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Meet the ALLA(WA) Committee: Jaya Ralph



Here at the ALLA(WA) Blog, we are taking the chance to help members to get to know their Committee a bit better.

Introducing: Jaya Ralph, Librarian, Curtin University Library




1. Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?

Before I became a librarian I worked at a building company designing brochures. One of the tradesmen would regularly chat to me about his wife’s job as a librarian and how much she loved what she did. This inspired me to turn my career down this path and I now have a job that I love too! It is thanks to him for sharing his wife’s experiences that I find myself in this role today.

2. What is the proudest moment in your professional life?

I have had many proud moments but the best reward is when you see the look of relief in a student’s face when they see that you are willing to help them. Quite often they have been passed on from one person to the next and you are their last hope. I feel like a lifeline.

3. Career advice – what’s your top tip?

Network – get to know your clientele, collaborate with colleagues both inside your organisation and outside, exchange ideas with like minded professionals and develop your own support network. Don’t be afraid to get out there and meet people who you can learn from.

4. What’s your favourite legal research tool?

JADE because of its ability to show you which part of a case has been used subsequently by other cases.

5. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?

Discoverability – this can be a huge barrier preventing the connection of our clients with information.

6. Librarian cliché: What is your favourite book? (Or one of your favourite books?)

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I read it straight after my husband read it and we would discuss it for hours!

7. In high school, you would have been voted the person most likely to …

… be a librarian! Although I didn’t know it yet …..

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