Recruiting the next generation

Those who know me know of my passion for recruiting new blood into the profession and how I feel it is necessary to engage with the younger generation more in order to encourage them into the industry.

The ALIA Promote LIS Career committee is working on this and are establishing a wiki to showcase the professional opportunities available in the library and information industry. See the DestinationLibrary wiki for career options, profiles and workplace examples available.

The Age VCE and Careers Expo will be held in Melbourne from Friday 11 April to Sunday 13 April (10 am to 4 pm) and the Committee would like professional involvement in the event to promote careers in the Library and Information industry. It isn't hard - I did it 3 years ago and it is really rewarding seeing the comprehension in students' eyes when they realise our profession is not just 'pearls and cardigans' and shushing all the time! Yes, I had detractors and yes, there are many that will never believe the library industry is challenging and constantly evolving, but if we do nothing then we never will make a difference. Something to think about.

If you can help with the careers expo for just a couple of hours, contact Dr Bonna Jones from RMIT University for more information. As I have said before, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our profession.

As an aside, I will be presenting a paper at the ALIA Bienniel Conference, dreaming08, on this topic. Hope to see you there.