Thank you all for my F A Sharr Award year!

  I would like to take a moment to share something about my amazing year that wouldn’t has been possible without winning the F A Sharr Award. I am filled with gratitude for the positive impact it has had on my journey. This year has been full of growth, challenges, and incredible moments. This award opened up so many opportunities, helping me improve and develop my skills and experience. And of course it brought more fun, more smiles, new people, and more trips! So many wonderful memories were made this year, beginning with celebrating with my Mum in my home country in August 2024 and ending with being a part of the 2024 F A Sharr Award selection panel with outstanding professionals in July 2025.

         

(National and State Libraries Australasia, 2022)                                                    (AustLit, 2013)

Between that and my current studies, I had: a London Study Tour to visit the 12 best Libraries in London including Oxford, October 2024

 

In June 2025 my idea brought me to Port Hedland Libraries to meet and chat with local library staff, so I got more firsthand information  and more points on my lists ‘to-try’ and ‘to-do’.“FIFO memberships: FIFO workers can join at any branch by presenting proof of their usual residential address as well as a letter from their employer on company letterhead stating where they are staying in Hedland or a site access card.” (Town of Port Hedland Libraries, 2025)

 

And lastly, presenting the F A Sharr Award and the 2024 F A Sharr Award Winner on the 2025 Library Board Awards Night, 31 July 2025 at the State Library of WA

It has been a truly unforgettable year – My F A Sharr Award Year 2024-25! A huge thank you to my two F A Sharr Award referees Nicola Carson (Convenor, ALIAWest Committee) and Gemma Lion (Team Leader, the WA State Library) for your support of my idea and contribution to the WA LIS Community. A big thank you to my colleagues who have brought their own books as first donations for the FIFO Library on the mining sites – NM TAFE Joondalup Library, Jane Jackson and Anne-Marie Musca.

A special thank you to the ALIAWest team—you are all wonderful people and truly feel like family to me in the WA LIS community! Thank you for being here through it all, and for your continued support that keeps me going! Your loyalty means the world to me.

-Elena Smirnova