interests.

Tamara is looking forward to working in many different areas of the library in the future as well as getting to know others who work in the industry so she can learn and build her own skills as a Librarian.

Tamara loves to travel the world when she has the chance, trying new foods and watching 80's movies.

Nyss Parkes

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

After studying Classics at the University of Melbourne and the RMIT Grad Dip in Information Management (2008), Nyss now works as an Online Projects Librarian at Swinburne Library where she divides her time between publishing support for online journals and various repository projects.

This area of libraries corresponds surprisingly well with her personal interest in online publishing within crafting communities. To spend some time away from the keyboard she likes firetwirling and juggling.

Tim Ormsby

Regional co-ordinator, South Australia

"After getting sick of working in IT as a programmer, Tim completed a Bachelor degree and Honours in Archaeology at Flinders University. As it turns out, the archaeological job market was not very obliging. Given his lifelong love of reading and libraries, becoming a librarian seemed like a very good idea. Tim completed his Grad. Dip in Libraries and Information Management from UniSA in 2011. He is now employed as a casual librarian at the Mitcham Library in Adelaide. He is finding working in a library to be very rewarding and lots of fun. Tim is very interested in the future of libraries in the digital information age.

When not buried in the stacks, Tim is an avid runner, loves to go hiking, and usually has two or three books on the go (most likely sci-fi, history or Russian literature)".

Lesa MacLean

Regional co-ordinator, Victoria

Lesa is proud to be a librarian. She is so excited about the profession that she named her dog Dewey, collects librarianna, and oddly enough, reads library science material for fun. Some might classify her as a workaholic, but she would prefer to be known as a passionate librarian who enjoys experiencing the many facets the profession has to offer. She currently works as a Metadata Specialist at Deakin University, a Reference Librarian & Team Leader at Wyndham Library Service, and coordinates the new graduates column Energise>Enthuse>Inspire for ALIA's InCite magazine. Lesa sees it as a vital part of her role as a librarian to promote the profession to future library professionals, to be involved in inspiring librarians to be proud and passionate about their profession and encourage them to be active within it.