Thing 10: I Never Thought I'd be a Librarian

Thing 10 of cpd23 is all about routes into Librarianship. It's as good of excuse as any to tell my tale as to how I came to be a Librarian.

Growing up I never thought of Librarianship as a career. I always wanted to be a solicitor or a barrister, but in the final year of my law degree I decided it wasn't for me.

I worked part time in the travel industry whilst at uni and was lucky enough to get a full time management post on completion of my law degree. It was only a stop gap until I worked out what I really wanted to do, however a year later I'd still not worked out what that was. I took a career break and started going to my local library to use the internet. Penniless and with a mortgage to pay I realised I needed to get back into work even if I hadn't found the perfect career. All the time spent in my local library made me think that a library would be a great place to work.

I ended up working as library assistant in a Gloucestershire library and was hooked. I finally felt I was doing something enjoyable and worthwhile. 

A few years on I was looking for a change of scenery and soon learnt that an Information and Library Management Masters would open up my career options. I realised that I might even be able to make use of my law degree in a commercial library. I applied for the course at the University of the West of England and continued to work almost full time throughout the one year course. Many sleepless nights later (there's nothing like leaving assignments to the last minute), I swore I'd never go back to uni again, never.

Whilst finishing my dissertation a post came up in Bristol at a commercial property firm, whilst not law I knew it was going to be hard to find a commercial library job in the South West. I applied and convinced my now manager to give me a chance, although I wasn't yet qualified and had no experience in a business library. Almost 4 years and a promotion later I'm still there. I love it. No two days are the same and the variety of enquiries we receive help keep it interesting. I probably should have moved on by now, however the jobs just haven't been there and I'm settled in Bristol.

We've recently been given an opportunity to change the service we provide to something more akin to knowledge management. Whilst it's early days I'm really excited, I feel like I'm getting a chance to start a new job, without having to move.

So Why Charter?

I've only just applied so have little to tell apart from the reason I have registered for Chartership.

Whilst I'm passionate about my job I feel more up-to-date with the surveying profession than I do librarianship, I have well and truly become disconnected from the profession. The formal and structured approach is just what I need to make myself get up off my backside and start developing myself professionally. It's about time I think about my career and not just my job.

I know many people don't hold Chartership in high regard and I agree that you shouldn't have to be a Chartered member of CILIP to prove yourself - there are many people out there who aren't Chartered, who are truly inspirational and much more engaged with the profession than I will ever be. For me it's about the process and hopefully what I will get out of it.