Alex is a research librarian who spends his day managing and researching questions and projects with his company’s library team. He loves spreading the word about illumin, our research management system—his first mission.
He first fell in love with illumin after constantly losing and repeating his research, which meant wasting valuable time on the same tasks.
This caused Alex a lot of stress and frustration – along with confusing, unreliable reports and ineffective request tracking systems… that is, until he discovered illumin!
Now, Alex spends his days doing what he loves—researching, gathering statistics, and creating reports for his team. He even finds time to enjoy carrots and chai with Bob the Bibliographer!
With all that productivity, you’d think Alex would be satisfied, but no. He decided Liberty Digital, our Integrated Library System (ILS), deserved his attention… with style.
We had the chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with Alex to get a glimpse into a day in the life of one of Softlink IC’s key team members. Here’s what he shared:
Both illumin and Liberty Digital offer the latest user-friendly technology. They help deliver the services your users need and the outcomes you expect. Trust me, I’m an alpaca!
For full insights, watch the video below.
Name: Alex the Alpaca
Title: Research Librarian
Loves: Green grass & statistics
Hates: losing work & llamas.
What are the main responsibilities of your position?
Well, I mainly deal with spreading news about Softlink’s amazing products, illumin and Liberty!
But lately, I’ve been exploring other fields such as rapping, racing with Rob Otter, and playing ping pong! The latest rap I made was about my favorite parameters in Liberty, you should check it out here!
Recently, I was even lucky enough to be included in the Liberty Management Panel, lucky me!
What are some of your favorite features of Liberty and illumin?
My favorite feature of Liberty has got to be search field backgrounds! There are so many amazing designs that I’ve seen from Liberty users, I just can’t wait to see what people will do with the full screen search fields planned for a future Liberty release!
By far my favorite feature of illumin is its integration with Liberty. Did you know that you could automatically transfer your Liberty borrowers into illumin, for FREE?!
You can also have your illumin knowledge base automatically imported into your Liberty system during housekeeping through integration, isn’t that so handy? We even have a solutions article which teaches you exactly how to integrate the two systems together, contact us here to find out more.
What sort of activities do you do outside of work?
Outside of work I do a lot of the same things that I do at work. I’ve started my own rap career and have created my own YouTube channel to become famous one day! I may even upload some videos of me and my friends performing alpacapella!
Aside from my channel, I absolutely love going for a drive with Rob, and we like to practice on the way to work. I also LOVE to eat food! Grass and hay are some of my absolute favorites!
Today’s special libraries rely heavily on digital subscriptions – legal databases, research portals, industry journals, and more. But managing these valuable assets often means wrestling with spreadsheets, tracking renewals manually, and responding to questions about costs without clear answers.
Rolling out a new OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) is more than just switching on a new interface. For many users, the OPAC is the library – it’s the first impression, the everyday touchpoint, and the tool they rely on to access resources. So, when that experience changes, it needs to feel like an upgrade – clearer, smarter, faster – not a disruption.
Meet Nicholas, our APAC Sales & Account Manager, who joined the team in June 2024. Working remotely from Auckland, New Zealand, Nicholas plays a key role in connecting potential customers across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific with our solutions, Liberty Digital and illumin.
In the latest instalment of our Employee Spotlight series, we get to know Nicholas, explore his role further, and what drives him in his day-to-day work.
We had the privilege of attending the New Zealand Law Librarians’ Association (NZLLA) Conference 2025, held at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) on 18–19 September 2025.
The theme, “Whanaungatanga: connections in the digital age”, captured the importance of building and maintaining relationships while adapting to the rapid digital transformation in law and libraries.
As a law or government librarian, your collection is one of your greatest assets – second only to your expertise and knowledge. But even the most carefully curated resources can sit underutilized if your users and stakeholders don’t know they exist. While many libraries spend significant budgets on collections, the real value comes when those resources are actively used to inform research, support decisions, and drive your organization’s goals.
Earlier this month, Softlink Information Centres was proud to attend the 35th National Conference of the Romanian Library Association (ABR 2025) in beautiful Oradea, Romania. Hosted in collaboration with Softlink Central Europe, the University of Oradea, and the newly modernized “Gheorghe Șincai” Bihor County Library, this year’s conference reflected a renewed energy and vision for libraries in the digital age.
