During the ALIA New Librarians Symposium in Canberra, ALIA Students and New Graduates Group were busy meeting all of the Humans of New Librarians Symposium 8 aka NLS8 and sharing our photos with them via our ALIA Students and New Graduates Group Instagram.

Meet Michael Hawks our first #HONLS8 who we interviewed over breakfast.

☕️ Where have you come from? 🎶where did you go? Where did you come from Cotton Eye Joe🎶 But seriously, I’m originally from Perth but have spent the last three & a bit years in #Brisbane.

What are you looking forward to at #NLS8?

Seeing Annette Messell) 😍 and other LIS students & graduates. Also what other GLAMRzons have put together. Plus my own workshop #librariansanddragons with Maddy Medlycott).

What pop culture character do you think would make a good librarian?

Kermit the Frog 🐸 because he has a Doctorate of Amphibious Letters. He is inquisitive, innovative, a natural born leader & is great at bringing together a ragtag group of misfits to follow their dreams!

James Wilson is an ALIA SNGG, Regional Coordinator for #ALIASNGG and a Humans Of New Librarians Symposium 8. He is from Adelaide. A Graduate Library Officer at University of South Australia.

Anna Rubinowski, is ALIA SNGG National Co-convenor. Here is a little more from Anna: Where have you come from? I’m currently living in Melbourne, where I have lived for the last few years after leaving Germany to do my Master of Information Management in Melbourne.

Networking tips? Start by asking someone where they are from, what they are currently doing, and it will go from there.  Favourite item from the NLS8 pack? The ALIA SNGG bookmarks of course!

Tracey Allen one of our delegates!

Why did you choose to pursue a career in #GLAM? I knew that my position as a nanny wouldn’t last forever so I started my journey to become an Information Professional. What is your favourite #book and why would you recommend it to people? My favourite book is Jane Eyre.

Do you think #librarians have one common personality trait? Yes, we’re all very encouraging people.

Stephanie Simon. Steph and Wayne are presenting today in the Ferguson room on Transforming the library’s fixed service point to proactive virtual services. Here is what Steph had to say: Where have you come from? Adelaide, University of South Australia. Why did you choose to pursue a career in GLAM? I started working casually in libraries during my undergrad degree.

Emily Wilson works at the State Library of South Australia and is the former State Manager for ALIA SA). Here is what she had to say. Where have you come from? Adelaide. Favourite item in the swag bag? Bookmarks. Love a good bookmark.

Kimberley Dye  works at the State Library of South Australia.  Which pop-culture character would make a good librarian ? Batgirl/oracle as she is already a librarian and would make a great digital curator. 

Meet Elizabeth one of the committee members our next #HONLS8. Here is what she had to say: I work in a drama school and my fave classic play is The Tempest by Shakespeare. I like it so much I tattooed the DDC number for it on my arm! DIY career to me means working together, pulling up other people behind you – like our ILN keynotes said this morning, do it together! My DIY tip for new librarians is – give it a go. You’ll never never know if you never never give it a go.

Clare, a home-town Canberra girl! Here is a bit more about Clare, in her own words: I think librarians are curious. About people and information, we see this as a puzzle to be solved, not a scary challenge. And that’s why I like libraries, I love research, but in libraries I get to combine that with helping people, which is brilliant.

Nathan works at the Australian Museum in First Nations programming. His goal in GLAM is to provide and promote access to to the First Nations cultural heritage in memory institutions.

Nicolette Suttor an #NLS8 delegate😄 What does DIY mean to you? It means working out what you want, who to talk to about it to give you feedback, more ideas and how to pursue it.

Jo Hare  is from Hong Kong, and attended City University of Hong Kong.  But  previously on the far north coast of NSW. Jo: I’m here at NLS with my colleague Chris to talk about Hong Kong Libraries Connect, an independent library network seeking to connect library professionals in Hong Kong. We are brand new and having fun!

Meet Jess, our next #HONLS8:  I pursued a career in GLAMR because I want to preserve cultural heritage and organise information, and contribute to community and meaning building. My favourite book is The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman because it helps through some tough mental health days. My DIY tip is just to get started, take the first step and try, because that’s the only way to succeed, and failure is only temporary.

Meet Sue, our next #HONLS8. She thinks having R. David Lankes as a keynote speaker via Skype is a bit brilliant (so do we!) and she is a #HONLS8 fan. Here’s more about Sue: I am from RMIT in Melbourne and keen to take in the very cool things #NLS8 has on offer. Great sessions but I specially like the breakout room. Very quirky. I am GLAMRous because my mother said I liked books and I would like being a librarian! What do mothers know? I do like books and being an LIS academic after being a TL but the two aren’t really linked as we all know. I like conferences too because of the people you catch up with and meet. I love seeing my students and ex students and hearing about the fabulous things they are doing. They make me proud. Whatever you see in the mirror is what a librarian is.

Meet Libby a #nls8 speaker, delegate and our next #HONLS8 😁 What has been the most memorable thing so far at #NLS8? Getting up early catching a bus through a thick fog to get to Albert Hall for the the recreation of the historic photo for ALIA’s 80th birthday #alia80 Relief after the completion of my workshop and panel discussion and the sense of #satisfaction when people told me afterwards that they learnt something and are #inspired to learn more. What is your favourite book and why would you recommend it to people? Possession AS Byatt. A riff on detective novels the book is a clever and funny. Two academics use their skills to unravel a mystery about poetry. (I think I want to read this now!)

Meet Tess, one of the  Engagement Gange members a #HONLS8 😁What has been the most memorable thing so far at #NLS8? All of the sessions have been amazing, but my favourite parts of NLS8 so far have been the bits in between the – I’ve talked to some incredibly #smart and #talented #librarians and it’s been great to hear their ideas (and borrow some for my library!) What is your best #DIY asset and why? I always want to try something new, which is my best DIY asset.

Meet Rebekah from Penrith City Library in NSW. For her a DIY career means following your own path wherever it takes you + doing what you enjoy.

Cindy Nguyen is an ALIASNGG ACT Region Coordinator. She moved from Melbourne and came to Canberra for study. For networking, she recommends lots of smiling, an approachable nature and the telling of lots of lame puns. She is excited about becoming a GLAMR professional because she wants to help people and do something she loves and she believes Doctor Who would make a great librarian as he is full of knowledge, passion and adventure. The ultimate librarian!

#NLS8 is over and it has been #amazing! Thank you to all of the HONLS8 that attended NLS8. And if you haven’t already, make sure to follow our ALIA Students and New Graduates on Instagram 😁