Australian Institue of Criminology

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Tribute to Janet Smith

Janet Smith

Information Services Manager

Janet SmithJanet Smith, who served as the Institute’s Information Services Manager from June 2003, died from cancer in Canberra on 24 January 2011. Janet was an inspiring leader and innovator in Australian librarianship over nearly forty years. She began her career at the National Library of Australia where she not only became an important member of the Library’s catalogue team but also developed as a cataloguing educator for other young recruits.

Early on Janet worked for a period as librarian-in-charge at the Department of the Environment. She then made a significant career change to become a foundation director of the Infoscan consultancy group, which became an important private sector organisation within Australian librarianship. Janet’s involvement enhanced the group’s influence and reputation.  Bibliographic or reference databases were a particular interest for Janet and she managed a number of important database projects on behalf of government agencies. For instance, Janet was Infoscan’s project manager of the HERA database for the Australian Heritage Commission where she was responsible for database design.

Janet moved to Washington with Chris and their family in 1995 and soon after joined the Australian Embassy library, where her remarkable knowledge of politics, government and public affairs made her a natural. Returning to Canberra in 1999, she went back to the Department of the Environment as a senior librarian, then moved to a senior systems librarian position with the Commonwealth’s Parliamentary Library.

Janet was recruited to the J V Barry Library at the Australian Institute of Criminology in May 2003. As the Institute’s Information Manager she was a warm, caring and professional leader, both for her Library team and overall within the Institute. From her early days at the Institute Janet brought energy and a fresh eye to the Library’s work and ensured the Institute’s involvement within a number of important networks. The Institute became closely involved in the ALIES network of Australasian Libraries in the Emergency Sector and continued to be a key contributor to the World Criminal Justice Library Network.

People from many walks of life, from within Canberra, elsewhere in Australia and beyond our shores, mourn the passing of Janet Smith. We grieve with her family at their devastating loss and more than anything we remember a warm, caring and intelligent person who enriched many lives.