With an 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, Rose Calvert has been a carer and nurturer for some time. Before becoming a mother, she was a registered nurse in Christchurch, Australia, and England in different nursing roles with adults and children. A combination of life experiences led her on a journey to become a library and information professional.
“I loved my nursing training and spent many many hours studying in the tertiary libraries in Otago during that time. I have always felt a sense of wonder when walking into libraries that you can learn about anything you want. I wanted to explore working life in libraries in 2011, but the Christchurch earthquakes put that on hold. When my children came along soon after, we visited libraries for a different purpose, for connection with the community and culture. Now that my children are at school, we visit the library for learning, literacy and reading for pleasure. Through these ages and stages of life, I am still drawn into and still have my needs met by a library.”
Rose believes that healthcare should be accessible and available for everyone and a nurse should treat and care for patients equally and respectfully regardless of their culture. The same, she says, is true with libraries and seeking information. Hence her decision to transition to being a library professional. Rose studied for a Diploma in Library and Information Studies Level 5 from February 2022 and completed it in February 2023 through the Open Polytechnic.
I found it to be fairly intense to keep up with the hours of study a week and completing assignments, but I did it! Not only did I feel proud of myself for reaching this goal, but I was excited to finally find work in the GLAMM industry. I hope to do some more study in the future to gain a Certificate in Library and Information Services for Children and Teens.
After completing the diploma, she applied for various library roles in Christchurch and found employment as a library assistant at Christs College, a private high school for boys from years 9 to 13. Having not worked in a school before or a library before she has been learning a lot.
“I am very fortunate to work alongside a brilliant library manager who is passionate, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic to share their love of books, literacy and the vital role of libraries and librarians with the school and with me. They have breathed new life into the school library and have been instrumental in bringing an ideal image of what a school library is and the promotion of reading for pleasure to fruition. I feel very lucky that I can ask questions and see top level librarianship in action.”
Reflecting on her first year of being a library and information professional, Rose says it has been jam-packed with learning, revelation and inspiration on the job and being part of the LIANZA and SLANZA community. Rose feels proud and strong to be part of the library and information industry and was delighted to hear that her hard work in gaining the diploma was acknowledged with the 2024 LIANZA Award.
Rose attended the 2024 SLANZA conference He Puawaitanga and hopes to continue to work at Christs College for a long time yet. She expects in the future that she will be still learning, growing, and appreciating this wonderful industry. School or tertiary libraries is where Rose would like to be.
Rose Calvert received the LIANZA Award 2024 which commemorates the establishment in 1942 of the Association’s certificate course, the forerunner for many years of the New Zealand Library Studies Certificate, and the long-standing interest of LIANZA in the students of those courses. The award is awarded to a student who is judged by their institution to have the highest overall academic achievement in either the Level 5 or the Level 6 diplomas.
