Molly Tebo is a grateful librarian!

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It’s no secret that I love libraries and librarians. I’ve said many times before that in another life I’d be a librarian. I can rock the stereotypical bun and glasses if required. Seriously, I love the way local, community and even State Libraries are embracing a range of ways to entice readers into their spaces.

I’ve met a lot of librarians through my work as a writer. I also remain connected with them via social media as well. One such lovely librarian is Molly Tebo who is the eLearning Librarian ant the State Library of WA.

When I was in Perth for the writers’ festival recently, Molly and had a quick chinwag and I somehow talked her into doing her five gratefuls for me. Below is what she has so generously penned… oh, and that’s us above!

Five things I’m grateful for at work

1.    Being able to work creatively with computers and technology

Most people don’t think of Librarians as people who sit behind computers all day but I hardly ever play with the physical books. As eLearning Librarian at the StateLibrary of WA, I get to do a bunch of fun things including setting up an online learning environment, playing with apps, teaching fellow staff about social media and making videos using our digital collection. I’m a total geek Librarian and I love it.

2.    Working in a big library

This gives me a lot of scope. There are always interesting projects starting and a large number of knowledgeable people to talk to about different things from maps to microfilm scanners, from tablets to touchscreen computers. We have an internal social network where staff can post links that catch their eye and discuss issues facing libraries. We are also a central hub for public libraries in WA and that gives us a lot of great opportunities to work with different communities.

3.    Working in the middle of Perth

The Perth Cultural Centre where the State Library is located has really transformed into a vibrant place. Recently it was filled with spiegeltents, booths and even mermaids for the Fringe World Festival. At other times there are live bands playing on the wetlands stage, and the urban orchard is a lovely place to go to relax. Northbridge is a great place to eat lunch with a huge variety of food options. You can even browse some funky pop up shops on your way back to work.

4.    Creating exciting new services for our clients

My team is on the cutting edge of service delivery at the State Library of WA. We create new services, exhibitions, educational programs and events for clients and we’re generally working anywhere from six months to two years ahead of time on these. It’s great to be a part of what’s coming and create awesome things. One project we’ve launched recently is Local Stories from Afar, a series of digital stories that were a collaborative effort between refugees and the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre, media students from Central Institute of Technology and ourselves. These can be seen on our YouTube channel.

5.    Most of all… the people

I have so many friends at work and throughout the library world and I’m really, really grateful for this. It makes all the difference to work with people you like and I often find myself spending a fair bit of time with them outside of work too! I’m fortunate enough to work with people who have a great vision for the future and a whole host of talents. I can always find friends at work who are enthusiastic to join me in a new project or just spend some quiet time knitting at lunch.