Staff Profiles

The electronic journal LIBRES can be found at:http://libres.curtin.edu.au and the website for RIC is at: http://infocommons.curtin.edu.au   Kerry maintains a keen interest in the geoscientific information environment where she started her career in librarianship in the early 1980s.  She entered her most recent career in academia later than most and teaches  in a number of areas, particularly in management of information services, knowledge management and the use of information in organisations, special and one person librarianship and information policy.

Kerry’s professional commitments have been and are many.  She is a a past President of  the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and past Convenor of its Research Committee.  She held a similar position for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)  for some 6 years and is currently a member and Secretary of the IFLA Section on Education and Training (SET) Standing Committee.  She convened the  Research Applications in Information & Library Studies  (RAILS) seminar in  Perth September 2006.  Recent professional commitments include Membership Secretary of the Australian Geoscience Information Association (Inc.) (AGIA), Deputy Convenor and Chair of Tours and Satellite Sessions committee for the ALIA 2006, CLICK06 conference held in Perth. She was an elected member of local government in Western Australia for 8 years and has served on the Board of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority in WA.  

Kerry's  research interests are mainly in science and technology information policy, specialising in the geosciences. Her Murdoch University PhD thesis, titled: Performance measurement of Australian geoscientific minerals researchers in the changing funding regimes is of relevance as discussions for the Excellence in research Australia (ERA) (formerly Research Quality Framework (RQF)) proceed in the Australian university research landscape. She convened the work on Australian library and information studies (LIS) researcher's ranking of LIS journals.  

Her geoscience information research falls under a project commenced in 2007: Access to geoscience information: a tragedy of the commons?  The project is being carried out incrementally with the first component being a study of national and Western Australian geoscience library collections.  She is the chief investigator for an oral history project, the working title of which is Reflections of Western Australian Information professionals, with team member  Glenn Pass.  

Her earlier research interests covered statistical analysis of one-person libraries and librarianship in Australia; being a member of the CRC LEME working group on Regolith Terminology and Classification, a multi-member research group spanning Australian geoscientific agencies, an outcome of which was The Regolith Glossary; and more recently as a member of two IFLA Section on Library Theory and Research teams, one investigating the political perceptions of the public library; the other looking at the role of IFLA in promoting change and diffusing professional norms.

 With Glenn Pass:  Reflections from Western Australian information professionals.

Journal ranking for Australian Library and information studies (LIS).

Access to geoscience information: A tragedy of the commons?

Library and information services management, knowledge management and auditing, information policy, and special and one person librarianship

Postgraduate teaching aligns with undergraduate units.

Kerry stepped down as Head of the Department of Information Studies at the end of 2011, which until then brought with it a raft of administrative duties too numerous to mention here, but included: preparation for 3 course accreditations in librarianship, in records management and in archives; and the overall management and administration of the Department's excursion into Open Universities Australia (OUA).

ALIA - professional member of the Australian Library and Information Association.  Awarded a fellowship of that association in 2002: FALIA - Fellow of the Australian Library and Information Assn.

ADA - Australian Digital Alliance

AGIA - Australian Geoscience Information Assn Inc
ANZMaps - Australian and New Zealand Map Society (formerly Australian Map Circle)
ASA - Australian Society of Archivists 
CILIP - Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
IFLA - International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
RMAA - Records Management Association of Australasia
SLA - Special Libraries Association

Carrick 2007 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning:

Information Studies at Curtin - Team Award.

 2007 - Curtin University Citation for Teaching and Learning to Information

Studies at Curtin – team award for Information Studies @ Curtin.

 2003 - ALIA Silver Pin - awarded for 5 years or more of voluntary

contribution and service as ALIA representative.

 2002   - Awarded Fellowship of the Australian Library & Information Association (FALIA) for outstanding contributions to the Association.

 1995  - ALIA Special Libraries Section (WA Group) Special Librarian of the Year.

Book Chapters (Authored, Research Quality)

• Smith, K. 2008. Is library course accreditation a political necessity?. In The Politics of Libraries and Librarianship: Challenges and realities, eds Kerry Smith, 159-175. Oxford, United Kingdom: Chandos Publishing.

Refereed Articles (Scholarly Journals)

• Smith, K. 2011. The dawn of a new ERA?: Australian Library & Information Studies (LIS) researchers further ranking of LIS journals. AARL : Australian Academic and Research Libraries 42(4): 319-339.
• Marinova, D, and Smith, K. 2005. Use of bibliometric modelling for policy making. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation 69: 177-187.
• Smith, K, and Genoni, P. 2005. Graduate employment outcomes for qualifying library and records management courses at Curtin University of Technology, 1998-2002. The Australian Library Journal 54: 336-352.

Fully written papers (Refereed Conference proceedings)

• Smith, K. 2011. Why think? Just do: the dawn of a new ERA in Australia and implications for Australian LIS research. Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Information Edication and Parctice: Issues, Challenges, Opportunities, 22/06/2011. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA.
• Smith, K. 2009. Towards A Research Agenda for LIS in the East and Southeast (SE) Asian Region: some preliminary thoughts. Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Information Education & Practice (A-LIEP 2009), 06/03/2009. Tsukuba, Japan: A-LIEP.
• Smith, K. 2008. Dreaming of a Brighter Future? Australian Libraries, Librarians and Research. Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Bienniel Conference, 02/09/2008. Alice Springs, Australia: Australian Library and Information Association.
• Smith, K, and Harvey, R. 2006. Is There a Role for Professional Associations in Fostering Research?. Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Inforamton Education & Practice 2006, 03/04/2006. Singapore: Division of Information Studies, School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University.
• Smith, K. 2004. The political perception of the public library: the Australian view. ALIA 2004 Biennial Conference Challenging Ideas, 21/09/2004. Queensland: Australian Library and Information Association.
• Smith, K, and Marinova, D. 2003. Academic Publishing in the Australian Changing Funding Environment: An Analysis of Journal Rankings in the Geosciences. MODSIM 03 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 14/07/2003. Townsville, Australia: Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.
• Marinova, D, and Smith, K. 2003. Bibliometric Modelling And Policy Making. MODSIM 03 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 14/07/2003. Townsville, Australia: Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.