Thing 20 - Library routes

How did I end up working in a Library? It wasn't something I particularly planned although I have always loved libraries and books. I never thought about actually working in one though, it just wasn't one of those professions that even entered my mind.

I was working in a customer service role in a job I really didn't enjoy, spent most of my time bored and didn't feel like I was getting anything out of it or was valued. A Library Assistant post was advertised at the local College where my husband worked in IT and he praised the environemtn, the people and loved his job. I loved my local public library and was always borrowing books and the more I thought about it the more working in a Library seemed like a good idea. I applied and managed to get an interview and haven't looked back since.

When I got to the interview there were about 16 candidates for 3 posts and as most people seemed to have experience of working in a Library I didn't think I stood a chance! Luckily the selection panel must have seen some potential in me as they gave me a job. I have now worked for the College for 6 years and although I am in exactly the same role, that role has adapted, changed and varied and is so different to what I was doing 6 years ago. My job title is 'Library and Learning Resource Centre Assistant' and involves far more than the book stamping and shelving that I originally thought a Libraian did.

My role now involves journals management, overseeing the day to day running of an LRC (Learning Resource Centre), subject lisaison, inductions and Library education lessons, displays as well as queries, stock selection and many other things. I love working in a College Library as it is a smaller scale to that of a university Library which gives me chance to experience lots of different areas of the Library. Ideally I would like to move forward to a more senior role, either within the College or for another organisation although at the moment I am trying to gain as much experience as possible.

After a couple of years I decided to go to night classes and complete an NVQ Level 2 in Library and Information Services. This was definitely worthwhile in terms of meeting with other Library services staff and having scope for professional discussion. I can't say that I learnt anything new on the course itself, my portfolio was more a portfolio of what I had already been doing in my job but it was great to meet new people and get a certificate that said I could do my job!

The next stage I decided on was to join CILIP as by that point I had decided that Libraries were the right career for me to be in and I wanted to know more about the wider Library community. I contacted a mentor and began to work towards my ACLIP (certification). Having a mentor was a fantastic experience as I have already commeneted on in a previos blog. Reflcetive practice was something that was new to me but it was interesting to look at where I was and what I wanted to do in the future.

Currently I have decided to take my education and career a step further and I am working towards the Post Graduate Diploma (maybe even the MA/MSc) in Library and Information Management via a distance learning course at Northumbria university. I am finding it quite a challenge due to the amount of reading and work involved but I am also enjoying it. I am looking at areas of information management that are completely new to me and hopefully this qualification will open up doors in the future.

Thing 11 - Mentoring

I officially had a mentor when I completed my Certification and I found it extremely useful. Everyone else I talked to about Libraries at that point had mainly been colleagues that I work with so it was refreshing to get perspectives from someone 'outside' the organisation. I found there were many things that I took for granted and just assumed that was what everyone did so it was intereting to sehow other Libraries worked. With only ever workin in one Library setting I don't have much experience so having a mentor helped me see Libraries from other viewpoints.

I don't think I would have been able to complete Certification and learn about the process of reflective practice without my mentor. She was constantly reminding me of the need to be reflective rather than just descriptive as I tended to do. She was full of praise when I completed and made me feel like a worthy Library professional which is always good to make you feel more confident in what you are doing.

Unofficial mentors I have had along my journey have included mostly people who I have worked with. There was one special lady who helped me when I started in the Library and showed me the ropes. She had such a passion and enthusiasm for libraries and it really rubbed off on me. Sadly she died a couple of years ago after a battle with Cancer but I will never forget her.

There has also been my assessor for when I completed my NVQ. She was incredibly supportful and helpful and it was through her encouragement that I decided to join CILIP and have a go at Certification. Recently she has also provided a reference for me for the application foy my PostGraduate course and was as encouraging as ever.

I would like to think that one day I will have the opportunity to become a mentor and be able to support and encourage others in return. We do have a lot of work experience students so I do play an active role in telling them about Library work and showing them the ropes.

Thing 10 - My experience in Libraries so far...and what is round the corner

I have always loved Libraries but never really thought of working in one until I saw my current role advertised. I didn't really know what the full extent of working in a Library would entail but I loved visiting them and borrowing books and thought it would be a lovely environment to work in after my previous disappointing experience working in a call centre. I applied for the job as a Library and Learning Resource Centre Assistant and was so excited then I got to the interview and saw how many applicants there were and thought that was it, as I had no experience I didn't stand a chance. Amazingly I did get the job and have been working in this role now for almost six years!

A lot has changed during that time. When I started here we all did a bit of working in the main Library and spent some time working in the LRCs and did a bit of everything to do with processing stock and all of the other 'workroom' duties involved in running a Library. A few years ago however we changed so that we are a lot more responsible for different areas and take ownership and the service has greatly improved. I am now responsible for the day to day running of OARC LRC (Outdoor Activities and Recreation Centre). This is basically the Learning Resource Centre for Sports and Public Services. I liaise with the departmentsla staff and what resources they require, update displays and promote resources and run inductions on the resources available to students of those subjects. I still work in the Main Library and get to work in some of the other LRCs as well so the job never gets boring!  I am also responsible for journal management, so I order new journals and process renewals, ensure the stock is up to date, tidy and weed old stock out. I also produce circulation reports, process stock, create displays for the Library, help select stock and promote it and I am currently working on a project to see how QR codes can be used in a Library setting.

After working in my role for a couple of years I completed an NVQ level 2 in Library and Information Services. It was interesting to look at the Library World from a theoretical viewpoint and I got to meet people from other Libraries and talk about how different libraries from different sectors work. Once I completed this I then decided that I wanted to be more involved and take my career further so I decided to start work on Certification. I found a mentor who was really helpful and managed to get through Certification quite quickly. It was interesting to reflect on what training I had undertaken and looking at what I needed to do in the future.

I have then had a bit of a break as I was off work on maternity leave and spent a year not thinking about Library's at all!

I have now been back into the swing of things since February and I have decided I am ready to take the next step. I have been offered a place on the PostGraduate Diploma course at Northumbria University and looking forward to the new challenge. Where I will go after that, who know? I really love where I work so I don't really want to leave anytime soon. My ideal job would be to work up to a senior level within the Library here although vacancies don't seem to come up very often!

Thing 7 Face-to-face networks and professional organisations

I have just spotted Thing 9 is already showing so once again I am behind. I can't believe how fast the days are flying be. With days off holiday and still doing the stocktake the time is just speeding past me.

Unfortuntaly I couldn't make it to any of the face-to-face events, with having a 14 month old my time on an evening is very limited not to mention the childcare issue!

I am a member of CILIP and I have found it very useful. I have to say that I haven't been as involved as I could have been as I haven't been to any of CILIP's meetings or conferences or any of the career development group informal events. I did achieve my certification ACLIP status and it was great to share experiences and information with my mentor. Being a member of CILIP I also love recieveing emails with current events and news to do with Libraries as well as reading literature that comes in the post. I find it fascinating reading about what others in the profession are doing and the challenges faced.

Thing 6 - Online Networks

Well I've set up a LinkdIn account, put a photo on and entered some imformation but I haven't had chance to do much with it yet. My work schedule is incredibly hectic at the moment as we are doing our annual stocktake, some room changes, textbook processing as well as the usual preparations for inductions for September's intake of students. I am having chance to have a quick look at each thing and then hopefully if things quieten down in a few weeks I'll be able to revisit them and have a more in depth look.

Facebook I use primarily for friends and family although I am a 'liker' of the CILIP page and now the '23 things' page. I do check Facebook quite regularly so will be good to have updates through Facebook as well.

I have registered for a LISNPN account but I'm having some probelsm setting up my profile. For some reason I can't add a photo or information about me as I keep getting 'error on page'. I'll go back to it hopefully next week and see if I get any more luck then.

I have decided not to look at the LAT network as it is not an area that I am currently involved in. I do inductions which tend to be more informal and I may be doing some user education sessions in the future but I will look into that when I have a little more time.

I am already a member of CILIP and registered online and I do check information on there quite regularly, especially when I was completing my certification of CILIP. I do find that it is full of useful information.

To sum up thing 6 I feel like I haven't had much time to devote to each area as I would have liked. I think a lot of these things do seem to take time to use and get to know to find out what they can do and with my current workload I just don't have time to do that. I will be carrying on with the things though as I am finding it useful to look at things I've not heard about or used before and some things do make life easier. I have found that I am spending so much time creating new accounts for different networks and will never have time to check them all. But it is is good to know what is out there!