Reflections: My Forty Years in Libraries
My career in libraries began in 1980 with a job at Pinner public library and an application to Aberystwyth for a Bachelor of Librarianship. I upset the course interviewer, a public librarian, by saying I didn’t want to work in public libraries as I thought I would get bored. I still maintain that view today! Harrow provided a reference and three years later I was awarded a 2:1 degree in Librarianship and Classical Studies.
Beginning my professional career in 1983 at Hammersmith public library, I worked in the lending library, the reference library, managed the music library and then supervised the transition from paper tickets to digital issue of books. I started a postgraduate diploma in business librarianship in 1986 but one year in, I got a job in the Commerce, Science & Technology department of Sheffield City Libraries and moved to Sheffield. Five years later, I was appointed manager of the business library at Manchester public library; seven years later, I returned to work in Sheffield -becoming the first ever professional librarian to run Sheffield Children’s Hospital library, where I have been ever since.
The library has changed beyond recognition in so many ways in the last 27 years, but in others it remains very much the same. The enclosed post office style counter with sliding glass doors and entrance barriers have been replaced to create a more welcoming experience. New blinds and replacement carpet, sliding office doors, a lick of paint for the cupboards, and following the helipad, new tables, computers and air conditioning have been installed. Throughout all this, our wooden shelves have remained providing a traditional library feel in what is a more modern library experience.
Alongside the original medical books are a leisure and wellbeing collection and 18 computers linked to the NHS and University networks. The library has run a reading group since 2017 and has 10 regular attendees.
While the usual catalogue of training courses is delivered, additional training has been added to include managing email, Excel, poster design and most recently Co-Pilot.
Our Randomised Coffee Trials have run three times a year for many years now and our latest innovation, Library Ambassadors, was an instant success with a recruitment of over fifty. Offering a badge certainly helped!
Now I depart the library which has been a big part of my life for 27 years to pursue a passion which has always been there but never fully developed. This picture was taken in Pakistan where I trekked to 5,000 metres. I have a love of big mountains and ancient civilizations, and I intend to trek the world in search of them.
The legacy I’m leaving is that the inviting atmosphere, friendly faces and services at Illingworth Library are available not just to the doctors, but everyone, from cleaner to chief executive.
