Who's On Their Way Out at the State Library of Victoria?
GH has another update
A particular mystery of the ludicrous organisational change project foisted on staff at the State Library of Victoria last year was why a caretaker leadership felt empowered to impose holus-bolus and irrevocable changes on the institution.
The CEO, John Wicks, was an acting appointment; the president, Christine Christian, was a bizarre five years into a four-year reign, having reportedly been ‘preparing to end her time at the State Library of Victoria’ last June. There was at the time no head of collections, among several other unfilled roles; there was not even any particular budgetary urgency. And given an increasingly mistrustful relationship between management and staff, it was almost bound to cause upheaval - which, as we know, it did. It’s axiomatic, surely, that any change should conceived and be overseen by those who will deal with its consequences, who can fine tune if necessary, reconsider if essential.
This, belatedly, seems to have dawned on the library’s ultimate custodians, the state. Some may have noticed the advertisement in the Weekend Australian, after last month’s Et Al update.
Today, the other shoe dropped: the bulletin went round staff that the president is belatedly cleaning out her desk, making way for the ubiquitous Helen Silver.
Of course, I’m not sure that Silver should already have a ‘vision’ for the State Library - she might be better advised in these ‘coming weeks’ to listen rather than talk, for the library’s institutional knowledge is almost as valuable as its great collection. But let’s give Silver, and her impressive CV, a cautious welcome, along with new directors Peter McPhee and Christine Mackenzie, and hope for the best with the CEO search, given that it was such a dud last time. Et Al will, of course, be watching.
Maybe it is just modern speak but some of the instructions in the CEO job description seem a bit.....well, back to front. The CEO will be :
Aligned with Government objectives
Building strong alliances with Government
I'd like to think the CEO would perform the standard, traditional functions of a Library with the capacity to embrace reasonable adjustments as life and the world change. Which the Government should be in full support of.
Would it be a touch of kulak or proletariat thought pattern to notice that the CEO will be a public face, and shaper of national conversations, too and with multiple groupings.
The greater general public doesn't get a mention. Perhaps that can be assumed, although recent times don't necessarily suggest that.
Hopefully it is a step forward, time will tell.
Please keep up the good fight Gideon.
Hopefully these two recent announcements are the start of things heading in a better direction.
Well done Gideon and all with whom you continue to work tirelessly with.