The WA ALIA Students and New Graduates group collaborated with RIMPA WA, the Curtin DIS Alumni and the CURTIS Club for their first event of 2017 – Start Social: Build your professional knowledge network with ALIA and RIMPA.

The event was held on Thursday 24th February at the Central Institute of Technology in Northbridge, and was attended by over 30 people from diverse backgrounds – students, recent graduates, and seasoned industry professionals from libraries, archives and records management. We invited Jess Pietsch, ALIA WA State Manager, and Lisa Read White, RIMPA WA Branch President, to speak about the role of our professional organisations and the benefits of belonging to a professional community.

Jess and Lisa spoke about the roles of ALIA and RIMPA in advocating for change, encouraging innovation in our sectors and ‘future-proofing’ our profession. The theme of ‘together, we are stronger’ echoed throughout the evening, as Jess and Lisa reminded us that the professional organisations regularly work together on initiatives, and (to use another cheesy quote) that these organisations are ‘only as good as the sum of their parts’. To ensure the continued success of our professional peak bodies, we need to be on board with supporting them through continued membership.

On the topic of membership, they also spoke about the benefits of joining ALIA and RIMPA, including professional development and training opportunities, mentoring programs, career advisory services, member publications – the list goes on! The second pertinent theme of the evening was ‘ask not what your organisation can do for you, but what you can do for your organisation’. Our peak bodies rely on our support, and there are so many ways to give back – through writing an article for INCITE or IQ Magazine, or joining a committee, or presenting at an event, or even just attending events!

The evening was a fantastic reminder of the amazing work that our peak professional bodies do, and the multitude of ways in which we can support their efforts and make our own contribution – even though something as simple as attending an event. So thanks to all of those who attended, and to our two fabulous speakers Jess and Lisa.