Hello! My name is Adrienne, and I am the current graduate trainee at the Oxford Union Society Library. Previously, I was a digitisation assistant in the University of Warwick Library. As part of a pilot programme, I scanned book and journal extracts under the Copyright Licencing Agency’s Higher Education Licence, and answered emailed and faced enquiries from students, academics, and library staff. Warwick University is my alma mater where I read Philosophy and Literature. I first became interested in librarianship as a career whilst researching an essay about the concept of the library in literary epistemology.
Working in the Oxford Union Library is all I could have wished for in a traineeship. I am honing my professional skills in an august institution that has dedicated itself historically to the personal and intellectual development of its readers – often controversially so. It is a beautiful library that holds a diverse and dynamic collection; from antiquarian books to the latest DVD releases. Being part of a small team means that I get to take part in a variety of frontline and ‘behind-the-scenes’ duties everyday: helping readers, classifying and cataloguing new stock, preservation work, and acting as the secretary for the Library Committees. It is that level of direct involvement in the running of the library which drew me to the position initially, and is already proving to be very rewarding.
Taking part in the Oxford Libraries Graduate Trainee Programme is a wonderful opportunity to meet other library and information paraprofessionals, and to learn about the various projects they are involved in across the university.
