The SLANSW Library Professional Award is awarded to a library professional in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the development and promotion of library services within their school community. The recipient of the School Library Association of New South Wales Library Professional Award for 2026 is Cath Ferguson, member of the Abbotsleigh Library team – Sydney.
Cath Ferguson is an integral member of the Abbotsleigh Library team. With over 25 years’ experience in libraries, Cath is an exceptional Library Professional who has provided outstanding guidance and mentorship to other professional staff in both the Junior and Senior School libraries. Cath works collaboratively across all areas of Abbotsleigh to deliver outstanding service to students, staff and the wider school community.
Cath’s outstanding customer service is a model for all library staff. Her focus is ensuring the library is a caring and safe space, modelling this caring and friendly behaviour on a daily basis. Cath understands that school libraries need to be creative and engaging spaces, collaborating with the team to create displays and develop competitions to encourage reading and use of the library’s collection. Her reader advisory skills are outstanding. She knows the students and staff well, and as a result, provides personalised book selections and recommendations that are always well received. To support her reader advisory expertise, Cath devotes many hours researching to acquire the appropriate resources that meet the needs of the library’s users.
Cath co-ordinates the Technical Services function of the junior and senior school libraries, overseeing the workflow and activities of the Library Technician team. Her user focus is exemplified in her exceptional cataloguing skills, as resource description is focussed on the user and how best to assist them in finding resources. Cath has been a driving force in the “Indigenising the Collection” project for Abbotsleigh, and she has presented at SLANSW and ALIA sessions on this topic. This major reparative cataloguing process has developed documentation to support staff in assessing the appropriateness of resources. She is an active member of the ALIA Australian Community on Resource Description Special Interest Group which ensures that the Abbotsleigh collections reflect any current developments in this field. As the only school library representative in this group, Cath makes sure that the needs of school libraries, and their users, are considered in these high-level discussions.
Cath is a proactive Library Professional, and the Abbotsleigh Libraries operate so effectively because of her coordination of processes and procedures, as well as her genuine care for students and staff.
The School Library Association of NSW acknowledges Cath’s outstanding contribution provided over many years to the school community and the profession. She is a very worthy recipient of the Library Professional Award for 2026.
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