Student Focus: Fiona Tyson
I’m a subject librarian at the University of Canterbury Library. Once upon a time I thought I was going to be an academic, but fortunately discovered the library is a much better place to be. I dabble with writing fiction and have a TBR bookcase (i.e. I can’t stop buying second-hand books).
KIA ORA FIONA AND CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THIS YEAR’S DAVID WYLIE AWARD!*
Q CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LIBRARY JOURNEY
A UP TO THIS POINT? I’ve worked at the University of Canterbury Library since 2007. I started as a part-time library assistant, as I was planning to start a PHD and thought it’d be a good job to support my study. But I found I loved working in the library and have moved from role to role – some project-based and some permanent – from co-ordinating the Rfid-tagging of the collections, to copy-cataloguing, to co-ordinating customer services. My current role is a subject librarian, supporting teaching and education students and staff.
WHAT HAD YOU BEEN PLANNING TO DO FOR YOUR PHD?
My research focus for my Masters of Arts was New Zealand literature, looking at the portrayal of colonial history in popular fiction. I was still deciding on a PHD topic when I started working at the library, but was thinking about topics around cultural memory.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STUDYING AND WHAT QUALIFICATION ARE YOU CURRENTLY STUDYING TOWARDS?
I’ve been studying since late 2016 and will finish my Master’s of Information Studies in June.
SO YOU’VE BEEN STUDYING AT VUW VIA DISTANCE? WHAT SORTS OF CHALLENGES DOES DISTANCE STUDY BRING?
One of the main challenges of distance study is feeling quite isolated as it’s harder to build a sense of community with your classmates. I think that’s one of the reasons I think it’s good to work in a GLAM institution while studying – it’s so helpful to be able to talk about what you’re studying with people in the profession. But being able to study by distance is great – I wouldn’t have been able to take a whole year off work (or move city!) to study at this point in my life.
CAN YOU TELL OUR READERS ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THIS PROGRAMME AND ITS BENEFITS TO LIBRARIANSHIP?
I started studying at the same time as I took on the subject librarian role and it has really helped me develop a broader understanding of all aspects of librarianship. Some of the most interesting assignments have been way out of my comfort zone, like designing a retrieval system or planning a digitisation project (down to selecting content management software!), but I found those assignments strengthened my understanding of information systems. Immersing myself in the literature to complete assignments has also broadened my perspective of librarianship, which has been particularly valuable since I’ve always worked in the same library.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO STUDY FOR A LIS QUALIFICATION?
Well, I have to be honest, I was told I had to do the qualification in order to become a subject librarian and/or further develop my career in librarianship!
HOW DO YOU JUGGLE STUDY AND WORK?
It sounds counterproductive but carving time out of the week to exercise (I love Zumba!) has actually made it easier to focus on study. But also, I’m very lucky to have an amazing partner who makes it possible to work full time and study by keeping family life ticking over.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT WHAT YOUR JOB AT CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY INVOLVES?
I support students with finding and evaluating information resources, as well as referencing them. Sometimes that’s through teaching classes, and sometimes with one-to-one support. I also work with academics to make sure we have the collections needed for study and research. Then there’s also working with my colleagues in the marketing group to promote the library, maintaining our Twitter channel, and project work (at the moment we’re running a Visualise Your Thesis competition for research students). I like that there are so many different aspects to the role and I’m always learning new stuff.
WHAT’S YOUR SPECIALIST AREA AS A SUBJECT LIBRARIAN? WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THAT SUBJECT?
My specialist area is education, which might seem strange since my tertiary education focused on literature and psychology. My first few months were a steep learning curve, but a lot of my research skills have been transferable and I love hearing from students about the amazing and varied research they’re doing in this area.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE CONSIDERING STUDYING TOWARDS A LIBRARY QUALIFICATION?
If you can, work within a GLAM institution while you’re doing the qualification. I’ve tried to link as many of my assignments as possible to real issues/services/ projects within my library, so I’ve been able to apply the theoretical to the practical. The other benefit has been talking ideas through with my colleagues, who have been so generous with their knowledge and time!
*The David Wylie Award is awarded to both Victoria University of Wellington and Open Polytechnic students who are judged by their institution to have completed the best piece of written work on an aspect of library and information studies.