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Jesse Lee recently joined the Library as a Librarian. We spoke to Jesse to learn more about his background, work experience and role.
My library career began after I completed a master’s degree in library and information science. I later became Head of Library Services at a publicly listed higher education institution, overseeing academic library services across six campuses in Malaysia.
I then joined the Malaysian Securities Commission’s specialist library, supporting knowledge and information management at its industry training centre. I provided information services to internal stakeholders and delivered sessions for visitors from Southeast Asia, broadening my understanding of careers in specialised information and knowledge management.
After briefly leading acquisitions and technical services at Monash University Malaysia, I joined the Knowledge Management Team at Resorts World Genting, a leisure, gaming and hospitality group. There, I contributed to corporate knowledge and data management projects, including interviewing senior leaders about the company’s growth from a small local construction business into a global integrated resorts corporation.
After relocating to Perth, I spent 15 years at Pfizer’s aseptic pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Bentley Technology Park. During that time, I worked in a variety of roles, supporting quality tracking systems, microbial data collection and reporting, continuous Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) initiatives and agile improvement projects. I also qualified as a microbiology laboratory associate. One of the most rewarding tasks in the laboratory was counting bacterial and mould colonies on Petri dishes, then repeating the fun hundreds of times a day. Talk about a growing career!
Before joining Curtin University Library, I worked as a local council librarian, broadening my experience of Australian public libraries.
My new role at Curtin University Library is as a Librarian in the Library Discovery team. I support the deposit of HDR theses, open scholarship publications, data management plans and Non-Traditional Research Outputs in CURATE, Curtin’s institutional research repository. I also respond to enquiries from students and staff by email and through our customer relationship management system.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my role is supporting Curtin University’s open scholarship initiatives and helping make research more accessible, discoverable and reusable. This work has deepened my understanding of the research lifecycle, copyright and the Library’s role in increasing the visibility and impact of research. I value helping researchers, students and the wider community access and benefit from knowledge.
Written by Jesse Lee, Librarian
