Did you know UNE has a dedicated Law Library?
Not only does it have a great range of useful resources, open to all students and even the general public, but it has a great team of academic librarians ready to help! We spoke to librarian Gilbert Meyns to find out more about this hidden campus gem, and found his career, interests and experience as wide-ranging as the collections.
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Having spent many years learning at various universities, Gilbert is enjoying being able to give back by sharing a little of what he’s learnt, and helping others to improve their academic skills and knowledge.
But it is an understatement to describe Gilbert’s foray into libraries as ‘circuitous’.
Straight out of school, he pursued a career and studies in media, working for 10 years in regional television in Wollongong in lighting and editing, and then as a producer of two children’s shows. He also undertook studies in Visual and Performing Arts and foreign languages at the University of Wollongong, leading to an Honours degree in German Studies and Film Studies at UNSW, a Master’s degree in Media Studies (Diplom-Medienberater) at the Technical University of Berlin and a PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures New York University in the USA.
However, finding a lull in academic jobs in his specialty area, Gilbert then retrained as an academic librarian and began supporting law, along with other subjects, as a librarian at Macquarie University, James Cook University in Townsville and Cairns, and in the Fisher Library at Sydney University before working at UNE’s Law Library.
“I think, by now, I am up to my fourth career,” Gilbert says. “I have been a learner, a teacher, a researcher and a librarian, and spent many years increasing my knowledge in many different topics, but nothing I have learnt or done has gone to waste.”
That knowledge and experience is not limited to book learning. Since learning to scuba dive at 21 and developing a love for the activity later in Cairns, Far North Queensland, he has enjoyed diving in Raja Ampat, Indonesia – considered one of the best diving spots in the world, as well as in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia’s external territory, Christmas Island. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s an interest he’s also been able to pursue at UNE.
“I have become an active member of the UNE Dive Club and have been on many trips with these wonderful people to diverse dive sights along the Mid- and North Coasts of NSW.”
As an academic librarian, Gilbert finds the role satisfyingly wide-ranging.
“I support the UNE Schools of Law and Business with their information needs for teaching, learning and research. At its simplest, this entails being the main point of contact for library services for all staff and students in these schools.
“A popular service for clients in these schools, or indeed from across the university, is to book a face-to-face or online consultation to discuss any relevant academic topic. I also prepare and deliver training on legal, business and other topics for specific units or in general, and work with my librarian colleagues to create and maintain online information services via the library homepage.”
Image: Librarian, Gilbert Meyns.
Gilbert says the library is a bit of a best-kept secret on campus, but hopes to help spread the word about its resources and services.
“The Law Library is open to all students and staff at UNE. So, if you are looking for a quiet place to use a computer, to access something online, or want to find a specific legal resource in the physical collection, the UNE Law Library is open to you.
“In fact, as with the Dixson Library, the Law Library’s spaces and physical resources are open to the general public too, who can get a Community Borrower’s Card to access all physical items except those in reserve or special collections.
“Although not open on weekends or in the evenings like Dixson Library, it is a large and airy space with a high-vaulted wooden parquetry ceiling with walls decorated with a distinctive series of black and white prints from a famous Australian artist,” Gilbert says. “Thus, it is a great place to retreat to, to do quiet work on a computer or to read that book that you have long been wanting to get to.”
While a great space for on-campus or local students to study, Gilbert says it’s equally useful to online students.
“As with the Dixson Library, all resources in the Law Library are available to online students too, be this via direct access to online resources via the library homepage or through ‘send out’ or ‘digitisation’ requests made of items in the physical library.”
Find out more about the Law Library via the library homepage on the UNE website.
