From looking at the last post I did I have to say one of the biggest tips I have learnt is to put yourself foward and believe in yourself. If you don't think you can do something you aren't going to persuade a panel that you can at an interview. I applied for a post in a Library without any library experience whatsovere. What I did have was enthusiasm and commitment. I looked at my previous job roles and what skills were transferrable to a Library. I'm glad I tried as I love working in Libraries.
Strengths and Interests
I love books. I probably read on average of one book a week, some are fiction and some aren't. I know I can't just sit in a Library reading books all day as part of my job but I think it is strength to know your stock. I read a wide range of genres and I like to keep up to date with what is top of the charts and what other people are reading. It also gives me scope to write reviews and promote books that we have in.
Another interest I have is that I seem to be an eternal student. Since leaving university I have constantly undertaken courses, training and research. Whether inhouse training and accreditations to qualifications on topics I enjoy. I love running so as part of the Great2run scheme I studied for a BTEC First in Sport! The only time I haven't taken part in a course was when I was on maternity leave but even then I was studying parenting and reading all the books on the subject I could find. I think this helps as I am up used to finding resources and this helps with enquiry work.
I love making handmade cards and scrapbook pages and this I find useful when creating displays. I must have a bit of a flair for creativity and love bright colourful displays.
Things I dislike are talking on the phone, especially to people I've never met. I prefer to communicate with people either in person or via email.
Showing posts with label careers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label careers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
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.
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.
Monday, 8 August 2011
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!
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!
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