ASPECTS 1: So you want to be a librarian? [TG1/Librarian]

Programme:

2pm Welcome and introduction

2.05 ‘My journey into Librarianship’ – Naoise Standing, Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust

2.20 ‘Balancing Act: My Experience of Studying Part-Time and Working Part-Time’ – Ellen Woolf, Anglia Ruskin University

2.35 ‘You can do a degree in libraries? – Applying for and studying a postgraduate Librarianship degree’ – Nikki Beckett, Nottingham Trent University

2.50 Break

3.05 ‘Choosing the right Information Studies MA programme and giving yourself the best chance of getting your first librarian job’– Francesca Ezzelino, University College London (UCL)

3.20 Q & A Panel Discussion

4pm End

Speakers:

Naoise Standing is a Clinical Outreach Librarian for Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, but she has also previously worked in public libraries and academic libraries. She recently graduated from the Masters programme in Library and Information Studies at University College London, where she was awarded a Pass with Distinction. In 2023, Naoise was named a member of the CILIP 125 List, commemorating library and information professionals who are expected to lead the sector into the next information age.

Ellen Woolf, Library Manager A.G. Leventis Library at Cambridge Conservation Initiative and Library Services Adviser at Anglia Ruskin University:

When she graduated with a BA in English Literature in 2016, Ellen had no idea what she wanted to do next. What followed was several years of retail, marketing, and optical work. Inspired by the highly-trained and well-connected opticians she was working with in that final role (you can know people professionally that you don’t actually work with?), she realised that she wanted a profession and not just a job. After a bit of soul-searching and weighing up of existing skills and interests, she landed eventually on librarianship as the career to pursue (with “funeral director” as a close second place – for reasons that are not so different, such as a desire to help people and wanting a quiet place to work). Starting out as a Graduate Trainee in 2021/22, Ellen is a new library professional in her third and final year of an MA in Library & Information Studies. Alongside this, she works part-time in two different libraries: a university library, and a wildlife conservation library. She has still never actually seen a deceased person, so is quite confident she made the right choice.

Nikki Beckett, User Experience Team Leader/Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at Nottingham Trent University:

“You can do a degree in libraries? I didn’t know you could do that!” – this is something I hear from people very often and it never ceases to surprise me how knowledge and information courses seem to be fairly unknown to those who aren’t in the same sector/industry, so why not talk about how you get to that point? In this presentation I’ll be speaking about:

· Applying for a librarianship degree.

· Choosing a university and type of study.

· Studying during the pandemic and the transition to on-campus study.

· The modules, course content, dissertation topics and extra-curricular activities.

· Support and experience as a disabled student.

· Completing the course, pros and cons and what I gained from the experience.

· Post-graduation life and next steps.

Francesca Ezzelino is Subject Liaison Librarian at the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. In her role she’s responsible for liaising with academic departments, managing a distinct collection made of print and electronic resources and providing information literacy support through group sessions and one-to-one appointments. She is also the CPD Champion for her library, running a programme of staff development sessions throughout the year, and works as a mentor within UCL. Additionally, along with her team, she provides shadowing opportunities to colleagues and is involved in a variety of UCL-wide working groups.

Prior to this role, Francesca worked as Official Publications Librarian, Library Assistant and Senior Library Assistant in Acquisitions and Customer Service Advisor at UCL and in other academic libraries.