Graduate Traineeships, Masters degrees, Chartership and Accreditation

Firstly, I’ll apologise to regular readers (which I think I may be gaining! Wow!) for falling so far behind in these posts. That’s the problem with having a job as well – it distracts you from the important stuff in life, like writing (these blog posts, my diary and my stories for me)…

Anyway, my current role is Community Outreach Librarian. I work for the NHS, and I’m employed basically to provide information and library services to healthcare professionals and medical students who work in community settings (eg GPs and other practice staff, physiotherapists, podiatrists and nurses, to name just a few).

To get there, I went a quite roundabout route. I did an undergrad degree in Biological Sciences, then floundered for several years because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I spent several years in retail, building up my customer service experience whilst simultaneously trying to keep my soul from being destroyed by the mind-numbingness of it and the managers whose sole purpose was apparently to reduce morale at all costs.

Having worked as a shelver in my university library for many years (I was asked to continue even after my degree had finished, which I eagerly accepted because I loved the work and the pay was good), I realised I had a passion for libraries, and after consulting with my mum, a (now retired) library manager, I decided to try for a library career, starting with gaining the basic ECDL in my own time.

And here is where the stuff in the title finally starts: I became a Graduate Library Assistant for the University of Liverpool at the age of 27, where my experience of libraries (as a shelver) and my customer service experience (one of the few good things retail work did for me) were essential. I loved this job, and after a year I applied to MMU for the MA in Library and Information management and was given an unconditional offer, to my delight. I also emailed my old contact at MMU, and she very graciously gave me an interview for a library assistant/shelver role, which I passed with flyer colours. Where the hell does that phrase come from? Oh well…

Now that I’ve passed my MA and have a decent job, I’m thinking about becoming chartered. One of my managers is pressing for me to do so as well, and I think it would be good for my career, but I’m worried because my MA dissertation was such a major stress that I don’t want a repeat. I get the feeling my wife might leave me if I had another stress like that…

One thing I have noticed about library qualifications and working in libraries is that while the qualification counts for more in terms of career progression, it’s the experience you get from working that’s actually more important in my opinion. Not least because I haven’t used half the stuff I learnt on my MA. However, I know that the piece of paper is needed, if only to prove you have the determination to see things through, and this is what I’m hoping to use when I finally start my chartership.

My background and CPD23

Ok, so I've set up my very first blog because I've been told about CPD23 and how good it would be for me to get involved in it. My main worry is that I won't be able to think of enough to say here! I mean, I can talk for England when I get into a topic, I write (almost) daily personal diary entries and I write stories as a hobby (I'm just trying to finish my first novel right now), but finding enough to write about in this area? I'm already nervous.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to make these entries interesting enough if it's purely about work. Having said that, I'm sure there are enough geeks out there - I count myself as one of them - who want to know everything they can about a given subject, if they get curious about it, including the inner thoughts of others in the same field. So, here goes...

For a start, I'm in my first professional post. I count myself as having started the journey in libraries many years ago, when I was a shelver during my undergrad Biology degree. I loved the work, but didn't think anything of it until I found myself unable to get a job in the field I'd chosen because I didn't have enough experience (I couldn't figure out how you're meant to get it without getting a job, either). Soul destroying retail work beckoned, which gave me a lot of customer service skill, and this came in useful when I applied for a trainee post after realising libraries were where my heart is. I moved on to library assistant work while I studied for my MA at MMU part time. Having tried and failed to get full time professional work where I was, I applied for my current post. I nearly didn't get it, but someone else pulled out - phew!

I was recommended to start on CPD23 by one of my managers, who is also pushing for me to start chartership. I guess this is one of the main things I'm looking to get out of this, though that's probably because, given that I'm new to this whole blogging thing and also to CPD23, I don't know what else I can get out of it. Still, it should be fun finding out, and I'm always up for fun!