@ your library originated in the US to showcase the value of libraries and librarians, and to remind the public that libraries are dynamic, modern community centres for learning, information and entertainment. The campaign’s goal is to increase awareness about the vibrancy, vitality and real value of today's libraries, to galvanize public support and ultimately influence public policy and impact funding. As the American Library Association put it, 'While libraries are popular, they are often taken for granted.'

The year-long campaign by Victoria's public libraries has six themes targeted at different audiences, including, they hope, future library leaders.

Your Future @ your library, the theme for March, aimed to inform young people about potential careers within public libraries and recruit high calibre students for careers in the library sector. With so many new IT-based services, libraries need to attract staff who are IT-savvy, with project, business and marketing skills, as well as traditional library skills such as in research and children's literacy.

For more careers information, just ask @ your library

It’s easy to feel swamped by the amount of information around these days- so there is a need for savvy library professionals, who make a career out of helping others find the information they need.

As the current workforce heads towards retirement age, qualified librarians and library technicians are set to be highly in demand- especially in rural areas.

And there are plenty of opportunities for bright young things to make a mark- library staff in public libraries can take on a huge range of projects, from developing web links in remote areas to literacy programs for recent migrants.

The network of Victorian public libraries is impressive, with 2.5 million active registered members - over 50% of the total Victorian population. There are 270 branches, each offering free internet access, and 31 mobile libraries, which have 25.6 million visits, 46.6 million loans, and 2.8 million reference inquiries annually.

So library work certainly doesn’t end with keeping up with the latest databases. The One Umbrella, a leading recruitment agency in the industry, describes the latest hot skills on their website, www.oneumbrella.com.au:

"There is no doubt that Information Professionals need a wide range of skills that reach far beyond the traditional information management area. Take a look at the areas you want to move into and the additional skills you will need. Supplement your information skills with knowledge in areas such as desktop publishing, web design, marketing, team leadership or financial management." Susannah Vaughan - Melbourne

"Library Techs are in demand across the country. Employers are looking for LT's who are good allrounders, have solid experience and are willing to take on leadership roles. LT's need to be able to turn their hands to a wide variety of tasks, have great people skills and computer courage." Deirdre Gibb - Brisbane

Qualified librarians have post- and undergraduate degrees in Information Management, currently offered at RMIT, Monash, and by distance education at Charles Sturt University. These courses are accredited by the Australian Library and Information Association, the librarians’ professional association. These degrees have changed rapidly in the last few years to meet the latest job demands, and now include knowledge management, business, IT, and online information searching components, as well as ethical and social aspects of information services.

For technicians, courses from Certificate II level up to a 3-year Advanced Diploma in Library and Information Services are available through the TAFE system at Swinburne, Victoria Uni, Box Hill, and Ballarat. These practical courses go beyond cataloguing to cover information literacy, workplace training and, with library services now so reliant on IT, networking, e-learning, and multimedia skills.

Australian Library and Information Association

www.alia.org.au

School of Information Management & Systems, Monash University

http://www.sims.monash.edu.au/index.html

School of Business Information Technology, RMIT University

http://www.rmit.edu.au/bus/bit

Course Guides: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse?SIMID=BP140 and http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse?SIMID=GD088

Bachelor of Arts (Library and Information Science), Charles Sturt University

http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/ug/sci/libinf/

Centre for Information Sciences, Box Hill TAFE

http://www.bhtafe.edu.au/Centres/InformationSciences/index.html

Course Guide: www.bhtafe.edu.au/Courses/SLI06.htm

School of Business and eCommerce, Swinburne University of Technology

http://www.tafe.swin.edu.au/buscom

School of Human Services, University of Ballarat

http://www.ballarat.edu.au/vfed/human_services/index.shtml

School of Further Education, Arts and Employment Services, Victoria University

http://www.vu.edu.au/Tafe/Schools/Further Education Arts & Employment Services/Library & Cultural Studies.asp