By Violet Li
Janine Kimberly’s husband always jokes that she would be the world’s oldest library worker, and if not, she could be the City of Casey’s longest-serving one, unverified.
The Connected Libraries customer experience officer has come a long way since 2009, constantly adapting her pace to the rapid change in the library industry.
“In the digital age, we had to move with the times, which is exactly what we’ve done,” she said.
“The library is always evolving to keep up with demand.”
Starting at Endeavour Hills Library 15 years ago, Janine was first a customer service officer for a number of years.
She later picked up more responsibilities to help with adult programs, like author events and all sorts of interest classes.
When the pandemic hit and everything had to shut down, she came up with the idea of starting a podcast: Book Matters podcast.
Never intending to make it this big, Janine was stunned by how the chatter turned out this popular.
“We’re in our fifth season now. And we never knew whether anyone would ever listen to us, but we’ve had some really good feedback on it,” she said.
“I’ve built up a really good relationship with publishers, and we have all the top-selling authors come on to our podcast and even overseas authors as well. It’s been gorgeous.
“We’re actually enlisted in the top 12 library podcasts in Australia.”
In retrospect, interest and enthusiasm are the catalysts for her voluntary exploration into a wider path of the library career.
“At the end of the day, I’m basically a reader. That’s the thing. And I believe you have to be a reader to work in the library. You’ve got to have a passion, and you’ve got to have an interest in it,” she said.
“I just sort of stuck my hand up for whatever was going, and it just makes my working life so much more interesting when you have projects to do.”
A dedicated reader herself, Janine could not help but share her anecdote with Australian women’s fiction romance author Rachael Johns.
“Rachael was the first person that we interviewed for the podcast going back five years ago. And we’ve always sort of kept in touch ever since,” Janine said.
After giving some advice to the author, Janine was told a character was named after her in a new book called The Other Bridget.
“She gave me a promotion and made me the branch manager in the book called Janine,” she said.
“I was very flattered to be named as a character in the book and then to be acknowledged in the back of the book as well.”
One and a half decades into her library world, Janine has still been loving her job as if it is her first day of work.
“I often say it took me 52 years to find my perfect job,” she said.
Before that, Janine was a merchandiser and in her very early life, she was a secretary, and then she moved into marketing.
“I’d always been a library member in Endeavour Hills Library, and I got to know the branch manager there quite well at the time. I said I’d love to work here. And she said, oh, just keep on applying,” she recalled.
“So I did. It was actually the third time I applied I was successful. And I was absolutely wrapped. Just been great ever since.
“I have no intention of giving up my job at the moment because it’s too much fun. While it’s still fun, I’ll keep on working.”
