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/

Information on our Special Collections: http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/booklibrary/collections_services/specialcoll.shtml

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)

Feminist Library: http://feministlibrary.co.uk/

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

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.