19 August 2008

Think big, put it out there and be bold enough to believe it

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Ian Hildebrand, Manager of Mt Barker Community Library, was named the 2008 South Australian Library Achiever of the Year at an award ceremony at the State Library of South Australia on Tuesday 5th August. This annual award is organised by the ALIA SA Group of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).

Ian's prize included an inscribed plaque and $500 cash and was very proudly sponsored by RAECO. National Sales Manager Trevor McCann said, "we all appreciate and acknowledge the importance and responsibility that beholds those who dare to be different".

Ian was nominated for innovative program development and creation of local business and community links for Mount Barker Community Library. ALIA SA Group co-convenor Benita Wheeler said Ian demonstrated dedication to the advancement of libraries, creative approaches to marketing, and successful collaborative ventures. "Ian was selected from our largest field of nominations since the award's inception in 2006."

"His award is richly deserved and he has done himself, his library & community and the public library sector proud", said Geoff Strempel, Associate Director of Public Library Services, State Library of South Australia.
The presentation evening was also sponsored by 3M Library Systems, Ex-Libris and Public Libraries South Australia.

In the past five years, under the leadership of Ian, Mt Barker Community Library has positioned itself as the heart of the community. Over this period the number of people visiting the library has increased by 60%.

Ian has developed partnerships with a variety of local and statewide organisations including booksellers and publishers, TAFESA Wallis Cinemas, Dominos Pizza and Monarto Zoo.
He has used the media very effectively to promote the library and its services. His innovation in children's programming has resulted in a 500% increase in participation levels in the past three years.

Mt Barker was the first SA Library to run a living library, the first to host discos during school holidays, the first to run the Rock Star for a Day program.

Ian was nominated by Rebecca Jeffree, Senior Librarian at Mount Barker Community Library, who felt that under Ian's leadership, the staff at Mount Barker now focus on believing they can do something and then going about doing it. "We go for what we want and then work out how we are going to achieve it", she said.