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OPEN POLYTECHNIC

STUDY HELPS OPEN POLYTECHNIC | TE PŪKENGA GRADUATE INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER OF HER CAREER

Open Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga graduate Joanne Aldridge’s library career started in a small science library and now she is fulfilling her dream of helping tertiary students at the Victoria University of Wellington library.

Joanne began her career as a legal secretary in Wellington, before a move to Auckland and a new job for the Department of Conservation piqued her interest in the library profession. A part of Joanne’s role included managing a small science library, where she learned how to catalogue and classify scientific reports.

She was then encouraged by the Head Office Librarian to start studying towards the New Zealand Diploma in Library and

Information Studies through Open Polytechnic, which she finished in 2009.

Joanne had always wanted to obtain a tertiary qualification but had to balance her study around her work and family commitments.

“I started my library diploma when my children were young, spending Saturday mornings at the office where I had a quiet place to focus,” she said.

The flexibility of studying online through Open Polytechnic was invaluable for Joanne, who could continue studying when she moved to Australia in 2009.

“I undertook papers through the Open Polytechnic, as it provided flexibility around home/work/ life balance and offshore placements,” Joanne said.

In 2010, she completed the Certificate in Literature and Library Services for Children and Young People, through Open Polytechnic, drawing on typical Australian children’s literature.

“This qualification put me in good stead to work in school and public libraries as a contractor, where I got to meet some of the authors,” Joanne said. She has also worked as a law librarian in Sydney and Auckland, as well as at Elsevier Publishers in Australia.

Joanne returned to New Zealand in 2016 and currently works for the Victoria University of

Wellington as a library assistant. She was encouraged to attain a Bachelor of Library and Information Studies through Open Polytechnic and was able to cross-credit her diploma and certificate papers towards the degree she completed in 2022.

“I am fortunate to be working in an environment which supports higher learning and professional development, surrounded by library professionals,” Joanne said.

Joanne’s interest in the library sector and emergent readers developed as her school-aged children learned to read. Now that her children are older, she wants to make a difference in the lives of tertiary students.

“The digital revolution and the disjunct between new students who may have insufficient information literacy as they enter tertiary education, has made me a passionate advocate for supporting students as they enter tertiary education,” she said.

“That is why I am where I am and do what I do. Having the credentials behind me reflects the learning I’ve undertaken to put me in the right place to help new students as they transition to tertiary education.”

Joanne recommends the Bachelor of Library and Information Studies or the Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Leadership to those seeking to further their careers in the information industries.

Joanne found the course on Te Ao Māori particularly applicable in providing an Aotearoa New Zealand context, and an essential component in cultural competency.

“Throughout this journey, I have gained a depth of knowledge and overarching understanding of the library industry and the different facets within it,” she said.

For further details about studying Library and Information Studies qualifications go to the Open Polytechnic website.

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