Trainee Profile- Katie Rose

My name is Katie Rose, and I'm the graduate library trainee at the Institute of Classical Studies. http://icls.sas.ac.uk/library/Home.htm
This library is unique, to say the least. With a small number of staff and a high level of expertise, our collections reflect the high level of research our readers are engaged in. Our attention is focused on obtaining the best scholarly material available on all aspects of the ancient world, particularly the Greek and Roman worlds. We acquire new books daily, and so far have been fortunate in not having to weed our collections too often, despite having had to relocate the library three times in the past ten years (our third move is scheduled for March 2009).
For me, the readers are the best bit of the library; they include undergraduates, postgraduates and academics from universities in the U.K and all over the world, and people who just love Classics. I love talking to them and learning about their work. I am stationed on one of the circulation desks and my main responsibilities include circulation, membership, reader enquiries and research. I am in charge of the postal loans and research(which we do a lot of) and inter-library loans.
I guess this year has taught me to create my own work schedule and priorities, and be more independent. During the year I have gone to many training events, visits and lectures organised by CILIP and CPD25, and I have really valued being part of the SAS/ULRLS trainee group- that has actually become much more important to me than I thought it would be.
My current career plans are to see if I can get a place on the MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL. If I don't go to UCL next academic year, I will continue to work in libraries until I decide to do the MA and become qualified. This year so far has opened my mind to the fact that there are so many different sorts of libraries, and I would love to gain experience in sectors outside the academic research library.