Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a Training Specialist at EBSCO within the region of Oceania from Melbourne, Victoria where the weather is unpredictable, but the cafés are world class. I joined the training team in June 2021. I coordinate and run customized training courses, with a primary focus on the public library, school and TAFE/polytechnic markets. I have a BA in Cinema & Cultural Studies and English Literature and a MA in Information Management. Outside of work, my interests include reading, pop culture and drinking tea.
Prior to joining EBSCO, what did you do?
Before I joined EBSCO, I was employed as an Information Literacy Librarian in an academic library. As part of my role, I coordinated and ran library classes, maintained library guides, and collaborated across teams to enhance the information literacy skills of students, form stronger relationships with faculty, and advocate for the library’s importance within the academic community.
What made you want to move to work in the Training Team?
While working as a librarian, I was quite familiar with EBSCOhost databases because they were some of our most popular online resources. Believe it or not, I was a fan of the relevance ranking algorithm (back before I could put a name to the feature). I enjoyed guiding users through searches and key features within the platform, so transitioning to the Training Team felt like a natural progression. I also knew that being part of the Training Team would be an exciting challenge because it would expose me to the full suite of EBSCO products and services, including back-end administration, providing me with the opportunity for professional growth.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I enjoy being able to provide training to a range of different libraries and working with them to meet their learning objectives.
What are some of the most common questions you get as a library trainer?
I often get questions pertaining to Australian and New Zealand content within databases, and so I show users how to construct search strategies and apply filters to locate content specific to the region of Oceania.
What do you see your job looking like in the future?
I think there will be increased training emphasis on SaaS (Software as a Service) products, such as EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), OpenAthens, and EBSCO FOLIO, as libraries look to EBSCO to provide end-to-end solutions. Library staff and patrons want uniformed UX design, easy and seamless workflow, and integration between applications. I see my role as being a bridge between libraries and software development. I will continue to work in ensuring that I can effectively communicate to library administrators and end users how to use their EBSCO resources, while also ensuring that I communicate user feedback back to our product teams where needed.
