Technological evolution
TECHNOLOGY SKILLS CAN OPEN JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN UNLIKELY PLACES, REPORTS MELANIE BURGESS
Libraries are transforming into hi-tech research and innovation facilities, so the type of worker required to run them is transforming too.
LIBRARIES are transforming into hitech research and innovation facilities, so the type of worker required to run them is transforming too.
The change is creating jobs, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting the overall information and organisation profession has grown by 66 per cent in the past 10 years, from 95,700 workers in 2006 to 159,300 staff in 2016.
In the digital age, libraries are maintaining their place as a hub for information and resources, whether that is in physical or online form.
State Library of Queensland, for example, live streams special events online and has digitised the portraits of almost 30,000 Queensland soldiers who served in World War I.
Libraries are looking outside the box and hiring people with qualifica- tions to handle the digital aspects.
Adelaide City Library acting digital services co-ordinator Jessica Curtis says her role is to co-ordinate media and innovation labs and digital and history hubs. She says libraries have always given people access to technology such as computers but they are now being creative in how they help the community learn.
“You can get access to technology at school and university but what if you are not studying? The technology is still relevant to you,” she says.
“That’s a gap that should be filled and that is where libraries are important for the future.”
Curtis says the media lab is for people who want to work on their own digital projects but do not have the software and equipment they need to do so.
“You can work on animation and graphic design and make movies and websites,” she says.
The innovation lab allows the public to try out the latest technologies, while the digital hub is for training in basic digital literacy, such as how to use iPads and how to access ebooks and music or movies online.
The history hub is for accessing digital archives and picture collections.
Curtis studied a Bachelor of Information Science (Computing and Multimedia) with the goal of working in 3D animation.
“I was working casually at the library while studying and loved working as a customer service officer but at that point didn’t think it could be a career path,” she says.
“I really wanted a job where I could work with members of the community and ... still be creative and work with related technology and still use my multimedia skills.”