Gemma Steele
Librarian
About me
- Contact me
- Contact me through our enquiries team
I am an experienced librarian with a demonstrated history of working in the special library sector with rare books and special collections, and with particular expertise in library marketing. I participate in all aspects of library work, such as answering enquiries and circulating books, but my main responsibilities are the cataloguing of library materials and managing interlibrary loans. I am skilled in original cataloguing of specialist materials, including expertise in rare book cataloguing.
I have worked with Museums Victoria since 2010 in a number of roles and have been a librarian with the organisation since 2014. I was formerly a journalist, media monitor and political researcher in my hometown of Edinburgh.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (Napier University, Edinburgh)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Public Relations and Media (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh)
Master of Information Management (RMIT University, Melbourne)
Master of Commerce (RMIT University, Melbourne)
Education
Rare book cataloguing (Australasian Rare Book Summer School)
RDA for Practitioners (TAFE, South Australia)
RDA Lab Series (American Library Association)
Beginning Bibliography (Beginning Cataloguing)
Links
- Marketing and promotion of special libraries and collections – Museums Victoria SoundCloud
- Unboxing the museum: Aurora Australis – Museums Victoria YouTube
- Drawing creatures – Museums Victoria YouTube
- No egrets: the story of fashion and feathers through books – Biodiversity Heritage Library Blog
- Teaching rare book cataloguing during a pandemic – Biodiversity Heritage Library Blog
- Time Flies in Museum Collections: Ornithology in Victoria – Culture Victoria
Projects and events
Conference presentations
June 2021 - ESTC Conference: Gender & the Book Trade Conference
Presenter: Volumes in Vogue: Women, Readership and the Book
December 2020 – Bibliographical Society of Australia & New Zealand Conference
Presenter: 'A beautiful ornament: tracing change through ornithology publications'
November 2019 – Bibliographical Society of Australia & New Zealand Conference / 13th Australian Library History Forum
Organising Committee Member & Presenter: ‘Volumes in vogue: women, readership & fashions’
July 2019 – New Librarians Symposium 9
Literature Review & Presentation: ‘How to win followers and influence people’
August 2018 – Asia-Pacific Library and Information Conference
Paper & Presentation: ‘Marketing and promotion of special libraries and collections: methods, vehicles and activities’
Projects
Biodiversity Heritage Library Australia
Committees
Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand – Social Media Committee, Events Committee
Professional memberships
Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand
Australian Library and Information Association
Publications
Hider, P., & Steele, G. (2021). LibraryThing and Literary Works Revisited: Are Social and Library Cataloging Just as Complementary as they were a Decade Ago? Library Resources & Technical Services, 65(3), 113-125. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.65n3.113
Hider, P., Steele, G., & Smeaton, A. (2021). Disciplinary Differences in Social Cataloging: A Comparison of LibraryThing Tagging of Works in Literature, History and Business. Technical Services Quarterly, 38(4).