Quench your Thirst
On
Saturday 12 September, ALIAWest held our first 2020 event, Quench your
Thirst, at Curtin University. Four speakers were available to share
their knowledge and experience:
- Cheryl Hamill, FALIA, and well known health librarian
- Petra Dumbell, academic librarian and researcher
- Viv Barton, ALIA President and public librarian
- Niamh Quigley, WA State Manager for ALIA and recent graduate
Attendees had two sessions in a small group where they listened to one speaker and had the opportunity to ask questions. Cheryl and Viv talked about the importance of life-long education and professional development, but also about gaining experience and finding opportunities. Learning from others is important and, as Viv noted, “Librarians are among the best sharers”. Petra talked about the importance of research about the profession (see her PhD thesis at https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/77366). Niamh talked about her experience in software testing and the benefits of networking.
As a highlight of the event, Cheryl Hamill received the HCL Anderson Award. This is the highest honour available for an Associate member of ALIA and Cheryl is one of only 29 people to have received it. Cheryl’s citation for the HCL Anderson Award is available at https://www.alia.org.au/cheryl-hamill.
Among
other attributes, Cheryl’s citation describes her as “knowledgeable”,
“supportive”, “sharing”, and “collegial”. Those qualities were evident
in Cheryl and our other speakers who shared their knowledge so willingly
on a Saturday afternoon. ALIAWest would like to thank our speakers and
attendees for making this event a success.
