Institute of Historical Research Library
Hello! I’ve been the Library Graduate Assistant at the
Institute of Historical Research for just over 3 months now, so now that I have
settled in I felt it was time to introduce both myself and the Institute of
Historical Research Library.
Located within Senate House, the IHR is a reference only
research library consisting of a collection of published primary sources which
cover the history of Western Europe and its colonial history from the fifth
century to the present. In addition, the library contains significant holdings
for the United States, Latin America and Asia. The library team is made-up of four
permanent members of staff and two who work across both Senate House Library
and the IHR Library.
Joining such a small team has been an incredible opportunity
as I have been made to feel so welcome and have been asked to participate in an
incredibly diverse range of tasks. This has so far consisted of helping to
draft a user survey, researching and writing collection guides and blog posts,
updating the IHR Library’s website and Facebook account (please like and follow!), helping
with event promotion, ordering new acquisitions for the German collection, researching
new shelf and floorplan signage and assisting with the creation of training
materials for online resources.
This has been in addition to the day-to-day tasks of working
in the library: book retrieval from the library’s onsite store in the upper
echelons of Senate House tower (incredible view but can be just as scary as it
sounds!), re-shelving, dealing with user enquiries, updating the new book shelf
and processing inter-library loans. Experience of all of these diverse tasks has
definitely made me realise that I never fully appreciated the range of jobs
incorporated under the term ‘librarian’ before!
The diverse work and the comprehensive training I’ve
received has been of immense help to me as I had no prior experience of working
in a library. Before joining the IHR as library trainee, I completed my
undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in History at the University of
Edinburgh. The position at the IHR was therefore ideal for me (combining my
love of books and history) but I was unsure if I would have the relevant skills
required. Having worked in retail throughout my studies, I was pleasantly
surprised to learn that the customer service skills I had developed were of
value to the library profession. Hence the move to London from Edinburgh and a
seemingly vast change in climate – London seems almost tropical in mid-winter
in comparison!!
I’m thoroughly enjoying my time at the IHR and cannot
believe how quickly the year is flying by. I cannot wait to start visiting
other libraries as part of the series of visits that take place during the
trainee year. I feel I am learning all the time and have already gained an
invaluable insight into the world of librarianship. I would urge anybody to
consider the Graduate Trainee programme!
Siobhan Morris
Library
Graduate Trainee, Institute of Historical Research
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.