The Central West Writers' Centre, a function of Central West Libraries (NSW), was awarded a Positive Ageing grant from the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care. In a bid to "counteract isolation and provide a release from the impact of drought in rural communities" (ALIA Biennial 2012 condensed abstracts) a writing program for over-50s was developed. Six locations ran workshops for a total of 68 participants, and the response was very positive. Workshops included activities to help the creative process, often focused on memory and emotion.
One aim of the program was to encourage older people to share their stories - to give them a voice. A few were anxious at first about publishing their stories online, but once they saw them collected, they became excited to share with friends and family. An unexpected challenge was getting the workshopped stories from page to screen. Ros and Jasmine intended to give each participant a username and password so they could upload their own stories, but this did not go as planned. Internet access was not a given, and some of the writers couldn't type efficiently (or at all). The Central West administration team helped out with typing, and Jasmine added the stories to the Words From the Dust website.
I visited the QUT Information Studies Group booth and chatted with Helen Partridge, the course coordinator for my Library & Information Studies course, and associate lecturer Zaana Howard. They were handing out bubbles and brightly coloured buttons that read, 'Put us at the top of your LISt' and 'LISten Up.' My lanyard is getting a little heavy! ALIA pin, LIS buttons, #Discovery tweet badge...
Later this month, I will start my final semester at QUT. I'm so excited and nervous, and although I don't think I'm ready, I probably am. This is where I need to be - this profession, this fluid thing called a library, and this time in my life. Biennial has affirmed that I'm on the right track with my studies, and I can't wait to see what job opportunities are out there in 2013.
