Current Trainees | What we do | Previous Trainees | Events | Library School | Careers | Cambridge | Links | Timeline | Blog | Contact us

Graduate Trainee Events 2010-2011

Visits and events are organised as part of the SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) training programme. This page will be updated on a regular basis.

Details of previous trainee events can be found here (2009-2010), here (2008-2009), here (2007-2008), here (2006-2007), here (2005-2006), and here (2004-2005).

Library visits:

Picture of University Library

Other visits and events:

Training Opportunities

Christ's College

^

Visit Reports

Cambridge University Press

Even as we find ourselves close to the end of our traineeships, our librarians continue to lay on training and visits for us - lucky devils that we are. A blustery Wednesday afternoon at the end of July found us at Cambridge University Press, where we were treated to presentations by several kind members of staff about what the press is, how it is linked to the university and what it does to engage with its public, in particular librarians.

Firstly, Jack Macdonald talked to us about the history of the Press, which is the oldest University Press in the country at 477 years old, and the process of producing a book. One of the most unusual things about CUP is that every single book (that's around 1500 books a year) must be approved by the University Press Syndicate, which is a panel of academics from across the disciplines. Whilst this makes for a much more lengthy process, it also ensures the academic quality of CUP books. He also discussed how the books make it to the 200 different countries in which they are sold; apparently only a minority of books are now printed on-site in South Cambridge, as printing in the target country and print-on-demand services become increasingly popular.

Of course, the cheapest and quickest way to disseminate the information is via the internet, which Jack's colleague Sandrine Aymard covered in her presentation about Cambridge Books Online. Thousands of books have already been digitised, and although books do not yet feature content specifically designed for the online context (that is to say that the digitised book is just a flat copy of the physical text), there are some features such as hyperlinked references which are particularly useful. This is true of the journals too, but the team admitted that in some cases they were effectively ahead of the game, as they had created links to resources which had not yet been digitised!

As useful as the digitisation of books is, the Cambridge Books Online initiative has grown out of a much larger and, in some ways, more sophisticated initiative which is of particular import to academic libraries - I'm talking about Cambridge JOURNALS Online as presented to us by Tristan Collier. With 270 peer-reviewed journals online, CUP's collection is extensive. What is more impressive, however, is their current project which aims to reach people who are interested in high quality research but who are not part of subscribing institutions. Their trial of free access to CJO is running until 30th August, so make the most of it here! The take up of the trial has already been so huge that the CUP servers crashed at the end of the first week, and one of the most popular source sites for visitors has been Facebook, suggesting that there are a lot of people out there who know a lot of people out there who want access to this kind of material. As yet the team don't know who exactly is making the most of the trial, but I'm sure they'll look into it soon.

Tristan also talked about how CUP connect with their fellow disseminators of information, that is to say the librarians. They have a panel of librarians from across Cambridge who are consulted on all kinds of issues, from user education to the technology used on the website, which is fully hosted at CUP. They even take the librarians with them on away-days and conferences to spend time learning about how people use their site, who'd have thought that plush weekends in Copenhagen would be a library perk?!

Finally, a last point of interest which grabbed me professionally and personally was the mobile CJO site. It's a pared down, image-light version of the parent website which not only allows easy access via mobile devices, but also enables more efficient access for those in developing countries, who may be trying to access the content on very low bandwidths. The team pointed out that the dissemination and sharing of knowledge world-wide is one of the key aspects of CUP's mission statement, which also includes the fact that it is a not-for-profit organisation which pours money back into the University. Obviously they are all very corporate-savvy and operate in the most professional manner possible, but I liked the fact that ethics and the value of education ran right through the core of everything that they were trying to do.

Thanks again to Jack, Sandrine, Tristan, Sam, and to Nicki Dawidowski for organising the presentations.

Becky Woods

^

Christ's College

Following our trip round the Whipple we made the short trip over to Christ's, right in the heart of the city, where we were shown round by resident GT Charlotte. After some much-appreciated refreshment (dear Charlotte having made us a lovely cake), we took a trip around the whole building, including the Old and working libraries, archives, and rare books. The working library is something of a seventies monstrosity and the College has proposed to build a new one at great expense (10-15 million squid: ladies and gentlemen of means are very welcome to contact the Bursar). Yet the spatial inadequacies of the Working library need not detract from the splendour of the Old, where Charlotte has curated a most insightful exhibition about Christ's and the First World War, focusing both on the life of the College during this period and on the experiences of many of those who went to fight, related principally through letters written from the trenches. I need not say any more here as Charlotte has written about it in her blog at greater length and the exhibition is still open - and worth a visit to see the corrugated iron shelter that was been temporarily installed in the library alone! Thanks to Charlotte and the other librarians for having us along.

Tom Ford

^

Whipple Library and Museum

Easter term in Cambridge is very busy, so the trainees had not got together for a library visit for what seemed like quite a long time! On 21st June we gathered at the Whipple Library, for a tour around the library and a visit to the museum.

The Whipple Library is the library of the History and Philosophy of Science department. Robert Eggington, the librarian, gave us a bit of history about the library, and explained that because the subject is so broad, they have to have a very careful collection development policy to make sure they have a useful collection. The library and the museum's collections are based on a foundation donation of around a thousand books and around a thousand scientific instruments presented by the author and collector Robert Whipple in 1944. The collection development of the library has been to concentrate on the subject areas represented by the books donated by Whipple (namely the history of mathematics and astronomy, 17th century philosophy of science, and books about scientific instruments) supplemented by department reading lists.

Until relatively recently, the library's collection had been organised by date of purchase within twenty or so subject areas, clearly not the easiest way to find what you're looking for! The opening of a new library in 2008 coincided with a reorganisation and a new in-house classification system. In a wonderful example of typical Cambridge upsidedownness, the "new" section of the library is in fact a converted Victorian lecture hall, whilst the "old" section is a 1950s-build room.

One thing I particularly liked about the library was the rare books exhibition area, which is updated by students (with help) and seminars and talks are held on the theme of each display.

At the end of our tour around the library we had the opportunity to visit the Whipple Museum, and see some of the exhibits which ranged from astrolabes to calculators. My favourite item was a walking stick telescope from the 19th century, with the caption "Too fragile for consistent use as a walking stick, and ineffective as a telescope, such objects were intended as a talking point for fashionable gentlemen."

Many thanks to Tim and to all the other members of staff at the library and museum.

Annie Johnson

^

Trinity College

Tom lead us through the vast courts of Trinity towards the Wren Library in Nevile's Court. Trinity is similar to John's in that the Working Library is separate from the Old Library and have very different functions. We had a quick look at the Working library as well as the Law Reading Room, which is in a separate part of college. Trinity has very few computers and instead students use their laptops and WiFi in the library. The overwhelming feeling was that there were a lot of books (an obvious comment you might think) but the Working Library is packed to the brim with groaning shelves. Trinity holds over 300,000 books and these are housed between the working and Wren libraries and the basement stacks (bravely constructed right under the Cam!). The library tried to buy every book that students request and the problem is more library space than available funds.

Our trip to the stacks was great fun with us being allowed privileged access to 'The Cage' as Tom proudly calls it. Here are kept the more rare books and indeed a model ear. Periodicals are also kept in the open access part of the basement and Tom oversees the ordering, arrival and binding of periodicals.

We then visited the Wren library with its chequered floor and busts of eminent Classical and English authors adorning the shelves. There are 70,000 books in the Wren with 750 incunabula (1450-1501) and 4 safes. This is open to researchers as well as to the public at specified times. It is here that the librarian's and sub-librarian's desks are situated , which gives this old library a modern twist with printers and telephones alongside the shelving and furniture made by Christopher Wren himself in the late 1600s. Bernadette gave us a talk about the cataloguing of the Wren library, which had taken place over the past 15 years and reminded us of the importance of cataloguing and classification to the library profession.

It was very interesting to visit a college so similar to my own in order to pick up the differences in collections as well as in the management of the libraries as a whole. Many thanks to the Trinity librarians for welcoming us.

Erin Lee, April 14

^

St John's College

On the afternoon of 12 April a smaller-than-usual group of trainees visited St. John's College, which boasts two superb buildings, the Old Library and the New Library. We started with a tour of the former, ably conducted by resident trainee Erin. The far window looks out onto the scenic visage of the Cam, and punters on the river can see the library's foundation date of 1624 proudly chiselled into the stone above. The Old Library is on two floors, with the lower floor, now used for archival boxes, formerly used as the undergraduate library before the completion of the much-needed New Library in 1994. In the Victorian era a hole was drilled between the floors and a spiral staircase of wrought iron was inserted to connect the floors more easily.

Among the curiosa on display are counted the life-mask of esteemed Johnian William Wordsworth; astronomer Fred Hoyle's telescope is on show upstairs as part of a larger exhibition lately funded by the National Lottery, and a smaller display of the writings of Abolitionist alumnus William Wilberforce and of some of his opponents makes for informative viewing. A current special exhibition focuses on the College's Prime Ministers.

Many modern College libraries pale in comparison to the majesty of their smaller and older precursors, but the New Library is no less impressive in its own right. This edifice sits in Chapel Court with superb views and must be the envy of every college that would love to build a library in a central position but has no room in which to do so. The architects have made excellent use of the location, conveniently adjacent to the Old Library and fitted out with desk-space and computers in abundance and supported by a TV room and a seminar room.

Fiona Colbert, biographical librarian, then told us something about her role, an unusual one within Cambridge college libraries. Fiona explained how her job involves maintaining and updating the records of every Johnian alumnus, with the publication of a Register at various intervals. She also spoke of the challenge of this job in the era of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts, the measures she sometimes needs to employ to reassure concerned individuals of the benevolent intent behind the College's practice, and the difficulties of third-party intrusion. The talk was a highly interesting one, and we thank Fiona for giving us an insight into her work.

Tom Ford, April 15

^

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Our second stop on our London trip was the Institute of Chartered Accountants to meet staff there and to see their library and information service. This was a very different kind of library service from any we have seen so far this year, so I didn't really know what to expect.

Our visit included a tour of the Business Centre, which had meeting rooms and a quiet study area, but through most of the Centre there were people talking on mobiles and basically getting on with business. Although most enquiries are done over the phone or email, there was an enquiry desk in the middle of the Centre for face to face enquiries. There were some shelves of books and journals (actually more than I'd expected) but the majority of stock was kept in an offsite store, and fetched twice a day.

After our tour we met with various members of the LIS staff, who talked to us about their role. I found it interesting to see how terminology differed between the Institute and the kind of libraries we are used to, and this reminded me of the need to always design services around the user. The physical library space was called the Business Centre, and none of the staff had the word "librarian" in their job title - most were Information Executives of one sort or another - and this fitted in well with the surroundings and with those using the library service.

A topic that was returned to several times throughout the afternoon was the importance of bringing information to users as quickly and directly as possible. Jonathan Bushell from the web services team showed us the Institute's website, where there is a LIS section, but LIS staff have also been working to embed content througout the website, where members will most often be browsing. Subject gateways provide collated sets of key resources in an accessible way. With a worldwide membership, it is important that members can find what they are looking for when the library building is closed. Web content is driven by the enquiries staff get at the reference desk, for example the number of enquiries to decode abbreviations and acronyms led to the creation of an abbreviations directory on the website. However Jonathan stressed the importance of recording web traffic statistics, as every successful improvement to the website means that the number of enquiries will of course go down!

The whole afternoon was really well organised, and we were made very welcome by the LIS staff. Special thanks must go to Helen Carron and Susan Moore for organising our visit, and to Rowena Mann for giving us the tour.

Annie Johnson, 6 April

^

Guildhall Library

Our trip to London began with the Guildhall Library, a public reference library specialising in the history of London, incorporated into the Guildhall complex (the administrative centre of the City of London Corporation). The Librarian, Andrew Harper, talked to us in detail about the library's long and remarkable history, from its foundation in the 1420s, funded by the will of Richard Whittington, to the loss of much of its stock through Second World War bombings. The present building, dating from the 1970s, is the fourth incarnation of the library, and also contains the separate City Business Library. Due to reorganisation, many of the archives and manuscript collections have been moved to the London Metropolitan Archives, yet the library still holds important historic records. Andrew had arranged several rare print items for us to look at, including newspapers from the seventeenth century reporting on the Plague and the Great Fire. We were also shown a voyage record card which is part of a unique collection produced by Lloyd's between 1927 and 1975 detailing the movements of ships around the world.

We were then given a tour of the library, which is modern, comfortable and well-equipped for its users. Although the collections focus on the City of London, the local history of other areas is also represented, so that the library is ideal for people researching their family history. The main user area is bright and spacious, furnished with computers, microfilm readers, directories and indexes. Then we travelled three floors underground to the large Store, where a member of staff is on duty to send up items, which people request by paper form or electronically. Having viewed and been impressed by the working library, we were now permitted to view the nineteenth century Old Library, a grand and ornate room which used to house the collection. Portraits and tapestries of royal celebrations hang on the walls, and it would have been a magnificent environment for the library indeed. Altogether, this visit to the Guildhall Library was fascinating and informative. Thanks to Andrew for taking the time to talk to us and giving a such an interesting tour.

Natalie Rosen, 5 April

^

Oxford Libraries

On 28th March the trainees had the opportunity to visit Oxford for a day of library and archive tours. Our first port of call was the Bodleian Library, where we met our tour guide Verity who works in the Bodleian as a reading room supervisor and who is also a former Bodleian trainee.

Like the UL in Cambridge, the Bodleian is a legal deposit library, which means that it collects a copy of every book published in the UK. However, unlike the UL, the Bodleian is a reference only library and does not allow its books to be borrowed. In addition, many of its books are not kept on the open shelves but must instead be fetched from the stacks by members of library staff when requested by library users.

Having visited the Bodleian once before (one year ago, as an interview candidate for the traineeship there!), I was very sorry to learn that the underground book conveyance system which I saw during my tour has now been decommissioned due to fire safety concerns. However, much of the rest of the library was as I remembered it. We paid a visit to the Duke Humfrey's library, which is the oldest part of the Bodleian and which houses Western manuscripts and maps in addition to periodicals and rare books. This part of the library also has beautiful medieval architecture and is definitely one of the most impressive of the Bodleian buildings.

Verity also took us to see the Radcliffe Camera, which is a large round building and the first circular library to be built in Britain. It houses material relating to History, Art History, English, Anthropology and Latin American Studies, amongst other subjects, and is also currently experimenting with Sunday opening times, which Verity told us is proving to be quite popular with the students.

After a really interesting tour of the Bodleian, we proceeded to visit St John's College library where we gave ourselves a tour based on some helpful notes forwarded to us by the Librarian, who was away at a conference that day. It was a much smaller library than the college libraries that I've seen so far in Cambridge, but nonetheless it was very grand and uncluttered and it seemed like a pleasant and peaceful place to study.

Jen Yellin, 6 April

Corpus and trainees

Our first stop after lunch was at Corpus Christi. We arrived a few minutes before our scheduled appointment, so Erin took us round her old college library and shared some good stories from her four years there! The weather was superb, so we took the opportunity for a photo-shoot beside the famous sundial in the Front Quad.

We then proceeded underground to meet the Archivist, Julian Reid, who combines two days a week working for Corpus with a similar post at Merton (and has the best job in archives?) Julian works in a small room packed with five centuries' worth of college records. Among those he showed us were an edict of Henry VIII and a letter from Isaac Newton to the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, with a cute sketch of a comet he had observed passing over King's College Chapel.

Julian then took us over to his office at Merton, housed up a spiral staircase in Mob Quad (the oldest quad in Oxford). The quality of the medieval vaulting and stonemasonry was outstanding. Through a door at the top in a wood-panelled room is housed the Merton archives in special wardrobes (was it from this that C.S. Lewis, a Don at Merton, got his inspiration for Narnia?).

Sadly due to a 'function' it was not possible to venture into the Old Library (the oldest in Europe) but by then the Trainees had probably been spoiled enough with the riches of the 'city of dreaming spires' for a day and it was time to get back to good old Cambridge! We had seen much of interest. I think some of us would be interested in doing more work with such Special Collections as these in our careers; most library and archives jobs are, however, totally discrete: a pity. But our thanks to Julian for his kind generosity in showing us around.

Tom Ford, 14 April

^

Fitzwilliam College Library

On 8th March we trainees gathered at Fitzwilliam College Library, a little further out from town than most of us are used to, to visit one of the newest college libraries in Cambridge. As we navigated our way across Fitzwilliam's maze-like campus (with no little difficulty), we took in a range of different styles of architecture, ranging from Emma Darwin's Regency cottage through the 1970's award-winning chapel to the newest addition, 2010's new Library.

As Christine, the Fitz librarian, explained, Fitzwilliam was originally founded in 1869 as a non-collegiate institution, with the aim of providing access to Cambridge University for those students who could not afford the cost of living in a college. Consequently, the college was not particularly wealthy to begin with and the library was consigned to one room which was insufficient both in terms of space and reader accessibility. However, as Fitz's history has grown, the funds became available, presenting the librarians with the rare and exciting opportunity to design and build their own new library (see its construction in a 1 minute time-lapse video here).

The result is incredibly impressive. From the outside, new building techniques blend sympathetically with the surrounding 1960s buildings, yet the effect remains striking. The architects also managed to create a bright, airy, naturally lit space without resorting to the 'easy' modern option of making everything out of glass, which of course creates its own attendant problems regarding temperature control.

The library boasts 100% more reader spaces which cater for all kinds of students; for those who like to shut themselves off from the rest of the world as well as those who prefer group study, or simply those who like to let their mind wander off towards the beautiful view across the Fitzwilliam gardens. I was particularly impressed by the use of space in the tower which climbs up through the library, as good-sized work spaces are available actually on the steps of the tower, making good use of space and providing the afore-mentioned attractive vistas.

In terms of hard resources, there are also 50% more computers available in the library, including free access computers on all levels as well as separate undergraduate and graduate computer rooms on the lowest level. Space on the shelves has also increased considerably, with space for 60,000 books and journals now available, allowing the library to increase its holdings by around 1,000 items per year.

However, as Chris was keen to point out, no design is perfect and they have had minor hiccups to deal with along the way; for example, long study tables seem like a great idea, as long you don't forget to put legs all the way along, to avoid sorry sagging tables. But the well-lit, RFID-tagged, maroon and silver result has not only been hailed by architects but by staff and students of the college alike, and surely this latter is the most important accolade of all.

Thanks to Chris for an incredibly informative, thought-provoking and interesting tour, and here are a few links if you're interested in the finer details of the library's architecture:

Brick Bulletin - see page 13
E-architect, with pictures
The view of the students in the Fitz JCR Alternative Prospectus - see page 11

Becky Woods, 8 March

^

Murray Edwards College Library

Our second visit on 8th March was to Murray Edwards College. After an important cup of tea and biscuits, Jen gave us a tour of the Rosemary Murray library. We entered on the basement level, which houses the library office, as well as the Law reading room, the Elizabeth Rawson reading area with squashy sofas and rugs, and the archives. When we went up to the ground floor, the main part of the library had a completely different feel, as the other three floors are very open with large arches and pillars. Luckily we had come on a very sunny day, and the library looked absolutely beautiful.

After our tour, Kirstie Preest, the Librarian, did a session with us on evaluating a library's design. I found this an interesting exercise to do, as I had no experience of library planning. Murray Edwards is planning to reorganise the layout of their library so that students can enter through the original main entrance on the ground floor, rather than coming in through the basement. While this might sound like a simple change, there are a lot of knock-on effects that need to be considered - for example, the OPACs, self issue terminals, and library office are in the basement by the entrance, so when the entrance is moved the ideal thing would be to have all of these transplanted and moved to the ground floor. The library is a grade 2* listed building, so that makes it trickier as well! Kirstie and the other library staff have come up with a plan, and it has been sent off to English Heritage for approval. If all goes well the work should be done over the summer and the library will be ready in its new layout next September!

On the face of it, Murray Edwards and my own college Newnham are very similar - both women's colleges, both with a small library staff - and because of this, I found it very interesting to see the things that our two libraries did differently. Like Newnham, the Rosemary Murray library has a "Women's Collection", which at Newnham is separated from the rest of the books and is on a bookshelf by our reading area. In the Rosemary Murray library, the women's collection runs alongside the main staircase, so is a more visible and central part of the library collection.

I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Murray Edwards, and thanks to Jen, Kirstie and Jan for running such an interesting and thought-provoking afternoon.

Annie Johnson, 8 March

^

Anglia Ruskin University Library

Yesterday the graduate trainees at Anglia Ruskin gave us a tour of the Cambridge campus (one of four campuses making up the whole of Anglia Ruskin University) and provided talks from members of staff at various steps on the librarianship ladder

This was the first academic library which we have visited outside of Cambridge and the difference in staffing, layout, usage and facilities on offer to students was surprising. The ground floor at Anglia is dedicated to group study and was a bustling hive of activity with people everywhere, bags strewn across the floor and noisy chatting. The library is organised into zones (group study, quiet and silent) in the hope that all students can find an environment, which is suitable to their study needs.

The main difference between the libraries, which I am used to frequenting, and Anglia, was the business attitude of the university and management to the library. The trainees even have to 'rove' round the library wearing a sash emblazoned with 'Here to Help.' There was a definite commercial feel to the library with a focus on customer service, which more resembled a public than university library. Students, especially with the ever-increasing tuition fees, are rapidly becoming customers and consumers and libraries have to adapt to such change.

Something which caught my attention was the difference in duties of the staff. There is obviously a much bigger staff at Anglia and, it seems as a result, that the roles are less varied. Take the graduate trainees, for example, they shadow librarians but do not handle enquiries nor do they catalogue (indeed, all of the books arrive at Anglia already catalogued and classified and stickered). They do, however, deal with serials and inter-library loans, which I have not had the opportunity to do at John's.

It was great to hear from the various members of staff, who came to chat to us and particularly Jenni Kuziw, who is one of the Assistant Librarian Trainees at Anglia since she is a few years ahead of us and it is always encouraging to speak to people who have successfully manoeuvred the first few steps of the librarianship ladder.

So it was a very enlightening afternoon and we send a warm thank you to the trainees and staff, who made us welcome and gave up so much of their time to acclimatise us to this lively university library.

Erin Lee, 23 February

^

Scott Polar Research Institute

On the afternoon of February 11th, we were given a fascinating tour of the Institute by the librarian and keeper of collections, Heather Lane, and the library assistant Georgina Cronin. The SPRI, founded in 1920 as a memorial to Captain Scott's expedition of 1912, is the world's leading polar research centre. Its international importance and the scope of its outreach are impressive, as it caters for not only students and staff, but visiting scholars, the general public, and enquirers from all over the world. We entered the Institute through the attractive museum, which has been nominated for the Art Fund Prize 2011. It is not always clear where the museum ends and the library begins, as various interesting artifacts could be seen as we toured around the book stacks! The library, to which in 1998 was added the Shackleton Memorial Library, contains a wide range of resources in seventy-two languages. Its classification system is used by many other polar libraries.

The issues surrounding the organisation and cataloguing of library materials were explained to us, as well as the importance of funding; grants and donations continue to be essential to maintain the Institute's world-class resources and facilities. As next year is the centenary of Scott's expedition to the South Pole, and 2014 is the centenary of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the SPRI and polar research will be in the spotlight. We also saw the cold room (currently minus 30 degrees) where objects are freed of moths before being placed in the museum storeroom, which contains textiles, paintings, and other items not on public display. The only library materials for loan are found within the map room, some of the maps being a little worse for wear from their polar adventures. Overall the SPRI has an atmosphere that feels both intrepid and historic, which I found inspiring. Thanks to Heather and Georgina for such an interesting afternoon.

Natalie Rosen, 17 February

^

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Medical Library

As the snow once again descended upon the UK, six intrepid trainees ventured to the far-flung corner of Cambridge known as Addenbrooke's, the University teaching hospital which has grown into a mini-city in its own right. We were there to visit two institutions; the library at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) and the University's Medical School Library.

The MRC LMB is a government-funded institution which is affiliated to the University. Consequently its clientele is quite different from that of our own libraries, as it is mainly used by postgraduates, post-docs and other researchers with very specific interests. As science moves on so quickly, the library plays a vital role in providing the researchers with the most up-to-date resources that are directly relevant to the field of molecular biology. Consequently, the majority of the library's work is based around online resources. Its collection and management of thousands of journals and scientific databases, as well as the continual maintenance of the internal library website are the library's main priorities. It also stocks a number of print journals, but its print collection only numbers around 3,000 books. As book borrowing is relatively rare and does not command a huge share of the budget, they do not use a library management system such as the Voyager system, but a simple online database and a sl ightly antiquated-looking card circulation system suffices, although they are looking to invest in a fully computerised system in the near future.

There is, however, another arm to the information services available at the MRC LMB. The centre has produced fourteen Nobel prize winners and numerous discoveries of note despite only being founded in 1947. Increasing numbers of requests for historical information and a centre director who believed in the inspirational value of the weight of history led to the creation of the laboratory's archives in the late 1990s. The archive comprises a number of different items, from the usual newspaper clippings and audio-visual recordings to Perspex contour maps of protein structures and the Nobel medal and certificate awarded to John Kendrew for his work with heme-containing protein structures. The archives are currently housed in a very small space but the online database created by the current archivist Annette is comprehensive and allows easy access to a very varied collection; who would have thought that a search for 'Harry Potter' would actually produce a result in a database about molecular biology?

We then moved through the maze-like building to our next visit at the University's Medical School library. Isla Kuhn, the readers' services librarian showed us around a space which is constantly evolving. Their user base is much more varied than at the LMB; clinical medical students in their final 3 years make up the largest proportion of users, but NHS staff from Addenbrooke's, from nurses to consultants, also use the library for reference. There are a number of computer terminals which are connected to the NHS server as well as the usual university terminals.

Medicine is one of the fastest moving academic fields and this was reflected in the library space; paper journals had already made way for computers which, Isla suggested, might soon make way for open-plan wifi spaces where users could bring their own laptops and choose to work in a number of ways, either independently or in groups. An aspect of the Medical library's development which particularly impressed me was the willingness of the librarians to reduce the space of the library if it was no longer needed, rather than slavishly hanging onto to rooms just to be seen to be protecting library space. As Isla explained, in a subject where students are actively penalised for using sources that are more than 10 years old, keeping racks of paper journals is self-defeating (unless of course they are the only copies in the university) and only leads to a deserted space inhabited only by untouched volumes.

The team of librarians at the Medical school also provide a number of training sessions for their students in reference software, study skills and other useful areas of academic support. Some unused library space has been given over to fully-equipped seminar rooms which promote not only interactive learning, but also peer-support, as participants can easily share their expertise by projecting their computer onto the large screen at the front without having to take up the 'teacher's' position at the front. The enthusiasm and progressive mindset of the Medical library team was undeniable and has provided much food for thought about how I can better support the students in my faculty and provide them with the services that they actually require, rather than making assumptions about what they want and what they already know. Thanks to Nathalie, Stephen, Annette and Theresa at the MRC LMB and Anne and Isla at the Medical Library for their time and insight.

Becky Woods, 22 December

^

Norwich Cathedral Library and Norwich Millennium Library

Just before Christmas, the trainees went on a trip to Norwich. As most of us had never been to the city before, luckily we had Charlotte there to be our tour guide!

First stop was Norwich Cathedral Library. The Cathedral Library is one of the largest theological libraries in East Anglia. Scholars come from all over the area to use the collections, which include a modern theological collection of around 20,000 items, and a historic collection of around 8,000 items, as well as ephemera such as service sheets and parish newsletters. I was surprised by the breadth of material available, as there were volumes on poetry, medicine and mythology (to name but a few of the subjects covered) in addition to the works on theology. Our guide, Gudrun Warren, was extremely helpful and interesting, so thanks to her for showing us around.

After lunch we made our way to the Millennium Library. The Millennium Library is in a vast glass building called the Forum, which is also home to BBC East, a restaurant, a cafe and a shop. This building was opened 6 years after the original library building was destroyed in a fire in 1994. Catherine Wymer showed us around the library, which for the last 4 years has been the busiest public library in the UK for both the number of visitors and the number of issues. Although our visit was on a "quiet" day, the library was being well used! Catherine gave us an example timetable of the events that are held at the library, which ranged from sessions on researching family history, to a Yu-Gi-Oh duelling club! It was impressive to see activities and facilities to suit all ages. Thanks to Catherine for the tour.

Annie Johnson, 16 December

^

Parker Library and Conservation Consortium

On 10th December we visited the Parker Library at Corpus Christi and were shown round by the sub-librarian, Suzanne Paul. The Library houses many manuscripts acquired by Matthew Parker (Archbishop of Canterbury under Elizabeth I and drafter of the Thirty-Nine Articles), with some of the best on show in display-cases. Suzanne stressed the college's commitment to outreach and publicizing of the items, whilst discussing some of the challenges this brings. It was a privilege to be given a guided tour of one of Cambridge's finest libraries.

We then visited the Cambridge Colleges Conservation Consortium, also within the remit of Corpus but caring for the collections of eleven college libraries. Here some of the oldest and most vulnerable books are nursed back to health by expert hands. Conservator Mervyn Jefferson discussed, with examples from his work, some of the threats to the health of books (including water damage, insects, and general wear-and-tear) and demonstrated some of the measures taken to restore the items. Amongst other things, we were shown how a sewing-frame is used to repair a medieval binding, and how folia can be repaired, particularly at the edges, through judicious use of Japanese paper. Mervyn's attention to detail was very impressive, and it was excellent to learn something about this unusual discipline.

Tom Ford, 21 December

^

University Library

On 15th October we were given the chance to see behind the scenes at the University Library. Our guide, Colin Clarkson, seemed to know absolutely everything about the UL, and started off by giving us a quick history of the library. After this we started our tour, seeing "the snake" - the cataloguing backlog from the legal deposit collection! The UL gets a copy of all books printed in the UK and Ireland, and each week a lorry-load of books arrives. This means that the building needs to be continually extended to provide space for all of these books. Our tour continued through acquisitions, the reading rooms and seemingly endless stacks, and I have to say I was thoroughly lost fairly quickly! After a tea break, Colin took us up the tower.

We had a very interesting afternoon, and Colin was a great guide.

Annie Johnson, 18 November

^

Newnham College Library

After a mentally-gruelling session of learning how to update this very website, we were all taken on a tour around Newnham College Library. The library was expanded and developed six years ago, creating a modern, light space with high ceilings and lots of frosted glass adjoineing the Grade II listed old library from 1897 with taste and style. It is clearly a busy library as most of the desks were occupied at 5pm in the evening, and not just by Newnham residents as a number of XY-chromosomers use the library's wide-ranging collection too! The college holdings include the majority of first-year core texts and an extensive range of periodicals and law journals, which is typical of most colleges. However, the library also has an enviable Rare Books collection of 6,000 valuable volumes, including an original manuscript by Christine de Pizan, the medieval French authoress.

The quality of its working collection is undeniable, but my favourite part of the tour was seeing how much Newnham College values its alumnae; there was a display of notebooks and stunning photos from an alumna's solo travels around the Middle East, an impressive undertaking in the 1950s. Another feature was the displays of books in the main aisle of the old library, showcasing the literary talents of authors with a Newnham connection, of whom the most notable is probably Virginia Woolf.

All in all it was an enjoyable and stimulating tour, especially for an exile from the faculties like myself. Thanks to Annie, Debbie, Anne the archivist and their colleagues for taking time out to accommodate us (and for feeding us up with cake).

Becky Woods, 18 November

^

English Faculty Library

On 29th October the trainees had a couple of events, one of which was a tour of the English faculty library. The librarian, Libby Tilley very kindly gave us a thorough introduction to the library, which was only built six years ago. The friendly atmosphere of the library is tangible from the entrance where the issue desk is adorned with flowers and the plasma screen displays interesting quotations and 'word of the week' competitions. This is continued throughout the library with sociable seating areas, 'poem of the week' displays and lunchtime drop-ins with the staff near dissertation deadlines, not to mention 'tea at three' during exam term (which not only English students attend!) The library is very open and the layout of the shelves and desks results in copious amounts of natural light for the readers.

The library has several bookable rooms, including a well-appointed IT room, and is set within the faculty building, which also houses the offices of faculty tutors. This allows a close-knit community in which the library is the hub of faculty activity. One main difference between this library and college libraries is the focus on Web 2.0 technologies. The library is on Facebook and Twitter and has an impressively helpful webpage which includes mini blog tutorials on how to use the library. This focus seems to be necessary since college libraries are popular with students due to their proximity and faculty libraries can be under-publicised.

Six out of the seven traineeships in Cambridge are with colleges and so it was very interesting to gain an insight into a faculty library and how they differ from colleges as a whole. Despite the differences in library make-up and focus, this tour left us all with ideas for making our own libraries more accessible and welcoming to students.

Erin Lee, 18 November

^

Events Reports

CILIP New Professionals Information Day 2011

On Friday 3rd June I travelled down to London for the CILIP New Professionals Information Day at the CILIP headquarters. The day was completely free and was aimed at new professionals, students and recent graduates working in the library and information profession - or those thinking about the library and information profession as a career option.

The Keynote Speaker was Steve Clarke, a UK Sales Mentor. The basic premise of his presentation was about the need for people to have a good attitude to succeed in the work place. He acknowledged that there are negative associations of librarianship as a career and that these may contribute to people in our sector not realising their true worth. However he stressed that it is therefore up to us to realise how valuable we are and to market ourselves accordingly so that others may see our talents and expertise.

Also speaking was Alex Wilson-Campbell from jobsforinfopros.com and rapidcvwriting.com. In his session he explored all the main criteria to consider when job-seeking and took us through how to write an effective CV.

There were also sessions from CILIP professionals on getting experience, getting involved and getting international to help boost professional development. It was great opportunities to not only hear some fantastic speakers, but also to learn about CILIP as an organisation and network with other young professionals over lunch.

Charlotte Byrne, 06 June

^

Session on Qualifications and Professional Development

Session 1: Library and Information Studies Qualifications

This session focused on Library Schools across the country and encompassed full-time, part-time and distance learning. Each speaker gave a quick overview of the course, which they had attended, and the pros and cons that they had experienced. All of the courses dealt with the same core subjects but each had its own focus such as on technological advances in the sector or bibliography or library design. It is these differences which allow us to tailor our choice of university and course to fit future career plans.

Session 2: CILIP and other Professional Development

After Library School it seems that chartership is the next step forward in professional development. This it seems, is not the only option. Indeed membership of CILIP is not a necessity for career progression as long as you can portray your professional advancement within your job. Several speakers outlined the benefits and methods of obtaining certification, chartership as well as other qualifications such as the MBA and ILM Level 2 Award in first-line management. There was also discussion concerning Library and Information Science PhDs and Fellowships of the Higher Education Academy, neither of which I had considered beforehand. I was particularly interested in the MBA, which was discussed by the deputy librarian of the UL and focuses on the budgeting, strategy and management of a library.

These sessions were very useful in broadening the outlook of the career. With so many paths to follow with professional qualifications there is no reason to become stale and every reason to continue developing throughout your career. Thanks very much to Libby Tilley of the English faculty for bringing all of this together for us.

Erin Lee, 07 June

^

Cam(Lib)TeachMeet

On Tuesday night, four of us made our way out to the Schlumberger Research Centre on Madingley Road for the 2nd Cambridge Librarians' TeachMeet. TeachMeets first originated (funnily enough) in the teaching community as informal evenings of short presentations and socialising. The first TeachMeet for librarians was organised in Cambridge last September, and Tuesday's event was the much awaited Cam(Lib)TeachMeet 2. As a mark of how popular the event was, the 60 places had filled up within a few hours of the booking opening!

As we arrived at the Schlumberger Centre we were given a human bingo sheet, with our mission to get a full house by finding people who matched each statement on the sheet. This turned out to be a fun way of meeting everyone very quickly, and set the tone for the rest of the event.

The main part of the evening consisted of a mixture of 5 minute micropresentations and 2 minute nanopresentations. This format worked very well as we got to hear about a wide range of topics, and there was very little pressure on the speakers. The presentations ranged from social bookmarking and tagging to special collections and outreach. For me the highlights included a presentation by secondary school librarian Nicky Adkins on bringing research skills into the classroom, and Laura Wilkes's presentation on using QR codes to promote NHS ejournals.

Videos and slides for the talks are on the TeachMeet website, and are well worth a look.

Annie Johnson, 31 March

^

Libraries@Cambridge conference 2011 - Morning Session

The annual Libraries@Cambridge conference is an opportunity for Cambridge librarians to get together and hear presentations from professionals in the field from other institutions as well as from Cambridge itself.

Alex Wade of Microsoft Research presented on the changing scholarly communication landscape and focused on librarians in situ with researchers working to develop software and data sets to support research. He works to facilitate the move from static research summaries such as research papers to rich information vehicles, which promote reproducibility and self-perpetuating research. Alex's approach to scholarly output made us question preservation. Should we be archiving tweets and blogs? They can be scholarly output after all. He went on to introduce us briefly to features of Microsoft Research tools such as Microsoft Academic Search and Microsoft Worldwide Telescope, which are beginning to be significant forces in the research world. It was fascinating to gain an insight into the role of a librarian as a program manager in a research team.

Next up was Ned Potter, aka "thewikiman," who spoke about the concept of the library Echo Chamber where information/ideas/beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission inside an "enclosed" space such as a library community, online library social media (such as Twitter, blogs etc.), or even this conference. Library marketing and advocacy is a subject with which I was not particularly familiar and so the concept of escaping the Echo Chamber and the benefits which this will bring to the library world was empowering. An interesting point, which resonates in all libraries, is that we need to conflate what we and what our users think is important. It is only in that way that libraries can move on with the support of users.

There were three options for the last session of the morning: special collections, research data management and library design. I chose to attend the first of these, which dealt primarily with the Churchill archives and their publication, copyright and the Darwin Correspondence Project based at the UL. These talks provided insights into how archives worked and their constraints such as funding and accessibility. One of the main points raised was access. Even if special collections are available, they may not be accessible and it is this distinction that archivists and librarians must appreciate. This was a useful session, which gave brief accounts of the work of two very different archives as well as address issues such as copyright and publication.

From the morning of the conference alone, the professional community of Cambridge libraries came through strongly and the speakers empowered the audience to advocate their libraries. It was an inspiring event and the afternoon proved no less so.

Erin Lee, 10th January

^

Libraries@Cambridge conference 2011 - Afternoon Session

The afternoon session of the conference took a different format, and featured short presentations from groups and individuals on the theme "Working Together: A Celebration". The afternoon definitely proved we have a lot to celebrate! Amongst the many excellent presentations, the highlights for me were those on (lib)TeachMeet, the 23 Things programme, ebooks@Cambridge, and the first ever library stall at Freshers' Fair.

However the most exciting part of the afternoon as far as the trainees were concerned was our own presentation! We put together a presentation on the graduate trainee programme, as it is a prime example of librarians from different colleges and faculties working together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Our slides and a transcript of the presentation can be found here. We have received some really good feedback, including from some people who hadn't known much about the programme before hearing our presentation. Hopefully we've inspired some libraries to hire their own trainees!

A lot of the projects talked about in the afternoon were grassroots initiatives, which came about as a result of the enthusiasm of the librarians we have here in Cambridge. By the end of the afternoon I for one was itching to get more involved, and I know the feeling was shared by a lot of the people attending the conference.

Annie Johnson, 11th January

^

Session on Library School applications

29th October saw the trainees attend a session at Newnham on library school applications. If some of us were unsure why this was happening when we had only been in the job a tender six weeks or so, it quickly became clear that the application process starts very early in some cases (e.g., UCL) and that the early bird catches the worm (read 'funding'). Facing the trainees was a formidable panel of learned librarians recently graduated from an array of different academic backgrounds, each of whom spoke about their experiences; UCL, Loughborough, Sheffield and Aberystwyth Universities were represented. It was particularly fortunate that we were briefed by Claire Warwick, Reader in Library Science at UCL and formerly of Sheffield, who had plenty of good advice about how to handle the whole process. The one area about which she professed not to knowing about was the funding situation in the wake of the Browne Review (does anyone?), but she stated that funding was still available to 'very good' students, and implied that we might well stand a chance in this most cut-throat of competitions. It was heartening to get the impression that the universities rate the Cambridge Trainees' scheme. All the speakers were generous in sharing their experience and warmly encouraged questions. The meeting was highly worthwhile, as a good many (if not all) of us were at that point only at early stages of considering the 'next step', and we emerged from it with enhanced awareness of our options.

Tom Ford, 29 November

^

CILIP New Professionals Information Day 2010

Early in October several of the trainees went on the CILIP New Professionals Information Day. This was aimed at librarians and information professionals who had started working in the sector in the last few years, and to those who were considering it as a profession. There were around 100 people at the event, so it was a fantastic opportunity to meet people in a similar situation to ourselves.

The day was structured to give a choice of sessions in the morning and afternoon, with keynote speeches from Phil Bradley and Maxine Miller just before lunch. There was a good selection of speakers, all very enthusiastic and giving great advice on topics ranging from "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!" to "The Global Profession: The Overseas Perspective". There was a CV checking service, and there were also people from CILIP around to answer questions.

I found this a really helpful and inspiring event. The best part for me was the opportunity to meet such a large number of other new librarians, it was a great networking event.

Annie Johnson, 17 November

^

Training Reports

CATALOG Website Training

On 2nd November, the graduate trainees headed to Newnham Library to have our CATALOG website training. We had already been on some basic HTML courses run by the University Computing Service, but this session, run by Colin Higgins, helped us see how we can manage and update CATALOG as team. Colin, now librarian at St. Catharine's College, was the graduate trainee at Christ's between 2006-2007 and thus had lots of helpful advice. During our two-hour session we discussed what we should include in the website and what role it plays. We agreed that the website was very useful to us when we were applying to the graduate trainee schemes in Cambridge. Colin demonstrated how to change the website, which is not as daunting as it looks! To make sure that all the information is up to date, a rota was created so that one trainee updates the website each week. All in all, it was a very informative session and it was nice for all of us a meet a previous trainee who was once in our shoes.

Charlotte Byrne, 29 November

^
Current Trainees | What we do | Previous Trainees | Events | Library School | Careers | Cambridge | Links | Timeline | Blog | Contact us