PROF REG

Natalie Smith works at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington as a Team Leader in the Collection Access team. She has worked in this role for a year now and was a subject librarian for psychology and biological sciences before that.

She gained a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington in 1999. Since then she has worked in many library roles and libraries, ranging from research librarian at the Parliamentary Library to a library manager at Sacred Heart College and onto academic libraries.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME PROFESSIONALLY REGISTERED?

I decided to become registered to validate and reinforce my skills and abilities as a professional librarian. In 2016, I submitted my application and mapped my career against the Bodies of Knowledge

(BOK) when I was working at Weltec (Wellington Institute of Technology). Looking back, I can see I mainly referred to the experiences I had gained in providing reference support and promoting information literacy.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF REGISTRATION TO YOU IN YOUR WORK?

I am well supported in my workplace to retain my registration. At Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington Library there is a reimbursement incentive to do this. I take pride in being able to promote this to newer colleagues when acting in a coaching and mentoring role. Being an active personal member of LIANZA and coconvenor of TEL SIG (Tertiary Libraries Special Interest Group), I am pleased to be registered to show my affiliation to our professional body. I am encouraged when I see job vacancies with a preference for applicants to be professionally registered with LIANZA.

CAN YOU COMMENT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE OF BECOMING REGISTERED?

I relate the process of becoming registered as being like that of completing a performance review. Once you’ve done it, it’s handy to refer to, and taking the time to do this helps with being a reflective practitioner. The process of revalidation is much easier when you’ve done it once and you gain a greater understanding of what is required. My tip would be to suggest that you keep a log of your entries as you go over the 3-year period and not leave it to the last minute.

"I’m grateful for the LIANZA community and networking opportunities that being registered provide. I encourage those considering becoming registered to go for it, it shows a commitment to your profession and offers you career opportunities."