Hello,
I’m Laurence and I’m the new trainee at the Taylor Bodleian Slavonic and Modern Greek Library, or TABS as it’s affectionately (but confusingly) known. After a couple of English degrees, I did a bit of language teaching in Russia followed by some work experience at libraries and archives in Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, all of which proved to be very handy experience when applying for the current position.
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks now. The steep learning curve of a new role has been compounded by a new Bodleian-wide computer system and the fact that most of the languages in my library are somewhere beyond foreign to me. Fortunately, all the books have numbers on, so no harm done. Equally happily, there also always seems to be plenty of tea and biscuits about (an area in which I have considerable expertise) so I foresee no major problems settling in.
