Moving Forwards: The Librarian's Apprentice 18 Months On

(Or 'Things I Like About My Work')

So, nearly two weeks ago I left St. Hilda’s, and shortly after I was plunged straight into a new life in the History Faculty Library and Wellcome Unit Library for History of Medicine. It’s all very exciting, and there are oodles of things to assimilate. And while I’m far more interested in the strength of a library’s services than the beauty of its architecture, the fact that the Radcliffe Camera (where I’m based in the mornings) is Oxford’s most recognisable building impresses my grandparents, where attempts to whip up enthusiasm for reader services might not…

But I was sad to leave the college. Back in 2013, as a nearly-graduate with bundles of library keenness but minimal experience, I applied for many Graduate Traineeships without success, and it was Hilda’s who finally gave me my way into the profession. Once I was there, it was a steep learning curve for me simply to adjust to working life and manage my work load, having never had a full-time job before. Hilda’s was in many ways a very nice environment in which to do that.

Graduate traineeships have several purposes, but some of the main ones are thus: gaining library experience prior to undertaking the MA in Library and Information Studies, learning some of the skills needed in a career in librarianship, and finding out whether or not being a librarian is actually for you. In terms of that last point, I am pleased to report that yes, I do indeed want to be a librarian. My extended trainee year gave me a whole host of things to like about working in libraries, so I thought I’d summarize the best of them here:

Readers
Thank goodness these feature high on the list. If you’d asked me a couple of years ago if I could ever see myself in a customer-service role, I’d have said: not a chance. But readers are the best sort of customer. Naturally, some are a pain in the backside, but they’re largely great. They’re here for all kinds of reasons – to seek academic knowledge, primarily, but also to escape distraction by finding somewhere quiet to sit, to seek distraction in the form of books or DVDs, and to ask all manner of questions. College libraries are a really nice setting in which to get to know regular readers.

There are these moments, just occasionally – say, when you know a reader’s name and they’re surprised, or when they apologise for taking you away from the desk and you tell them it’s your job to help – when you see a reader realise that they’re not an incidental part of your responsibility, but the entire reason your job exists. And that’s pretty cool. I love helping people find things.

Connecting with other library folk
Library people are brilliant. For my first year in Oxford, pretty much all of my friends were library folk. There are over a hundred libraries in this city, which equates to a huge network of librarians (a term I’m going to use as shorthand for ‘library people’, even though not all of us are qualified librarians). After two months as a trainee, I attended Library Camp in Birmingham (an ‘unconference’), and meeting people in the field was a big highlight. In a mad moment of boldness when sessions were being pitched, I piped up about an interesting-sounding topic I’d seen suggested beforehand, and found that I’d therefore inadvertently volunteered myself to chair a session. ‘But… I don’t know ANYTHING about ANYTHING!’ I protested. No matter – two very nice librarians stepped up to assist me, everyone who came was lovely, and the experience was fantastic.

In the year and a half I have so far been working in libraries, I have got to know a lot of librarians, but a special mention has to go to my three colleagues at St. Hilda’s – two library staff and our Archivist – who I do miss. Our generous tea breaks (justified in the name of ‘team building’) were always enjoyable – librarians and biscuits/cake are a recognised Excellent Combination. Being in a very small team, we worked very closely together, and I always appreciated the fact that despite my junior status, I was given the chance to have a say in how the library was run and help to inform important decisions.

Variety
At the level of Graduate Trainee, and continuing into my new job as Library Assistant, I see my role in three main parts: physical work, involving getting books back to the right place; enquiry work, involving dispensing information to readers; and office work, involving general admin tasks. As I have said, interacting with readers is one of my favourite parts of the job, but I also really like the fact that my tasks are variable. Sure, reshelving isn’t the most exciting of jobs, but getting away from the computer for a little while to do something manual can be a welcome break. “What do you actually do?” people ask. A little bit of everything, that’s what.

One of the projects I most enjoyed working on at St. Hilda’s was redesigning library maps. The old ones were unhelpful and a little outdated, so I was given free rein of Inkscape to create something new. I ended up doing a lot of pacing around the library going, ‘But how does this fit together?!’, and also lots of Googling to get to grips with using layers for design work, having never used Inkscape (and neither had anyone else in college….) Figuring things out was all good fun, and leads me to…

Learning stuff 
A huge part of being a trainee, as you would expect. To start with, there were all of the rules, processes and eccentricities at St. Hilda’s to learn, and quickly – being part of a tiny team meant that it wasn’t long before the first time I was left on my own to handle everything our students could ask of me. Being in a new job in the information sector is terrifying, because people (unsurprisingly) look to you for information, and you don’t yet have all the answers.

The Graduate Trainee programme widened my library horizons beyond my own library. The training sessions covered a myriad of topics – customer service, eBooks, finding resources, evaluating library services, referencing software, conservation. There are so many different roles within the library sphere, and we had talks from people in areas of work I’d never have known existed. We also visited more libraries than you can shake a stick at – seriously, just so many libraries – and so by the end of the year, I felt like we’d packed in learning a pretty high volume of Stuff About Libraries.

Now that I’m doing my library MA, through distance learning at Aberystwyth, there’s plenty more to learn. And when I finish that, there’s chartership, and hopefully one day learning to manage other people – and by the time I get there, I’m sure librarianship will have evolved further, and so on. Sometimes the things I learn are unexpected – like the time a reader decided she wanted to give me a mini lesson in 12th century sculpture. You get to be a small part of people’s research, and I like getting little snapshots of their interests from time to time.

Currently, I’m finding my way in a whole new environment in the Rad Cam and Wellcome, and enjoying it hugely so far. There will be more to say about all of it at a later date, I am sure, but it all seems to be falling into place. More of the things I have come to love about libraries, and some totally new things too. I’m a happy library bunny.

A Library Sonnet

I've neglected this blog lately. I have been lacking bloggish inspiration, but I'm hoping to post properly again soon. In the meantime, what I have been writing in the last couple of months is lots of sonnets (I find the satisfaction of churning out metre and rhyme quite soothing), and I wrote one about working in libraries. It’s not a literary achievement, but I was mildly pleased, so I'm posting it here to get back into the swing of blogging.

(A note on metre: I lack the discipline for iambic pentameter, so I often write in tetrameter. There’s a reason this isn't so common – it’s cumbersome and the rhymes get buried!)

Readers, here I sit installed, and ready for your query

Your ally in discovery and resource navigation

I’ll point the way to what you need, from art to quantum theory

(I also offer sympathy, and cheerful conversation).

Come, call on me in tracking down some old, elusive tome

You’re never interrupting me; it’s what I'm here to do

I’ll scour corners hunting titles far adrift from home

And when we find that tiresome book, I'm just as pleased as you.

What I do here may not look hard (compared to your exams)

It’s true, right now I'm stamping – not an onerous affair

Last year I wrestled Sophocles; today it’s paper jams

But library folk are turning cogs you didn't know were there.

The fairies of the stacks; custodians of information

Equipping you as best we can, from start to graduation.

Six Things People Say When I Tell Them I Work In A Library

(Or, The Many Misconceptions of Librarianship)

Since starting work as a Graduate Library Trainee, I have encountered all manner of odd perceptions people have about librarians and people who work in libraries. A Twitter conversation a few weeks ago revealed that some people don't know that being a librarian is a real, full-time job, and not volunteer work! So as many people I know are confused about the nature of librarianship today, this is a short guide to why my job does not involve being a dull, dusty, conservative, draconian introvert (feel free to choose your own variation of collected stereotypes), based on things people say to me when they find out I'm a trainee librarian.

"Oh... you wouldn't think being a librarian would be a graduate job, would you? Although really, I think it's a lovely thing to do with your Cambridge degree!"

Not only is being a proper librarian (something I'm still quite a way off from being) a graduate job, it's a postgraduate job. If I want get the word 'librarian' into a future job title, I will need to do a Masters degree in Library and Information Studies (or similar). It involves learning skills in information organisation and retrieval, management, digital media, IT and research methods, amongst other more specialised knowledge. Managing a library is far more complex than it looks from the outside, and at the moment it's what I want to do with my degree because it's something I believe in the worth of.

“Haha, are you getting good at shushing/telling people off/looking sternly over your glasses, then?”

I haven't done any shushing since I started this job! My job is not to present a front of austerity to readers, in order to intimidate them into submission (if you've met me, you'll know I'm not a very frightening person). I have to be friendly, or readers won't want to approach me with questions, and that's what I'm here for. We're about providing access to our resources, rather than denying it. Though we'd rather you didn't bring your pint into the library...

A well-worn joke worth remembering.

"That's... um... interesting..."

Learning to be an information professional? Learning how to make libraries totally awesome hubs of learning? Yes, it is! Think of librarians as information wizards - masters of finding stuff, both in our libraries and in the vast world of digital information. I think that's cool.

"Is it a good time to get in librarianship, though? In ten year's time there'll be no libraries, what with e-books!"

I've addressed this before, but the main points are 1) we're about information, not books specifically, and there's plenty of that, which leaves lots of stuff for us to organise and help navigate. And 2) I don't believe the book is dying anyway. It's just not the only focus any more. Librarians need to adapt and be flexible and creative to keep up with the changing ways in which readers search for and handle information.

"Oh cool, I sometimes think I'd like to retire and become a librarian - you know, have a quiet life, just surrounded by books for company..."

Librarianship is definitely more about people than it is about books! I wouldn't be very good at putting readers in touch with information if I sat in a quiet corner gathering dust. I'm talking to readers all the time - it's my job to find out what they want from their library, and to give answers to the questions they have, or put them in touch with someone who can. I can be a little bit shy sometimes (those who know me as the loud one: yes, really!), but this job is really getting me connecting and communicating with people.

"Do you wear cardigans all the time?"

...Yes. Okay, you've got me there. But that's just me. There are, of course, many non-becardigan'd librarians. And there's a whole blog dedicated to tattooed librarians and archivists (here).

I'm sure most people do already know that the typical cartoon librarian isn't really an accurate picture of the people who work in libraries. But it is definitely an oddly misrepresented profession, and there are still rather a lot of people who cannot imagine what I do with my day besides stamping and shushing.

Best be off - there's someone talking loudly in the History section...*


*Disclaimer: I'm not actually writing this at work; I have far too much to do there!

The value of specialised libraries for students

I think academic libraries are fantastic. Specifically, I believe that the library systems in place in Oxbridge are part of what makes these universities brilliant. I may well have a biased perspective on this: I’m a Cambridge English graduate, and I’ve just started my first job as a trainee librarian at Oxford. But one of the reasons I want to become an academic librarian is because I really believe in the value of libraries for students.

For the last three years, during my undergraduate studies, I have had access to an outstanding library system. My college library at Selwyn, my faculty library and the University Library combined have provided excellent support for my research and study, and have ensured I have consistently been able to access the materials necessary for my degree.

Talking with my college librarian about the uniqueness and importance of this system, I learnt that there are major changes occurring in the way that the libraries of Cambridge are run and organised, some of which are part of a general trend. Many of the arts faculties are being subsumed under the University Library, with control becoming more centralised (something which has already happened at Oxford). This would seem to lead to homogenisation of the services provided, and potentially less funding for each individual library. Additionally, there is increasing pressure for justification of the purchase of print materials, with calls for more electronic resources. If all print were replaced with ebooks and electronic journals, would we need all of these libraries? Is the idea of the library as a place for physical books, with specialised information professionals, still relevant?

To both these questions, my answer is: yes. Absolutely yes. I’ve hardly begun learning how to be a librarian, so I’m going to come to this issue from the viewpoint of a student: surely quite an important one, being as though academic libraries primarily cater to the needs of students. Undergrads are the foundation of the university. While the research of postgrads and academics is a major part of a university’s reputation, undergrad study forms another significant part. It is also preparation for beginning original research, and at Oxbridge it is second to none.

Ebooks and electronic journals are undoubtedly very useful. For my subject, the weekly essay demands critical background to the texts being studied, and since directly relevant information is often to be found in a small portion of a book or article, it can be helpful to navigate electronic texts using searches for keywords if pushed for time. Additionally, when stuck for critical material at the last minute, electronic resources can be accessed quickly and without a trip to the library (and libraries do tend to be closed at 3 a.m. when such a situation often occurs). Ebooks also help with the problem of several different people all wanting access to the same materials at once.

Notice that these uses of ebooks are mostly in response to problems. Ideally, we would all be prepared and have time to organise the resources we need, read through the entirety of a useful critical text, and not have to fight our fellow students for access. In this situation, I would much prefer to read print, and I believe I am in a significant proportion of students. Print is, in my opinion, still the best way of delivering information. Reading on a screen is not ideal. I own a Kindle, but have not used it at all for academic purposes: it is too difficult to navigate quickly and easily to find quotations. Flicking through a book remains a very effective way of relocating the right section, and has no decent equivalent in electronic reading. Placing markers in pages is difficult without an actual e-reading device, something many students do not have. For all these reasons, I believe that retaining a mixture of media in libraries is important, for both print and electronic resources have their advantages.

The next question is: why all these libraries? Most universities have one central library, or a small number of libraries covering wide areas of study. Cambridge, according to Wikipedia (yes, reliability of sources isn’t my strong point), has 114 libraries. Why do students need college libraries, faculty libraries, and the main university library?

The answer, I believe, also holds the key to the value of libraries and librarians. In a word: specialisation. The librarians of each library tailor their service to the particular needs of their base of students. Of course, very generally, having more libraries means more books, and having more books ensures that each student is more likely to be able to gain access to all the books they need. But more books isn’t the only benefit to more libraries – consolidating all books into one central library, and focusing all funding into one place would achieve this effect, but would not be nearly as effective in my view (of course, in practical terms I imagine it would be difficult to find a site big enough, and to run a library of this size).

This is because each library provides a unique service. To return to my own university education for illustration, I used the three libraries I had access to for different purposes, and I expected different things from each. My college library was the most easily accessible, with very long opening hours and borrowing periods, so if I needed a copy of a core text in a hurry, or for a long period – a major novel, or a central philosophical text, for example – I could usually get it, even at midnight. It was a good place to study within the place I lived, and in addition to academic resources it also supplied DVDs and popular fiction for recreational reading. My subject library, the English Faculty Library, was useful for more specialised English material, such as more obscure texts and a wide range of literary criticism. The librarians there focused their efforts on exactly what English students needed, which included online period-specific and topic-specific material produced to course specifications, and workshops for learning dissertation skills. They also ran Tea at Three sessions, with cake, tea, jigsaw puzzles and Lego, to give students study breaks. Finally, the University Library, being a legal deposit library, had one copy of nearly every book I could ever need, which meant that while it wasn’t so good for popular primary texts, which were often reference-only or already on loan, it was very useful for things like print-only journal articles and esoteric criticism.

I really want to be a part of a body of librarians who are constantly working to improve their service, and make it fit the group of students they cater for. In an increasingly electronic world of information, libraries and librarians are not redundant: rather, they are more needed than ever. They are vital for procuring the right materials, in whichever form is wanted, and for organising a sea of information into an easily-comprehensible system. Finding what you need doesn’t become easier the more information there is. It requires people who are information specialists; people who are dedicated to customising what they offer, and finding out exactly what their readers like and are struggling with. And if readers are grouped into smaller subsections, such as by subject and by college, the chances of their needs being met are much higher, which is extremely important in achieving the best results.

Very rarely was I unable to find the information I needed during my degree. And that’s a system I’m excited about, and want to preserve and develop from the other side of things.

Me

My name is Grace Brown, I'm 21, and I'm just starting my career in the library and information sector. I am currently in a one-year post as a Graduate Library Trainee at St Hilda's College Library in Oxford.

This is the library I'm currently working in:

St Hilda's has quite a big library, considering that it's not one of the older, grander colleges. This is because it used to be a women's college, and women weren't allowed to borrow from the Bodleian, so the college had to build up a strong collection for their students to use.

The library is lovely. It isn't terribly modernised though, so some of my duties as Graduate Trainee are less computerised than those undertaken by trainees in other libraries around Oxford. It doesn't have any electronic security, so I act as the main security system, checking that readers are St Hilda's students and that they don't have any un-issued books in their bags. Spine labels are still printed using a typewriter (way more fun), and individual periodicals are indexed on cards. All other items are catalogued on an OPAC, but it's not the system nearly every other library in Oxford uses, which is called SOLO. We use a system called Heritage instead.

What else do I do? I've been working there for less than two weeks so far, and we don't have many readers around because it's the vacation, so I haven't performed the full range of duties yet, but I'm getting the hang of some of my main jobs. I open up the library in the morning, as I'm usually the first one there, and switch everything on. I process new books that have been bought or donated, which involves sticking various labels in books, and stamping various surfaces, as well as jacketing the paperbacks (which takes surprising precision). I answer reader enquiries (or, more correctly, at the moment I mostly redirect enquiries to the Assistant Librarian, because I don't know the answers). I accession (add to the catalogue) new periodicals. I've also had the glamorous job of overhauling the stationery, as the store rooms of St Hilda's were a little disorganised (I found sealing wax, ink wells, a box of animal skulls and newspaper articles from 1893). Additionally, I shelve returned items. These are all quite basic jobs, but vital for the running of the library, and also vital to learn how to perform properly in the course of training to be a librarian.

After this year, I would really like to get a job as a Library Assistant at another library in Oxford or Cambridge, because I like the environment and the massive network of libraries in both universities. I also want to begin my Masters in Library and Information Management at some point, as I need this qualification to become a full librarian. I'd love to be in charge of a faculty library one day, particularly an arts or humanities faculty, but that's a long way from here...