ALIA Vic Specials End of Year Celebration

On Thursday 15th November I headed to the MCG for a tour of the MCC Library and Museum. What can I say but WOW! The staff did us this awesome newsletter which chronicled the history and showed photos of them moving and renovating. The library is open whenever there is an event on (like the Boxing Day Test, AFL etc.) They have 5 paid staff and 15 volunteers!

After the tour we headed into the members room for dinner and boy was that lush (I only ever sit in the cheap seats!) This was just a wonderful night, awesome tour, great people, and I won a prize! Check out Donna's blog for her thoughts (mainly about the food) and some more pictures!

Conference: Tuesday - Gratisnet Training and Library Tours

(Chris, from the Alice Springs medical library and me)

On the Tuesday morning I headed out early and caught a tram to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. There was a training session (separate to the conference) on the use of Gratisnet. Gratisnet is the ILL system used by medical libraries around Australia. It was a great chance for those coming from interstate, or for those who live in a rural area to get some hands on training. When we arrived at RMH we got a tour of their new library. It was very nice - lots of space! Then we had the training session. There were some familiar faces but also some from interstate so it was great to be able to put a NUCOS code to a face!

Then I headed off to the SLV for the afternoon library tours. I was leading the Medicos Group (Tour 6) with the assistance of Kelli who is studying to be a LT.

First off we headed of to The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Anne gave us an overview of the library which looked very much like a gentleman's club! Then, we were fortunate to be taken upstairs to look at the rare book collection and given some background insights into it by the person restoring and cataloguing it.

Next we headed off to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Library where we were warmly greeted by Imeri, Caroline and Adam. They gave us lots of handouts a a really cute RVEEH stuffed owl. We got to look at their collection, ask lots of questions and discover more about their connection with RANCO. The interesting point to this library is that we had to enter through the loading dock!

Our last port of call was the library at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. This was housed down in the basement. We were warmly greeted by Aina, Jo and Heather and most importantly a wonderful afternoon tea! After learning all about the library we had a tour and were told of the renovations about to take place.

We then headed back out into Melbourne and off to our hotels to quickly get changed for the Welcome Reception and opening of the conference. Thanks to all who willingly shared their libraries with us, it was an excellent afternoon and I have stolen many ideas to take back to my own workplace and implement!

Conference: Monday - Visit to the City Library

(Matthew Griffiths from Sydney and me!)

Ok, so after the relaxed Overachiever session me and a few mates headed down to the new City Library (alright so it isn't really new anymore but I just hadn't made it there yet!). We got a personalised tour (thanks Brann) and it was just such a cool library. It was so busy! The collection was great - nice and new and they had a cafe and a gallery. It was awesome! I highly recommend a visit.

Techs on Tour: 10th Anniversary Year

As I begin to write my blog you will slowly learn things about me. One of those things is that I am on the commitee of the Victorian Alia Library Technician's Group. On Saturday we had Techs on Tour (TOT) which is an annual event where we start at the State Library of Victoria, looking behind-the-scenes. This included a tour of the preservation, conservation and storage areas, as well as a general tour of the library. What an amazing place. Then we had lunch. You can see me above with Sian (I'm on the right). Then my group headed off to Freehills Library which is a law firm library. They are on the 43rd floor and have such amazing views over Melbourne (very jealous). It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by all. I hope to add some more photos soon.