1991: Textbook career
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Tags: winter-2012
Michelle Swales, Bachelor of Arts
Michelle Swales
Michelle Swales’ career as a librarian has taken her to the United Nation’s headquarters in New York City.
The Bachelor of Arts graduate has witnessed a technology-driven transformation of the industry – from the card catalogue systems of her childhood and hardcopy books at the beginning of her degree, to online resources and e-text books.
“I started out as a reference librarian at QUT, when the Internet was just moving away from text only to multi-coloured pages with graphics,” Ms Swales said.
“It presented a great challenge for librarians to shift to the new technology.”
Ms Swales embraced that challenge in her next role at the State Library, introducing computers and the Internet to libraries across Queensland.
“I travelled to far corners of Queensland to visit public libraries in towns with populations as small as a hundred people,” she said.
“Their library was often the only place in town with a computer.
“It was a huge cultural shift for regional libraries and communities to take up new technology.”
After successfully rolling out the project, Ms Swales pursued her dream of living in New York, securing a position at the United Nations.
“I was lucky to be posted in the Dag Hammarskjold Library,” she said.
“The United Nations was like living in another world.
“It had its own rules, culture and even its own postal service with UN stamps.”
Ms Swales joined the UN as it was transitioning to an online global reference library. She managed online databases and contracts, ensuring the best access to UN libraries around the world.
After two years in New York, Ms Swales returned to Brisbane to raise her family.
She is now back at the State Library of Queensland, working to improve regional access to libraries and literacy programs.
Ms Swales has also returned to UQ to present a guest lecture for the School of English, Media Studies, and Art History, on the topic of government communication.
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What an accomplished young woman! Her parents must be very proud of her, especially for the inspirational model she sets for young professional woman setting out on their career paths.