Trainee Profile: Nigel Buckley


Hi everyone I’m Nigel - now, I do know that it’s already December, and I also know that I have taken quite some time to get around to blogging about my time as a graduate trainee at Brunel University Library, but that is only a reflection of just how much of an exciting, hectic, and exhilarating time it has been for me. I urge, sincerely, anyone who is thinking that this profession is for them to apply for the position (if it is run here next year, which I hope it is!). Now, one thing is for sure, get some experience first (there’s a ton of libraries around, and librarians, being friendly and approachable people, will be more than happy to let you volunteer).  I urge for the acquisition of experience first in order to dispel any myths you may hold – librarianship and the information profession, despite what the media tells, us is an incredibly rich, varied, dynamic, hugely enjoyable and rewarding career. Of course it is: interesting people use libraries, and to borrow a sentence from Jorge Louis Borges, “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

You might/will find yourself working in libraries that involve functioning in an environment far removed from what is thought of as librarianship. I have met people that work in law and accountancy firms, and often people do not even have “library” or “librarian” in the job title. At Brunel some surprising aspects of the job (very enjoyable aspects, but not necessarily things that are commonly associated with the job) have been giving classes, helping a student find his shoe (his left one weirdly - I’ve always said I’d definitely steal the right one if I was to steal a shoe at all – answers as to why I would do that in an e-mail please!) and a lot of fixing technology and equipment. Other things I have done are data-entry, cataloging, and visiting conferences and other libraries. In this job, I immediately felt like I had really landed in the information profession – I felt like I had a friendly, wide, and large professional community. Going to the “Applying to Library School” conference really helped strengthen this sense, as did meeting prospective library school students and other graduate trainees.

Further to my thoughts on the job are some thoughts on moving to London. Moving here was hard, I admit it OK? I denied it for several months but I eventually accepted my feelings towards the place, so I thought that here I could offer some advice for using the Tube:
  1. Never look people in the eye – this one is easy and pretty much common knowledge.
  2. Never (I stress this one) strike up a conversation, even if you’re sat in the 4 seats that face each other and you're crammed against the window in-between a dialogue between three others. DO NOT offer advice or in fact even comment.
  3. If the train brakes suddenly, and it’s a cramped tube, and you fall, DO NOT hold on to somebody for stability. Hit the deck, crash to the carriage floor, because it is less harmful, less painful and less awkward than trying to explain why you supposedly “inappropriately” touched somebody.
  4. If you are thinking about applying for some of these positions in London do move with time to find somewhere and DO have a good look around. DON’T live somewhere that is only 'ok'.

London is a great city, and of course there’s always plenty to do, but equally, the same can be said of the campus at Brunel. I’ve really tried to take advantage of the vast amount of extra-curricular activities on offer. There are plenty of lectures in the evening, which makes me feel like I’m still a part of that learned and learning environment. Additionally, there’s the Arts Centre that offers courses, and there’s the International School that offers FREE language classes. Get looking at these very early because they are snapped up within minutes of the start of term.

Finally, I would like to add a note about myself: I studied English and completed an MA in Modern and Contemporary Studies before moving here. Whilst completing the MA I began volunteering at the Literary and Philosophical Society as a library assistant and also worked in a kitchen as a chef for a year after finishing studying. I applied for a lot of these positions, mostly in London because that’s the prominent place that they are offered. Funnily, I was actually interviewed, unsuccessfully, for this position in 2011. So if anyone, unsuccessful in the past is thinking about applying, my advice is to certainly do and use the unsuccessful attempt as something positive.

Tour of Imperial College Library


Yesterday we braved the freezing cold and went on a tour of Imperial College Library (ICL,)  an academic library focusing on traditional full time teaching for science and business studies. Interestingly, its emphasis was not on Special Collections, but on making sure the physical collection (of books) was there to be used- in creating a ‘working collection.’

 In fact, Angus our tour guide, (and a member of ICL staff) told us that most of their students use e-resources, and that the bulk of their budget goes towards updating e-journals (they currently have around 75,000.) According to Angus, Imperial are keen to shift towards electronic collections because of limited study space and a growing number of students. The building itself is large, set out over many floors, and modern in style. It does have a Humanities section, but only a small one, with DVDs, CDs and travel guides included.

What I personally found interesting was that it is open 24/7 and open almost all the year. On Fridays it does close at 3, but this is to allow a weekly computer update. As a result ,  its café (which is unusually  part of the Library itself) stays open until 11, and is also used as a workspace for night-owl students.  Apparently, this was the result of many students requesting 24/7 opening hours, and it is used at all times of the night and in the early hours of the morning, even around 3am.  Imperial has many international students from places like China, who use these opening hours to contact their families. In fact, during busy periods such as exam times, students have even been known to come in with sleeping bags! This may help with the Library’s accessibility, but it does mean that the Library is not as green as it could be, as it has 300 computers which are on all the time and using energy. On the up side, it has put in place recycling facilities, and is working towards reducing its carbon footprint. It also has assistive technology available for students with learning difficulties, including voice recognition software.

One of the key factors of Imperial College Library appears to be study spaces. At the moment, 25% of the study spaces are for groups, and 25% is for silent study only. They are also keen on providing their students a range of study spaces. Study space demand depends on the time of year, especially at busy times. However, as physical stock is reduced to make way for more e-resources, more and more study space is being added. 

Interesting features of Imperial College Library:

·         The Science Museum Library is available through ICL, but it is a very different collection with a different remit. It is separate in this way from ICL.

·         Self-service machines: The self-service machines have been in place for about 8 years, and 75-80% of book issues and returns are processed in this way.

·         Unusually, ICL only charge fines on reserved books, and fines are processed by the College rather than the Library.

·         Interestingly, ICL do not have RFID, as although it is currently a popular technology in many academic libraries,  it was deemed costly to implement and unnecessary given its focus on e-journals.

·         One cool feature was the wide screen in the reception area which lets students know how many PCs are available.

·         It also has group study rooms which are bookable online

·         There is 1 system for printers and copiers throughout the college that is multi-functional. Copiers are operated via the student’s card, instead of using change.

·         It has a large collection of loanable maps

·         It is part of the ‘Research, Reserve’ Project

·         It also keeps music scores and has links with the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art.

·         Works closely with the SU and with other academic departments. It even has its own stall at the Freshers’ Fair each year, and does ‘treasure hunts’ (with chocolate as a prize!) during library inductions. This emphasizes the library’s keenness to engage with its students on many different levels.

·         ICL is part of the SCONUL Band A access scheme, although they do have to prioritize their own students over visitors and space is limited.

·         Their current LMS is Unicorn/Symphony, but they are intending to change to ALMA, which supports collaboration between other institutions and enhances efficiency.

·         ICL’s website will be relaunched next year.

·         It is part of the social media zeitgeist, with its own Facebook and Twitter page active and running.  The ICL catalogue is even searchable via an app on Facebook.

·         ICL also has ‘phone hoods’ (small cushioned booths fixed to walls) that muffle the noise of users who want to use their phone for calls.

·         ICL’s Subject Librarians also do drop-in sessions for students.

·         Originally, the ICL classification scheme was UDC (Universal Decimal Classification) but for the last 5 years it has been changed to Dewey. However, Angus does warn that some items may still be classified by UDC.

So now the bullet-points are over, what else was intriguing about the tour? One thing I found particularly helpful was the session we had at the end, where we talked about the tour and Angus answered our questions, particularly on the benefit of LIS courses.  One of the reasons I undertook my Library Science course was to improve my career prospects, so I was surprised to hear that, although ICL try to support at least one or two people to go through library school, not all library staff (at Imperial) have LIS qualifications.  However, Angus did warn that the LIS market is highly competitive, and that the skills needed to become LIS professional are changing. Now there is a strong emphasis on user education, particularly at ICL, reflected in issues such as information literacy, Open Access publishing and what to do about plagiarism. Librarians currently do a lot of teaching using VLEs, and there is a stronger focus on improving and promoting standards of customer service.  Customer service is vital to ICL because it facilitates staff in working out what students what, and how to deliver a service that reflects those needs. In fact, there is even an M25 Consortium sub group looking specifically at customer service.

Overall, I found the tour very informative. It was interesting to see how a large-scale academic library in the science and business field operated, and whether it was any different to Humanities or arts libraries. Thanks goes to Angus  for taking us around the Library and telling us all about its features. The general focus seemed to be on keeping up with technological changes, implementing dynamic, useful technology, (eg. Self issue) providing support for its diverse range of students, and keeping up to date with latest editions of textbooks and course reading.  ICL also seems keen to promote the benefits of science to a wider audience, including school children.  From a personal viewpoint, it was also encouraging to see how busy the Library was when we visited- although that may be due to it being near the end of term! It is always good to know that academic libraries are being used and valued by their students, and I found it beneficial to visit an academic library that caters to a very specific branch of learning (i.e. science.)

Useful links:
Imperial College Library: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library
Science Museum Library and Archives: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/library/
Imperial College Library Online Catalogue (requires login) : http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library/find/catalogue
Information on how to access Imperial’s e-resources: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library/find/howto
Imperial College Library Facebook Page: en-gb.facebook.com/imperialcollegelondon



CPD25 'Applying To Study Library And Information Science ... And Beyond: A One-Day Conference

CPD25 conference report.

By Katherine Quinn (IHR)

On Friday graduate library trainees from across the country trooped down to the cpd25 conference on applying to library school (and, added in a slightly Buzz Lightyear esque vibe “and beyond!”) armed with two months of trainee experience and a complementary canvas bag full of pertinent questions. Delivered in the form of several presentations by library professionals, lecturers at library schools, and ending with a panel discussion by recent library school graduates, the day’s objective was to leave us better informed about the Masters qualifications that are available and about what life as a professional librarian might be like. From my own point of view, I was most interested in getting an impression of the realistic prospects of employment post Masters and whether the financial commitment of a library masters would be worthwhile. I was also obviously keen to catch up with the other trainees!
After a predictably awkward coffee and name badge donning session in the venue’s foyer we all piled into the presentation room and kicked off with a keynote speech by Sarah Maule on her journey from an English degree in Sheffield to becoming Physical Resources Manager at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in North Greenwich. As well as showing us that it wasn’t obligatory to be called a librarian when working in a library, Sarah gave a really engaging and informative view of what to expect during the Masters programme at UCL, and how her studies had gone on to inform her career. The fact that Sarah had taken librarianship seriously as a career option since day one of her undergraduate degree, had worked up to 3 part time jobs during her Masters, and had taken the trouble to create a (really very nice looking) numeric representation of key aspects of the course (including total number of words written, number of times she’d cried down to the phone to her mother, total number of books read etc.) all pointed to the fact that she was a highly disciplined and energetic person who clearly loved her job. Rather than being totally daunted Sarah’s dedication and enthusiasm, I definitely came away from her speech feeling motivated not only look again at UCL’s masters programme but also to investigate ways in which I might enrich my training year by badgering colleagues and different departments for work experience, as she had.
After Sarah came Vanda Broughton, Programme Director for the Diploma/MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL, who gave a presentation combining practical information regarding course content and assessment with informal advice on making a successful application to library school (– note to self, she’s amused but not influenced by achievements in overcoming water phobia). As an academic insider and someone with years of experience working in academic, public and school libraries Vanda made several really interesting points:
-          Unlike some taught Masters (such as Brighton) UCL’s programme  combines compulsory units with optional ones that would allow a more personally tailored experience.
-          When being interviewed for a place UCL (something they currently do for all applicants) it is important to mention particular career interests we have so that the tutors can better advise us on course options.
-          She was keen to emphasise the continued relevance of traditional skills such as Cataloguing and Classification.
-          The value of working part time in a library alongside studying in order to better engage practice with theory was also underlined.
After another talk extolling the virtues of Twitter by Sarah Ison, a lunch break and a course fayre (with stands provided by UCL, Loughborough, Sheffield, Aberystwth, UEA and Brighton – I think…any others?!) we settled back down to more talks from recently qualified librarians. Sophie Pattison was a health care librarian currently working at UCL’s Biomedical Science’s department, and Helen Murphy worked at Trinity College Cambridge. Without wishing to bore on with too many details, my main impressions from these two speakers included, again, their job satisfaction, and also the diversity of roles available in academic libraries. Although it’s not an avenue I see myself going down, it was interesting to hear about Sophie’s transition from a career as an occupational therapist to working in medical libraries since it highlighted the degree of specialisation possible in a library and information sciences career.
I definitely left the event feeling more optimistic and energised about librarianship, but I still don’t think I will be doing the Masters next year. There was a huge emphasis placed throughout the day on the importance of volunteering in order to get first in line for future employment opportunities and promotions and while there may well be time for a bit of this within a full time working week, I fear that this culture of working for free can not only be sometimes unrealistic, but also can lead to the exclusion of those people who are not wealthy enough to fund themselves while they volunteer. It also seems pretty clear that while some grants and bursaries for Masters still exist, the opportunities for such financial help are narrowing with every year. All in all, however, it was a valuable and interesting day, rounded off nicely by a drink at the Marlborough Arms where we discussed our commitment to the ‘noble cause’ of librarianship (...but just don’t call it a business... should we? Hmm...).
To round up this rambling first visit report, I would like invite everyone else that went to comment on what they got from the day and what bits they found most/least helpful.
What did everyone think?
Trainee profiles 2012-2013

Institute of Historical Research

Katherine Quinn

I'm Katherine and I'm the graduate library trainee at the Institute of Historical Research based in Bloomsbury's Senate House. I applied for the post while in my final year studying History at UCL. I was drawn to librarianship as a career option after deciding that although - at least for the time being - postgraduate study in history was not right for me, I still wanted to work in an academic environment in a capacity that kept me connected with historical research. I plumped for the IHR over other academic libraries primarily because I saw the role as perfectly combining my enduring interest in history with a more practical and interactive application. It also helped with the post-university/"AHHH real world" blues that I would be working just down the road from where I had enjoyed studying!

At the IHR I work with a small (but perfectly formed) team of librarians and work on both long term projects and more "task" based work. Because only about 30% of the Institute collection is on open access in the library, I spend a fair amount of every day going up in the tower of Senate House to locate and retrieve requested items for readers. While I generally don't mind this duty at all, my heart sinks when I see a form requesting a Journal of the House of Commons/Lords - huge, incredibly dusty, and disintegrating folios, many of which have a habit of hurling themselves off the shelves at you in a desperate bid to escape their general disarray. I also lost the keys to the tower lift  in my second week in the job and had an interesting time wandering about on the 18th floor wondering how long it would take for anyone in the office to notice I was missing (turns out, about forty minutes). Aside from these daily duties, my main longer term project at the moment is in creating individual records for the hundreds of seventeenth and eighteenth century British poll books held by the IHR. So far it's been a really valuable task not only because at the end of the day I can observe with satisfaction a growing stack of logically and usefully classified books, but also because the relative simplicity of their records has given me a useful introduction to cataloguing. When I am finished with the poll books I will be moving on to help reclassify the US States collection - ideal, since it will represent not only a graduation in record complexity, but also should bolster my pub quiz utility since I'll hopefully pick up a bit of US geography general knowledge along the way.

While my short time at the IHR has confirmed librarianship as a career goal for me, working here has also opened my eyes to the huge diversity of jobs that exist within the information sector - and specifically within academic researcg libraries - meaning that at this stage I am undecided about the avenue I will end up going down in the long term. While it's not part of present my job in the library, I'm really interested in the digital publications provided by the IHR and would also like to learn about electronic archives and special collections in the future. With that in mind, I am really looking forward to the trainee librarian trips that are coming up since they should better inform my thoughts regarding what next after the IHR.

Trainee Profile: Katharine Williams

I’m Kat, one of two graduate trainees based at City University. Right now I’m working in the Cyril Kleinwort Learning Resource Centre at Cass Business School, but halfway through the year I’ll swap with Catherine and move to the main library site at Northampton Square. The six month exchange is a great system as it really gives us two-traineeships-in-one. We’ve been updating each other on our experiences and so far they seem quite different.
The LRC has a library of over 30,000 books and ebooks, thousands of journals and an extensive portfolio of databases, all pertaining to business and finance. It’s not a subject I had much background in, but I’ve learned a lot (it’s impressive what you can do with a Bloomberg machine!) and besides, specialist knowledge is not necessary; it’s my customer-service skills that get the most practice. The library is used primarily by postgraduate students of Cass Business School, but also by undergraduates, staff and alumni. Its relatively small size makes it an ideal place to begin training as I get to experience all the general library tasks as well as see what the other librarians are working on. I was originally a little disappointed that there would be no rare book collection to moon over, but actually this high-spec library, with more computer terminals than bookcases, offers thrills of its own, and has opened my eyes to a more modern definition of the academic library.
My own background, as I’ve said, is not in business. In fact it’s not even in libraries, unless you count the many hours I’ve spent as a patron. So how did I get here?! I read Classics, English and Theology at Durham and was in charge of communications for my college student union. I was looking at a range of jobs in the information/communication field when I came across the CILIP website. Librarianship ticks all the boxes for me as a career – books, customer-service, innovation (social media!) and organisation to the point of obsession - while the trainee system offers a valuable support network and the opportunity to attend visits and courses. I applied for a number of the graduate traineeships listed on the website, and was lucky enough to be offered a place at City. I’m now learning as much as I can and making plans for library school next year.

Trainee Profile: Catherine Gregory

Hi, I'm Catherine and I'm one of two graduates currently undertaking the training scheme at City University London. I'm planning on studying my Master's in Library Science or Information Science next year, but haven't quite made up my mind which would be the most suitable yet!

Having studied History at Cambridge University, I have spent many years of my life in libraries and it's brilliant to glimpse what takes place behind the scenes. My love of books and my passion for learning inspired me to seek a career in this sector.

I previously volunteered at my local library back home in Yorkshire, enjoying the opportunity to work with a small but well-loved collection of books and being part of the community. I also undertook a period of work experience at the Thackray Medical Museum, working in the historic medical library behind the scenes. It was a true insight into the amount of literature and research that goes into each exhibition and it also brought me face-to-face with the realities of librarianship, as well as rather a lot of dust!

Last year, I worked as Caseworker for a Member of Parliament. My role included undertaking research into both local and Parliamentary issues, and communicating findings with constituents. A great deal of my role was customer service-based, with answering the phones to constituents who wished to discuss a wide range of problems, from imminent homelessness to strong feelings on the legalisation of gay marriage. I enjoyed attending surgeries with the MP, meeting constituents face to face, and was determined to continue working in a customer-facing role. However, I wanted to find a long-term career that I was truly interested in. I turned to the library - where I've always felt at home.

During my time at City University London so far, I've been specialising in Digitisation. My work includes requesting digitised extracts from the British Library to add to our Reading Lists Online, and ensuring that all online information complies with our copyright licensing agreement. My background is in the arts rather than technology, so it's been a good introduction to new software and technology as part of my training. I also spend part of my day on the library service desk, serving students, assisting them with their enquiries and keeping an eye on printers and photocopiers. I hope to gain more responsibility as time goes on and to visit many other libraries.




Trainee Profile: Eleanor Keane


Trainee Profile:  Eleanor Keane

Hello, I’m Eleanor and I work with Harriet (Lam) as a Graduate Trainee Library Assistant in the Courtauld Institute of Art Book Library. I started here in September after working at Goldsmiths College Library, City University Library, and City Law School Library. I’ve also done volunteer work in the specialist Women’s Art Library and volunteer work and training at the Feminist Library (both very useful resources with diverse collections) that educated me on aspects of ‘radical’ independent librarianship . (I even ended up writing an article for their newsletter!)

After working in Goldsmiths College Library, I decided that I really liked working in that environment, that I enjoyed helping students with their enquiries and that I wanted to learn more about what was happening in the information sector.  After doing some more research into information studies courses and the information sector, I decided to do an MSc in Library Science at City University. I chose this course because I thought it would be a good grounding in the fundamentals of library science, because it was accredited by CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) and because it was situated in London where there are many different and interesting libraries to research.  I really enjoyed my course and would recommend it to anyone thinking of undertaking a course in information studies/library studies. I felt it was particularly strong on Web 2.0, digital libraries, and the publishing sector, plus it gave students a lot of scope when it came to choosing the topic of their final dissertation. Whilst studying I was also lucky enough to get a post working as a shelving assistant in City University Library, where I learnt a lot about working in a law library, and dealing with a range of user enquiries.  I also did the ’23 Things’ programme on e-resources.

I  was thrilled when I saw this post advertised. I was keen to learn more about art librarianship and about working for an art library. I have always loved visiting art galleries and museums, so I felt that this post would fit well into that, too. The Courtauld Institute is one of the most prestigious art institutes in the UK, and I felt that this post would be an excellent opportunity to train, learn and grow as an information professional. So far I’ve learnt about dealing with interlibrary loans, cataloguing, handling closed-access material and had the chance to see some truly rare books. (The Courtauld has a Closed-Access section of books dating from before 1850, and many have interesting provenances.) I also work with people who are passionate about art and about preserving and maintaining these collections for future use. My work involves doing interlibrary loans, (wo)manning the issue desk,  collecting Closed-Access material, processing short loan books, handling telephone enquiries and informing students about things like our opening hours  and our collection times. I feel very lucky to have a full-time position here at the Courtauld, where I feel I can make a positive contribution to this art library, and find out more about its extensive and fascinating collections.
The Courtauld Institute Book Library:  http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/booklibrary/index.shtml
The Courtauld Institute Book Library Blog: hhttp://www.courtauldbooklibrary.wordpress.com/
Women's Art Library: http://www.gold.ac.uk/make/
The Women's Library: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/  (From 2013 the Women's Library will be based at LSE)
City University Library Science Home Page: http://www.city.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/library-science

Trainee Profile: Harriet Lam

Hi, I’m Harriet, one of two trainees from The Courtauld Institute of Art Book Library. Unlike many previous trainees from the Courtauld I don’t have an arts background. I studied English literature at Leeds University, followed by a masters specialising in gothic & postmodern literature, with as many visual art elements as I could get away with. After graduating it took me a year & a bit of working in restaurant kitchens to realise that I actually wanted to work in libraries. Having spent four years studying in libraries but never thinking to get behind the issue desk, I found it difficult to get any work in the academic sector, so opted to go back to school & get my masters in Library & Information Management at MMU. This was an invaluable experience, not least because it finally got me some work at the end of it. It also provided me with a placement at the North West Film Archive, which really got me interested in working in the arts sector; & I made a lot of amazing friends – because as we all know, librarians are the best. Since then I have done various bits & bobs, volunteering in the third sector doing image library / digital asset management systems work, most notably at Médecins Sans Frontières; working Sundays in a public library in Westminster; & doing digitisation work at Birkbeck College as part of the e-services team. 

All of which brings me up to date, to the Courtauld. For me, one of the huge benefits of working here is getting to learn more about art – through reader enquiries, acquisitions work, nosing around in special collections, attending events hosted by the research forum, and working with hugely knowledgeable colleagues in the book library. My general duties include running the internal half of the interlibrary loan service, accessioning purchases & donations, issue desk shifts, managing our monthly new books display, photocopier maintenance… & more. I still have lots more to learn, so I look forward to all the training sessions & library visits in the coming year!

Top Ten Tips for Trainees


Schoolgirl with books on head
Image via Flickr user CollegeDegrees360

A humorous post from the excellent library blog Don't Call Me Miss!, giving some basic advice to incoming trainees:

It’s that time of year when Graduate Trainees start to appear in Libraries up and down the country*. I loved my trainee year, it was oodles of fun, partly because there were four of us and partly because I’d just moved down to the big smoke, but also because librarians are, on the whole, a lovely lot. I learned a lot that year and over the following years and there is some advice that I always like to share with aspiring librarians, whether they like it or not, because giving unsolicited advice is fun. So I present to you….
My Top Ten Tips for Trainees!
Number one: Do not believe a student who says to you that the printer is a. jammed, b. out of toner or c. out of paper. Because 9 times out of 10, by the time you have hauled a load of paper or toner over there, or found the keys and a colleague to show you how to unjam it, you will discover that the printer is actually fine and what they really mean is “I don’t know how to print.”
Number two**: See above, re photocopying.
Number three: Do not show up on your first day in a suit, there’s really no point. You will be in jeans by the end of the week.***
Read the rest here.

Trainee Profiles 2011 - 2012

Institute of Classical Studies Library


Hannah Dingwall


I have always enjoyed libraries. Aside from spending a great deal of time in them, both for leisure and study, at school I was a member of the library committee, helping to select new books. When I went to university to study Classics, I became a member of the library committee of the Oxford Union, which managed the collection and budget of the Union’s specialist library. However, I didn’t consider librarianship as a career until a chance conversation with a friend in my final year, who mentioned that her brother was doing a library traineeship. It sounded interesting, and so I began to do some research. Resources like the CILIP website, and online projects such as Library Day in the Life and Library Routes helped to paint a picture of just how diverse and interesting librarianship could be, and with visions of cranky spinsters with multiple cats dispelled, I realized that librarianship might be a good fit with my skills and interests. I applied for several traineeships and was delighted to be accepted by the Institute of Classical Studies, where I could get a taste of the subject while also being able to use my degree. The library is small and very specialist, its collection mainly consisting of the collections of the Societies for the Promotion of Hellenic and Roman Studies, as well as the reference collection of the Institute of Classical Studies. My day-to-day work varies. Sometimes I work on the desk, where I handle enquiries from readers (ranging from how to use the online catalogue to discussions of ancient Greek grammar), sign up new members for the societies, maintain the library’s blog, and send out books to members and for review in the societies’ journals. At other times, I’m behind the scenes, processing newly acquired books, repairing damaged books, and working on various projects (currently, a redesign of the material promoting our electronic resources).


Courtauld Institute of Art Library


Anna Casey


I studied Ceramics for two years before undertaking a BA in Illustration at University College Falmouth. After finishing my degree I went straight into the Information Management in the Cultural Sector Masters programme at City University in London, and passed with a merit in December 2011. Whilst doing my undergrad degree I worked in the University library for 3 years. In this time I was part of 3 major projects, one of which was the implementation of RFID. I enjoyed my job as much as my degree and thought that combining them in some way would be a good career move for the future.

I chose the IMCS course because it was the only Cilip accredited programme that lent towards the arts as well as information management/library studies. The combination of practical and theoretical study was stimulating and I found that you could easily tailor assignments to your own personal interests and that this was encouraged and supported by lecturers. To further my career progression into Art Librarianship I applied for the Graduate Trainee position at the Courtauld, as again, it is the only placement that specifically met my requirements of being a solely arts based library. I am hoping to go on into arts specific user education, for practice based art courses and research.


Institute of Historical Research Library

Hannah Pope

Having used libraries throughout my history degree at Edinburgh, I decided in my final year to apply for a library traineeship to explore a career in an environment I had always enjoyed. I had gained some insight into the career by talking to librarians whilst working as a shelving assistant at the University of Edinburgh’s main library and after desperately googling something along the lines of ‘is there anything I can do with a history degree?’ I found links to the CILIP website. The idea of a traineeship was very appealing as it meant I was able to give myself a trial period to see whether or not this was a career I wanted to pursue. The trainee position at the IHR sounded perfect as it combined my academic and career interests and having had an offer I immediately accepted the job. The IHR’s collection is based on primary sources to provide students and academics with a ‘historical workshop’. The amount of material held published prior to the 20th century makes quite a change from the books I was used to during my degree, and has shown me some of the challenges of maintaining a collection. Working at the IHR has given me a fantastic insight into the profession as a whole, and has opened my eyes to a range of jobs I had no idea previously existed. The trainee post has allowed me to visit other libraries to get a taste for those outside of the academic sphere which has been really enlightening so far, and career development events have been particularly useful in broadening my expectations of librarianship.

Courtauld Institute of Art Library

Jennifer Laurenson

I have been interested in pursuing a career in librarianship since taking part in work experience in the Library and Collections of the Royal Academy of Arts when I was at university. I studied History of Art at the University of Warwick and by the time I graduated in 2009, I had researched routes into librarianship and applied for several graduate traineeships. Though I was unsuccessful the first two years I applied for traineeships, I was undeterred. I worked for a year in a customer service role for local government and was able to take some time out to travel. Then - third time's the charm - I was thrilled to be offered the traineeship that most appealed to me, at the Courtauld Institute of Art. I am thoroughly enjoying my time in the book library of the Courtauld. My colleagues are fantastic and the work that I do interesting and varied. Being a graduate trainee at the Courtauld is great as they provide a lot of training and chances to be involved in the work of every department in the library. My day-to-day duties include accessioning new books, dealing with inter-library loans, checking in new journals and working on the issue and enquiries desk. Courtauld graduate trainees are lucky to be trained in cataloguing and I am excited to put this into practice with a retrospective cataloguing project. I also enjoy the external library visits and training workshops, and the chance to speak to graduate trainees at other libraries.
Though it might not have seemed it at the time, I think it was better for me not go straight into a traineeship from my undergraduate degree. The work and life experiences I had before starting at the Courtauld were invaluable and have helped me in this role. By applying three years in a row it showed, not least myself, how determined I was to pursue librarianship as a career. My time at the Courtauld has only strengthened this conviction and I am currently applying to library schools for next year.

Follow @jenlaurenson

City University Library

Mark Pexton


Before coming to City I studied Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. I then spent a year working for Kent Libraries and Archives as a Customer Services Assistant as well as doing work experience in other libraries.
My motivation for working in libraries came from a number of reasons; the opportunity to do research, work with information technology, work for organisations aimed at the public good and ultimately my own personal love of libraries. I came to discover that there were many other reasons why I wanted to pursue this career including my introduction to classification of material.
In my traineeship at City University I currently have my time at the main university site split between working in Acquisitions, Inter-Library Loans and on the Service Desk. I will spend the second half of my traineeship at Cass Business School. I have found the job a superb introduction to a career in librarianship. I plan to study for the MA in Information Studies at the University of Brighton full time this September and am looking forward to this next stage of my career. At the moment I am looking to stay in academic libraries.
Here are the links to the profiles from previous years:

2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008

BBC Archive Centre



Image via the BBC

Last Tuesday, the Library Trainees found themselves inside a big blue box containing all of time and space, floating outside this galaxy. That's perhaps a slight exaggeration, but as they visited the BBC's purpose-built archive centre at Perivale, containing over 12 million documents, radio programmes, television programmes, photos, sheet music and vinyl collections, it's only a slight one. 

One of these people is not a library trainee. 

Located in a former Cadbury's factory, the facility has been constructed to order to deal with the unique needs of this astoundingly comprehensive archive. Nine climate controlled vaults, each with individually adjustable temperature and relative humidity, take up much of the space, filled with rows and rows of rolling stacks - nearly 60 miles worth, if put end to end.

Image via M&H Online


The archive aims not only to store for posterity the different forms of media produced by the BBC, but it is also a working resource providing information and items for use or research - if a programme or documentary shows a clip from a BBC programme, it has almost certainly been sought out and copied by the industrious elves working away deep within the Archives. Specialized researchers also respond to queries about footage and sounds from the ridiculous to the sublime ("footage of the Titanic sailing into New York" was one example of the former). 

Image via Bruynzeel

Growing at a rate of over 6000 hours of radio and over 1500 hours of television every month, and containing everything from early cylinder recordings to the entire back catalogue of Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, the archive is astonishing in its breadth and depth.

Further info:

Guardian Tech Weekly podcast about the Archives: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/audio/2010/aug/18/bbc-archive-roly-keating-windmill-road

Web 2.0 continued...

Web 2.0 tools for librarians
A group of us recently went for a talk with subject librarian at SHL Colin Homiski to learn more about that nebulous term that’s been floating about for a while, ‘Web 2.0’. Before this talk I figured that I had a pretty good handle on Web 2.0 and the interactive side to the net. I was in for a surprise. Not only was Colin able to shed light on some fantastic technologies that will save me and many others a great deal of time and effort, but he demonstrated just how far the internet can now ‘work for you’.
In opposition to Web 1.0 where the action is taken by an individual to seek out information, with Web 2.0 this activity is reciprocal between the user and the net. This goes so much further than the social networking sites we are all too familiar with such as facebook or twitter, and beyond the two-way approach of sites like Wikipedia. Academic and career resources can now be made all the more accessible using Web 2.0. Here are some of the resources that we discussed that you might want to take a look at, either to help with your budding career as a librarian or just for your own personal interest.

Web readers
To start off with something really simple to make life easier and collate your usual web browsing into one straightforward activity, a web reader is a fantastic resource. These readers aggregate the RSS feeds from all of your favourite websites placing them on one manageable page. There a quite a few to choose from including FeedReader, Google Reader and Sage (as an add-on for Firefox). The Firefox add-on is said to be the easiest to use and the most interactive, but as an android user with a gmail account already set up I’ve always opted for the Google Reader which is still pretty good. Once you’ve started adding the RSS feeds of the websites you want to ‘follow’, you can categorise them into different folders and star posts or pages of particular importance. This means there is no need to use separate readers for work and home and in typical Google fashion they’re unbelievably easy to manage. Many of us nowadays are followers of blogs, and Google Reader is what I use to keep up to date with new posts rather than trying to remember all the blogs I follow and check them individually. Web readers will show you when a new post has been added and will allow you to click through to the actual site if you choose. It’s basically a good introduction to how useful and time saving Web 2.0 technologies can be and is a great place to start.  

Delicious
This is a site that a fair few of us had either heard of or were already using and is a nice way of ‘organising’ the net that goes beyond simply clicking ‘add to favourites’ in your web browser. While web readers are great for sites with RSS feeds, Delicious allows you to compile information from website into ‘stacks’ of related material that you and others can easily browse. Delicious is a great example of how ‘tagging’ can be used to help sort information. Colin helpfully explained how with Web 1.0 it is necessary to used ‘controlled vocabulary’, for example like that used in library catalogues where certain terms correlate with certain materials. However with Web 2.0, users specify their own tags that they deem helpful. This is what’s known as ‘folksonomy’ and is one of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0. In Delicious, this means that users can search for stacks of sites by their tags, and thus tag their own stacks accordingly. Delicious is a really easy way of compiling anything on the net that interests you and can be a good way of searching for related content through other people’s stacks.   
Zotero
This was less well known amongst the group than Delicious but is perhaps an even better resource, particularly if you’re studying or undertaking any kind of research. Zotero also relies on tagging in a similar way to Delicious, but is even more customisable and includes handy functions that enable easy citations and adaptable levels of sharing. Any type of file can be stored including PDFs, images, audio and video files and everything is automatically indexed to make searching even easier. This is an ideal resource for anyone undertaking research and there are also cloud computing functions (although these are of course space dependant) so you can access files from other computers.
Pinterest
This is another relatively new resource that adds a ‘Pin it’ button to the toolbar on your browser so you can attach different items from web pages to the virtual drawing boards you create via your own account. These items can then be re-pinned by other users allowing you to connect to their boards and find out other items of interest. While a few eyebrows have been raised regarding copyright laws (as with many aspects of Web 2.0) as to what you can post links and images to, it is currently relatively unrestricted as to what can be posted. This is less of a formal site and most people are using it purely for tracking their own interests and looking at other people’s boards. It probably wouldn’t be too useful in its current version for anything career or work related, though a board can be focussed on any topic you choose.
These are just a small sample of the ways in which Web 2.0 can be used. They sit in quite obvious contrast to the usual controlled taxonomies used by library catalogues and hopefully (though with some moderation), a more interactive approach via Web 2.0 technologies will be used by catalogues and library resources in the future.

Web 2.0 for Librarians

A group our library trainees recently attended a presentation by Senate House academic liaison librarian Colin Homiski on the uses of Web 2.0 applications for libraries and information professionals. The session focused particularly on new structures for licencing and accessing data, such as Creative Commons, open access, and institutional digital repositories, and on new structures for finding and organising information, such as online readers, Delicious and Zotero. Have a look at his presentation here: Librarianship in the 21st century - Technology 2.0 - (Librarians as Technologists)

The Warburg Institute Library

Warburg Institute
"This is no place for idleness - be gone, time waster" 
Image via Flickr user Alastair Dunning.

The Library emerged as a weapon of enlightenment against orthodox dogmatism: Luther; the French Revolution; Sciences; Liberating the right to think for oneself.
Thus wrote Aby Warburg about his library. The eldest son of a prominent German banking family, he ceded his right to the family business to his brother on the condition that he was to be bought any book he required for his studies. Around his profound interest in how the art and culture of the ancient world had influenced the development of Western civilization, the library grew up. Ultimately, he developed his personal collection into the library at the heart of a research institute, attracting a community of renowned scholars, their output and the library continuing after his death in 1929. With the rise of the Nazis, the entire library and its staff were clandestinely shipped to London, where, after several moves, it settled in Woburn Square. Its dedicated home is, to this day, a strange world of Latin notices, renaissance images, free-flowing tea and holistic classification.

It was the notice welcoming researchers to afternoon tea that we first noticed when we entered the Institute - a sign that the Warburg's sense of scholarly community is as alive as ever. After prying several excited members of our party away from the noticeboard of events, we were welcomed  by our fellow trainee Raphaelle. We first visited the downstairs reading room, home to the recent periodicals and general reference volumes, and all overlooked by a large sign painted on the walls in Latin urging readers to maintain a scholarly silence.  There we were introduced to assistant librarian Dr. François Quiviger, who told us about the history of the library, and about its unique structure and classification system. Having been established from a researcher's private collection and created as an institute for and by researchers, until relatively recently the librarians held no formal LIS qualifications, but were instead researchers active in the fields covered by the library. To this day, many of the staff are also academically active. Dr. Quiviger also explained the structure of the library. Arising from Aby Warburg's own arrangement of his books, the library aims to organise knowledge not in alphabetical order, by place or by person, but rather by flow and reaction. Books are arranged under four principles: Image, Word, Orientation and Action, meant to replicate the flow of human ideas from their perception to their explication, to the responses and reactions they engender. The floors of the library are arranged according to these principles, beginning with Image on the 1st, Word on the 2nd, etc. Dr. Quiviger illustrated how a researcher could physically follow the progression of an idea from the ancient world onwards along shelves and floors. However, despite this holistic arrangement, the books are now catalogued by standard Anglo-American rules, the library having transferred from a system which required the use of Latin accidence...


The Warburg Institute Library classification scheme

We were also shown the Warburg's iconographic database of images drawn from the Institute's photographic collection and library. The Warburg has consistently been at the forefront of digitisation, and this database in progress allows for either classified or keyword searching of images ancient, mediaeval, renaissance and beyond. This runs in tandem with the Warburg's long-running book digitisation project, which allows them to make otherwise fragile or rare works available easily to researchers either as online PDFs or as durable reprints on the library shelves.

Afterwards, we were taken on a tour of the library by Raphaelle, where we met other members of library staff who explained the library's policies on periodicals, acquisitions and conservation. The latter included some discussion of the library's (at times controvertial) policy of rebinding some damaged or fragile works to allow them to remain in use in the library, rather than risking the volumes becoming unavailable while attempting to maintain the original binding. This triggered a lively discussion about our own libraries policies with regard to repair, conservation and circulation. This was followed by further discussion of the library over tea in the Warburg's welcoming common room.

Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Trust is a global charity with billions of pounds at its disposal. As well as funding vast amounts of medical research, Sir Henry Wellcome envisioned a place where people could come to learn about the many wonders of medicine and its history. The Wellcome Collection provides a fantastic space for this public engagement, housing a café, bookshop, exhibition galleries and a library.


Image via Flickr user Maggie Jones.


A small group of trainees were met and taken upstairs by Amelia, a friendly member of staff from the library. Having been impressed by visits to previous exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection many times before, I wasn’t surprised to encounter a fantastic library facility. With a vast number of reading rooms and an extensive collection ranging from biology and the usual sciences to magic and the occult, the library has plenty to keep your mind occupied; and membership is open to everyone. There are beautiful paintings hanging on the walls, whilst the shelves, desks and facilities are all brand new. In addition to the many books available on the shelves there is a large reserve collection including moving image material and special collections are able to be viewed in an allocated room in the depths of the library.

After being shown around the entire library we spent some time looking at the library website, hearing about Wellcome’s extensive digitisation project. We also had a look at a special project called ‘Wellcome Images’ which contains a vast array of images on things ranging from diseases to tattoo designs. You can access it by clicking here. At the end of the tour, my enthusiasm for the Wellcome Collection only increased and I certainly look forward to my next visit.

Joe (IALS)

Westminster Reference Library

Westminster Reference Library is tucked away behind the National Portrait Gallery but it is one of the busiest public libraries I have ever been in.
Image via Flickr user Jamie Barras.
It is a hidden gem in the West End that not only houses an incredible collection of print and electronic resources, but it is also a hub of culture and innovation with rolling exhibitions, installations and live events. As a reference library it has had to think on its feet to keep people coming through the doors in recent years, due to the availability and dependence on increasing online resources. It offers free WiFi for laptop and smart device users, and PC’s to connect to the internet for anyone else who wants to get online. Its core subject areas of Art & design, Business, Law, Performing Arts and UK Official Publications are comprehensive and the whole collection is used imaginatively to support the many live events that also take place. The library hosts group study space that can be booked, a suite of PC’s that allow access to a wide range of online databases, in-house only resources and mailing lists that would be otherwise inaccessible to small businesses and people starting up on their own. The library has moved on from being strictly reference only and has a collection of around 10,000 loanable items and has an incredibly knowledgeable staff who are on hand to advise and help with queries.

This is the library I remember of my youth in terms of feel and staff that instil you with the confidence that they can find a solution to any query. Nostalgia is often the word used when people discuss their love of libraries or indeed the reason people will fight to keep them running. If nothing else this library is a testament to how public libraries should adapt for the future and the attitude they should adopt when trying to demonstrate how a community will suffer without it. The library answers to its user group which is truly eclectic and I would imagine, demanding with a footfall averaging 1,000 people a day to use the range of services it offers; it cannot be denied that this is a public library that goes above and beyond expectations.

Image via Flickr user Jamie Barras. 

Anna (Courtauld)

Trainee Profiles 2011 - 2012

Institute of Classical Studies Library
Hannah Dingwall

I have always enjoyed libraries. Aside from spending a great deal of time in them, both for leisure and study, at school I was a member of the library committee, helping to select new books. When I went to university to study Classics, I became a member of the library committee of the Oxford Union, which managed the collection and budget of the Union’s specialist library. However, I didn’t consider librarianship as a career until a chance conversation with a friend in my final year, who mentioned that her brother was doing a library traineeship. It sounded interesting, and so I began to do some research. Resources like the CILIP website, and online projects such as Library Day in the Life and Library Routes helped to paint a picture of just how diverse and interesting librarianship could be, and with visions of cranky spinsters with multiple cats dispelled, I realized that librarianship might be a good fit with my skills and interests. I applied for several traineeships and was delighted to be accepted by the Institute of Classical Studies, where I could get a taste of the subject while also being able to use my degree. The library is small and very specialist, its collection mainly consisting of the collections of the Societies for the Promotion of Hellenic and Roman Studies, as well as the reference collection of the Institute of Classical Studies. My day-to-day work varies. Sometimes I work on the desk, where I handle enquiries from readers (ranging from how to use the online catalogue to discussions of ancient Greek grammar), sign up new members for the societies, maintain the library’s blog, and send out books to members and for review in the societies’ journals. At other times, I’m behind the scenes, processing newly acquired books, repairing damaged books, and working on various projects (currently, a redesign of the material promoting our electronic resources).

Courtauld Institute of Art Library
Anna Casey

I studied Ceramics for two years before undertaking a BA in Illustration at University College Falmouth. After finishing my degree I went straight into the Information Management in the Cultural Sector Masters programme at City University in London, and passed with a merit in December 2011. Whilst doing my undergrad degree I worked in the University library for 3 years. In this time I was part of 3 major projects, one of which was the implementation of RFID. I enjoyed my job as much as my degree and thought that combining them in some way would be a good career move for the future.
I chose the IMCS course because it was the only Cilip accredited programme that lent towards the arts as well as information management/library studies. The combination of practical and theoretical study was stimulating and I found that you could easily tailor assignments to your own personal interests and that this was encouraged and supported by lecturers. To further my career progression into Art Librarianship I applied for the Graduate Trainee position at the Courtauld, as again, it is the only placement that specifically met my requirements of being a solely arts based library. I am hoping to go on into arts specific user education, for practice based art courses and research.

Institute of Historical Research Library
Hannah Pope

Having used libraries throughout my history degree at Edinburgh, I decided in my final year to apply for a library traineeship to explore a career in an environment I had always enjoyed. I had gained some insight into the career by talking to librarians whilst working as a shelving assistant at the University of Edinburgh’s main library and after desperately googling something along the lines of ‘is there anything I can do with a history degree?’ I found links to the CILIP website. The idea of a traineeship was very appealing as it meant I was able to give myself a trial period to see whether or not this was a career I wanted to pursue.
The trainee position at the IHR sounded perfect as it combined my academic and career interests and having had an offer I immediately accepted the job. The IHR’s collection is based on primary sources to provide students and academics with a ‘historical workshop’. The amount of material held published prior to the 20th century makes quite a change from the books I was used to during my degree, and has shown me some of the challenges of maintaining a collection. Working at the IHR has given me a fantastic insight into the profession as a whole, and has opened my eyes to a range of jobs I had no idea previously existed. The trainee post has allowed me to visit other libraries to get a taste for those outside of the academic sphere which has been really enlightening so far, and career development events have been particularly useful in broadening my expectations of librarianship.

Courtauld Institute of Art Library
Jennifer Laurenson

I have been interested in pursuing a career in librarianship since taking part in work experience in the Library and Collections of the Royal Academy of Arts when I was at university. I studied History of Art at the University of Warwick and by the time I graduated in 2009, I had researched routes into librarianship and applied for several graduate traineeships. Though I was unsuccessful the first two years I applied for traineeships, I was undeterred. I worked for a year in a customer service role for local government and was able to take some time out to travel. Then - third time's the charm - I was thrilled to be offered the traineeship that most appealed to me, at the Courtauld Institute of Art.
I am thoroughly enjoying my time in the book library of the Courtauld. My colleagues are fantastic and the work that I do interesting and varied. Being a graduate trainee at the Courtauld is great as they provide a lot of training and chances to be involved in the work of every department in the library. My day-to-day duties include accessioning new books, dealing with inter-library loans, checking in new journals and working on the issue and enquiries desk. Courtauld graduate trainees are lucky to be trained in cataloguing and I am excited to put this into practice with a retrospective cataloguing project. I also enjoy the external library visits and training workshops, and the chance to speak to graduate trainees at other libraries.
Though it might not have seemed it at the time, I think it was better for me not go straight into a traineeship from my undergraduate degree. The work and life experiences I had before starting at the Courtauld were invaluable and have helped me in this role. By applying three years in a row it showed, not least myself, how determined I was to pursue librarianship as a career. My time at the Courtauld has only strengthened this conviction and I am currently applying to library schools for next year.
Follow @jenlaurenson

City University Library
Mark Pexton

Before coming to City I studied Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. I then spent a year working for Kent Libraries and Archives as a Customer Services Assistant as well as doing work experience in other libraries.
My motivation for working in libraries came from a number of reasons; the opportunity to do research, work with information technology, work for organisations aimed at the public good and ultimately my own personal love of libraries. I came to discover that there were many other reasons why I wanted to pursue this career including my introduction to classification of material.
In my traineeship at City University I currently have my time at the main university site split between working in Acquisitions, Inter-Library Loans and on the Service Desk. I will spend the second half of my traineeship at Cass Business School. I have found the job a superb introduction to a career in librarianship. I plan to study for the MA in Information Studies at the University of Brighton full time this September and am looking forward to this next stage of my career. At the moment I am looking to stay in academic libraries.

More trainee profiles
2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008