MUSSE

New librarian Philip Kent

New University Librarian Philip Kent admits that it is taking a little while to learn to negotiate the maze that is the Baillieu Library.

But he is enjoying his new role immensely and is excited by the plans for redevelopment of the University libraries – the re-invigorated spaces for individual and collaborative learning that are planned.

“The rejuvenation of our spaces tells students that we value them, that we want them to have a quality experience,” he explained.

Mr Kent said he was drawn to Melbourne by the strength of the University’s researchers and the support for research. “I want the Library to be very active and involved in research, because that’s what differentiates the University of Melbourne from other universities.”

Philip Kent’s career began 30 years ago in academic libraries in Brisbane, and he subsequently spent 20 years in CSIRO where his diverse roles included libraries, IT, knowledge and information management, risk and audit.

He then worked at Victoria University where as University Librarian his achievements included three new facilities as well as planning for a new project under construction at Footscray Park, and collaborating with the University of Melbourne and Western Health on planning for the new Tertiary Training and Research Facility at Sunshine Hospital.

His number one priority is the collections. “Increasing our collections is going to be a challenge, particularly due to the global economic crisis and exchange rates.”

Another priority is the critical issues around storage. The University is working on this particular problem with new, state of the art storage facilities being developed in Brunswick and in collaboration with other Victorian universities in Bundoora.

The development of a good relationship between the University’s libraries and its researchers is an aspect of library services that Mr Kent is also keen to address. The Library is currently running a pilot Research Advisory Service designed to help researchers access new and sometimes different sources. He believes that a close relationship between the researchers and the librarians will bring a better understanding of researchers’ requirements and help staff to provide better service and resources which, in turn, will result in stronger research output.

The Melbourne Model is also bringing changes to the role of the librarians, with a change to a discipline-based structure where librarians are responsible for facilitating the research resources for each graduate school.