Thing 10 - My Path To Becoming A LIS Professional

This is a brief account of how I came to work in public libraries…

Once upon a time, there was a gentle, sensitive boy who read his way through all the Enid Blyton books in his local public library. This boy liked the public library because he was an avid reader and had access to a wide selection of children’s books. Books opened up new worlds to this boy and allowed him to see different perspectives and experiences that he would otherwise not have encountered.

When this boy was at secondary school, he helped out in the school library sometimes during lunchbreaks. This gave him some idea of how a library was organised and run, enabling him to appreciate the care and attention to detail which was involved. The school librarian was knowledgeable about books and computers and taught the boy that there was more than one way to approach a homework task.

After leaving sixth form college, the boy applied to work in a public library. He still retained his naïve impressions of what library work involved and these impressions would change sharply in the coming years. The boy was thrust into a busy central library where he encountered challenging situations and demanding customers; where every working day was different and varied. Furthermore, his daily experiences instilled in the boy a dedication and commitment to public service; leading him to value the work of professional librarians and want to undertake further vocational training.

This boy was me and I'm a very different person now from that shy, callow 21 year old starting out in public libraries. I always felt that this was the right profession for me and my instinct proved correct. I discovered that I enjoyed the challenges of frontline customer service and responding to the diversity of enquiries/requests that you get in a public library. It has trained me to think laterelly and to problem solve: very useful transferable skills!

I have retained my commitment and enthusiasm for public libraries and this is the reason I studied for my MA in Information Services Management. Moreover, this professional commitment was the reason I took part in CPD23 and I intend to use the valuable skills gained from CPD23, namely self-reflective practice, when I embark on CILIP chartership in the near future.

I have gained many insights during my seven years of frontline library service and I aim to draw on this experience to contribute to the future development of library services.