Student Focus: ​Wendy Horne

Wendy was born and bred in Upper Hutt. When she isn't 'working' she spends her time running around after her husband and two boys, studying, going to hot yoga on a Saturday morning, 'playing' cricket, working out ways to get into Wellington to go to gigs and drinking beer at Upper Hutt's trendy Brewtown and the Upper Hutt institution ‘The Tote’.

Can you describe your library journey up to this point?
I have worked at Upper Hutt City Library since 1999, following a brief stint at National Library as a Library Assistant and an illustrious career at Pak ‘N’ Save as a checkout operator. I loved the library as a kid and have very fond memories of visiting the mobile library, as well as our central branch. I spent lots of time in the school library at college and I just thought it would be an awesome job and was lucky enough to be the successful candidate at Upper Hutt. I have had many roles at the library, but the core of all the jobs has been customer service, which I am really passionate about (read into that what you will!). In the last 5 years I have been delivering core circulation training with the new Kōtui libraries and this has been the best fun – visiting other libraries and sharing knowledge!

Very important study buddy.

How long have you been studying and what qualification are you currently studying towards?
*Whispers* I originally started a Level 5 diploma in 1999 but was so overwhelmed by it (in a lazy youthful way) I never even completed the first paper. I started my second study journey in 2015 and completed the Level 5 Diploma in Information and Library Studies, and began the Graduate Certificate in Library and Information Leadership in 2019, with a view to finish it in early 2020. I have also started my Te Reo journey with the Papa Reo course through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

What made you decide to study for a LIS qualification?
The second time round was due to a few factors – my husband was diagnosed with cancer – all fixed now – and my boss of 15 years left (Hi Debbie!), as well as a few other people in my wider organisation leaving. I wanted to protect myself and my job and in turn, my family, as well as proving to myself and others that I knew my stuff. I think this has turned into wanting to learn the deeper meaning of why we do stuff and the considerations taken with making decisions and directions of our services. One of the key things I felt I wanted to achieve with the Graduate Certificate was not to learn how to be the boss (that is for other people), but to be able to communicate up and down to staff and stakeholders alike, challenging assumptions and being able to explain our value.

How do you juggle study and work?
I feel a bit smug saying this, but I haven’t really felt like I have needed to juggle. I work full-time and am a mum to two boys, and my husband and I have a relatively busy social life on occasion. I spend my summer weekends playing and watching cricket and enjoy heading out into Wellington for gigs. My habits changed quite a bit while my husband was sick, which I think has helped my organisation – little things like doing things when they need to be done, tidying up first before tackling study, and blocking out time to do the actual study and writing – I have handed in almost every single assignment a week or two before the due date. I have an awesome team leader (studying a paper ahead of me) who reads my work and tells me I am amazing, so that helps drive me too!

I hear you work at Upper Hutt Library can you tell us about what your job involves?
I do heaps and I love it! Currently I am the Technology and Systems Coordinator and I look after the digital side of stuff at the library. I spend lots of time liaising with help desks and the Council IT team and troubleshooting. I spend about 5–10 hours a week on the floor out in the library and I love catching up with customers. I spend a lot of those hours smiling and laughing and chatting, oh and I issue the odd book too I suppose! I have been working with APNK on the roll out of Chromebooks in our library and have offered advice to anyone who wanted it (and probably some who didn’t). I am involved with our senior leadership team at an operational level, coordinate inductions and in-house training, and I am usually happy to turn my hand to anything as I have done lots of stuff in 20 years, but recently I have been trying not to jump in, and let others have a turn – let’s just say this a work in progress.
 
What advice would you give to someone considering study?
If you have never studied before, or it has been a long time between studying, there are foundation courses you can do through the Open Polytechnic that will set you up. I did the Certificate in Tertiary Study Skills before embarking on my Diploma and it was really great to be able to learn how to do things like referencing and different writing styles, instead of freaking out about them when it came to assignment time.
Read everything you get – and you will get a lot! But take the time to read your welcome pack, the forums, emails, the coursework - they are laden with so many useful tips and directions! This sounds like a no-brainer but if you are starting out it can be overwhelming but you can do it! (And you can do it with a coffee, or a wine, or a whiskey – your choice!)
And buy yourself a nice little pencil case with a nice pen, a highlighter and a pencil. 
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​​This interview first appeared in the October 2019 Issue of Library Life Magazine