Keeping in touch: the way you want

Librarians have a long tradition of communicating via email lists. We're one of the oldest professions (but not the oldest!), and we've been on the internet for longer than most. The rise of social media has just served to add to the number of ways we like to talk to each other, and we're keen to explore all of them.

Ahead of the New Librarians Symposium in September, we asked you how you like to keep in touch with ALIA new graduates. Here's what you said:

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We asked this question on the blog and Facebook, so it's hardly surprising that many of you preferred using those media in which you answered the question. But it's important to remember that many of you also chose more than one option, so really a range of communication methods seems to suit you best.

Across both surveys, about 15 percent of respondents mentioned an interest in communicating with us via Twitter. We don't have our own Twitter stream at the moment, but given the overwhelming success of new librarians tweeting for #tweetaugust, we'll keep it in mind. Don't forget that ALIA has its own Twitter stream to keep you up to date with both national and international library news.

Online communication is really just a placeholder for when we can't interact in person. We're holding more and more face-to-face events each year across the nation. If you're in Brisbane, next up is the Queensland Newgrads event on 24 August. And in September, new librarians will flock to Perth for the exciting experience of NLS5. Don't miss out!