
News
The End of a Chapter
Kate Scott has been the librarian at Christ College for the past 11 years. As she prepares to finish up at the end of 2024, we asked Kate a few questions about this significant chapter of her life.
Kate Scott grew up in Sydney’s northern beaches, where she had the privilege of being taught the gospel from a very young age. Her parents were heavily involved in their local church, and Kate says there was no one defining moment where she gave her life to Christ—instead it was a case of her faith growing and deepening as she grew older.
After completing an Arts degree with a major in Linguistics, despite enjoying the study, Kate decided against heading into linguistics as a career. She ended up accepting a job as a library assistant at Manly Library, which she really enjoyed.
Kate explains, “I’ve always loved books and reading, so it was a natural avenue for me to explore, but the job came up and so I just took it—and I loved it.”

While she was working at the Manly Library, Kate was part of Chatswood Presbyterian Church, where Carmelina Read (who is on faculty at Christ College) is the wife of the senior minister.
Kate recalls, “Carmelina said there’s a job at Christ College for a librarian, and I said, ‘That’s nice, I’m not a librarian.’ But she said, ‘Why don’t you apply for it?’”
So Kate did—and she was successful. The next step for Kate was to begin her Masters in Librarianship, online and part-time while working for Christ College. She did this over the course of three years, and really enjoyed it, often staying back in the library to study after her work day was over.
Kate has loved her role. Despite the challenges of pandemic and its associated lockdowns, even that turned out to be a positive experience, because it taught Kate that she could actually work from home at times. That’s not something she had ever thought possible for a librarian!
When asked to share the highlights of working as the Christ College librarian for the past 11 years, Kate refers to a pre-written list, because there are so many reasons why she has loved her job. As she states, “It’s a real privilege to be part of such a wonderful ministry.”
First and foremost, Kate has loved getting to know the students and the families of the students.
“Next door we have a block of units where students live,” Kate explains. “And some of the students would bring in their families regularly, over the years. So that’s been really nice, to know the wives and the kids.”
Kate has also loved getting to know the staff, and she’s also loved the joy of new book deliveries, which she equates to the excitement of Christmas. Another enjoyable aspect of the role has been becoming familiar with a variety of authors and theological scholars over the years.
Kate has been able to travel with her job, too. The annual Australia and New Zealand Theological Library Association conference has taken her to New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia. Kate found the conferences helpful in terms of the knowledge she gained, but they were good for other reasons, too.
She shares, “It’s been really special getting to know some of the librarians, especially the ones I consider to be my sisters and brothers, like the ones from the other Presbyterian colleges in Australia, or like the ones from the other Protestant colleges in Sydney. I’ve built some really good relationships with them.”
Given how much Kate has loved her job, one might wonder why she is about to finish up. The truth is, she did try to figure out how she might be able to continue in her role while also juggling her next endeavour—but she decided against that. Kate’s daughter starts school next year, and Kate will be homeschooling her.
“I think it’s probably the only task that could drag me away from College,” Kate admits. It was a hard decision, but the reality is that Kate has a real sense of peace that this is the right thing for her and her family, and she’s excited to begin this new season of life.
Kate, we thank God for you and for your many years of service as the Christ College librarian. You will be greatly missed!
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