Written and edited by: Micha Cook, Codrington Library; Andi Glover, Bodleian Law
Library; Hannah Hickman, History Faculty Library; Becca Wray, Social Science Library
In April, seven of the Bodleian trainees headed off to CILIP HQ in London for the
SLA Europe, BIALL & CLSIG New Professionals’ Open Day: a chance to hear presentations
by information professionals from several well-known “special libraries”, and to network with the speakers, other trainees and Master’s students. Here, we report back on our
experiences of the day: what we learned, and why the next Open Day might be useful to others considering careers in library and information science.
NERA Economic Consulting
In the first talk, Hanna Shearring spoke about her role as Associate Information Resources Consultant (IRC) at NERA (@NERA_Economics), which undertakes research on behalf of mostly corporate clients. Her job is similar to a subject librarian’s role with academic
researchers; she works closely with clients and uses specialist knowledge to ascertain
exactly which information they need, and which sources and institutions could provide it. This may entail persisting with enquiries involving several institutions and individuals, such as tenders taken on for the EU: more negotiation than is usually necessary in an HE
library. IRCs are less desk-based than many Graduate Trainees, and, interestingly, work with fewer book-based sources than most of our readers.
For Hanna, her post offers a chance for continual learning, for gaining new skills and knowledge; she also said that socialising with colleagues after work helped to build her network and professional identity. For trainees, chatting with fellow librarians can be a good way of finding opportunities, such as chances to volunteer; and indeed, Hanna left us with the advice to follow our natural curiosity, asking established professionals about their careers and pursuing any intriguing leads. – Micha, Andi
Wellcome Library
Danny Rees’ talk on the Wellcome Library and his role as an outreach librarian touched on and accentuated the diversity of the library’s collections and the active involvement of the Wellcome Trust with the dialogue on access, outreach, and hot topics like the digitisation of manuscripts. Getting excited about cataloguing makes me a rare beast in our group of trainees and it was Danny Rees’ answer to my question about the structure of the
cataloguing department at the Wellcome Library, including specialist librarian and
archivist cataloguers working on specific parts of the collection, which sticks with me.
His talk was complemented by the fact that it was followed directly by a fascinating tour. The latter took us to the library and the newly incarnated reading room filled with a bizarre collection of singularly remarkable objects. We were told during the tour that every staff member at the Wellcome library had come to the job with different academic backgrounds and interests and so brought something unique to the greater team. From the fondness with which this reading room/ gallery/social space was described, I like to imagine that the displays included exciting discoveries made by the staff!
Looked at in unison, the library and this hybrid space confirmed that the Wellcome is not only a multi-faceted institution, but the outcome of a concerted effort to incorporate the pursuit of knowledge, with the preservation and promotion of culturally and historically significant objects relating to the medical sciences. The library, open to anyone who wished to join, felt exactly like an academic research library made more by the beautiful paintings from the Wellcome collection which were unaffectedly exhibited throughout. Small things like the colour-coded finding aids on the shelf-ends, both considered and
decorative, hinted at a careful guardianship and respect for the space and collections on
behalf of both readers and staff.
The leaflet for the library boasts the heading “the free library for the incurably curious” and adorns my wall as a reminder that I have yet to walk up to the reception desk, identity proof in hand, to officially join the ranks of the inquisitive. That said, I expect it’ll stay there; it gave me great delight to see what I hope was an intentional medical pun—the readers are incurable, not terminal, you see! – Micha
Extract Information (Intellectual Property)
As trainees, many of us are most familiar with academic librarianship, and perhaps with working in public libraries; so Jane List surprised us with her talk about
Extract Information, the patent research company she founded in 2013. Jane works
primarily as a consultant involved in research to solve her clients’ IP-related problems.
She set up her business after a career in research and development librarianship, and
database-testing for scientific research bodies. She has built up a wealth of experience of
information roles in intellectual property, with one of her areas of expertise being Asian patent information; an area that is fast growing with the advance of technology in the Far East, particularly in Korea. She told us that this has created a demand amongst businesses and legal organisations for translators of Asian languages; so Korean-speaking information
managers could find they have an unexpected skill to offer in the field of IP. – Andi
Careers tips from Suzanne Wheatley and Victoria Sculfor, Recruitment Specialists
Suzanne and Victoria from Sue Hill Recruitment (@SueHillRec) and TFPL (@tfpl_Ltd)
gave some extremely useful advice on careers planning and writing a CV for
recruitment agencies. Highlights included:
• Make the personal profile on your CV reflect what you’re doing at the moment: recruiters want to build up a picture of you to help them find the most suitable opportunities
• Also on your CV, list your achievements, technical experience such as the software you regularly use at work, and professional activity (training, forums, open days you’ve been to)
• Recruiters are very willing to work to your timescale: let them know when you’re looking to start work, and they’ll bear this in mind when finding opportunities for you
• Creating a profile on a site like LinkedIn makes you more accessible to potential
employers
• Find a job you love: you will be more productive at work, and much happier
– Andi
This is the first of a 2-part series of blog posts on this excellent open day. The next
instalment features the BBC Archive, Mishcon de Reya, Morgan Stanley and the LSE Library! Primary editor: Andi Glover
