Author Archives: Ellen Woolf

Graduate Trainees for 2021-22 Signing Off!

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The 2021-22 Graduate Traineeships are drawing to a close here in Cambridge, and what a year it’s been! From visits and talks to workshops and conferences, the Graduate Trainees have certainly been very busy. We have all learned so much about library work, both in our own academic libraries and countless other kinds of libraries – some of which we never knew existed before.

We feel very lucky to be the first cohort of Cambridge trainees to get the full Graduate Trainee experience since the COVID-19 pandemic began – although the virus did keep some of us from attending visits at various points throughout the year! But overall, we’ve managed to pack a lot in and have a more traditional Graduate Trainee experience with lots of in-person visits and training sessions. Have a look at our thread on Twitter for a round-up of the year’s activities!

Although we’ve done a lot as a group, we’ve also each had a very unique experience of being a Graduate Trainee. As such, we’ve decided to put together some personal highlights from the year, along with some information about what we’re doing next! As well as being a nice way to reflect on the year we’ve had, we hope this will give future Graduate Trainees an idea of what they can expect during their year, and the opportunities available to them after it finishes.

Ellen

“All of the visits and training opportunities have been amazing, but my personal highlight of the Graduate Traineeship has to be the connections I have made. As well as building up a really strong professional network, I have also made some friends for life here. I have a part-time job in an academic library lined up for when the traineeship ends, which offers the perfect opportunity to gain more practical experience while I study for my library Masters starting in September. I am also on the committee of a soon-to-launch network for early-career library and information professionals, which I am really excited about. I’ll be studying part-time over two years, so I should hopefully be able to maintain some level of work-life balance!”

Jess

“One of my (many) highlights has been the time I have spent with special collections, whether that be my chats with experts in the library or while curating my small exhibition on early modern astronomy. There’s nothing like reading about an old book for ages and then getting to actually hold an original copy in your hands!

The biggest highlight of all, though, has been the people. I could not have asked for more of anything – be it support, expertise, or general brilliance – from the people I’ve met this year. They’re absolute stars and are a enormous part of what made my traineeship so wonderful.

Now that my traineeship has finished, I’m going on to work as a library assistant at another college. Alongside, I will also be doing some volunteer book cleaning of some sadly mouldy special collections. So I still get to touch old books – even if it’s through some lovely latex gloves!”

Katherine

“I have had an excellent time on my traineeship! I’ve really enjoyed involving the library in Outreach efforts, and my best achievement was putting together an archive exhibition for my college’s 150th anniversary on its Working Women’s Summer Schools. Weirdest moment was definitely finding lots of tiny plastic babies on the shelves (apparently it’s some kind of TikTok trend?). I’m pleased to say I’ll be continuing in college librarianship (though hopping across to a different library!) – lots of time still to explore interdisciplinary books and chat to students!”

Lucy

“A personal highlight has been working in the historic Wren Library every day, having close contact with the incredible and diverse special collections housed within its walls. Halfway through the year, I was given the opportunity to write an article for Trinity’s Alumni magazine about a ‘Trinity Treasure’. I chose a colourful costume book (‘Trachtenbuch’) from 16th century Nuremburg. It was a wonderful way to explore in more detail a book within the collection, learning about the context and history of its production. You can read the article here on pages 22-23.

‘Trinity Treasures’ article by one of the Graduate Trainees published in ‘The Fountain’ alumni magazine
‘Trinity Treasures’ article published in ‘The Fountain’ alumni magazine

I also feel I should give a shout-out to one particularly weird and wonderful task I undertook – checking back in the skeleton models that are given to medical students at the start of the year. Sitting at my desk surrounded by fibulas, ulnas, clavicles, and sternums was a particularly bizarre experience. I am now far more well acquainted with the medical terms for human body parts – something that I wasn’t necessarily anticipating pre-starting at Trinity! The fact that each skeleton also has a name was a source of amusement – Cressida, Samson, Eve, and Gaspar are now safely back in their boxes waiting for October 2022 to come around.

Surrounded by bones! Checking in the model skeletons at my desk

In terms of next steps, the plan now is to move back to London – I am starting a new job at the Natural History Museum (as a Library and Archives Assistant) and will begin a two-year part-time Masters course in Library and Information Studies at University College London. I am incredibly sad to be leaving Trinity, and will really miss my work here, but am also excited to see what the future holds in store.”

William

“I have really enjoyed my time as a Graduate Trainee Librarian. The opportunity to visit a wide variety of libraries and library-adjacent enterprises has broadened my understanding of what a librarian can do. I particularly enjoyed visiting the British Library and their enormous basements and amazing conveyor belt system for moving books around. (It felt like I was behind the scenes at Monsters, Inc!) However, my favourite aspect has been the camaraderie between the trainees, and I enjoyed meeting up with them both in and out of work.”

We would like to say thank you to all the amazing library staff who have supported us this year, and welcome to the new cohort of Graduate Trainees for 2022-23. We hope you get as much out of it as we did!

Visit to Judge Business School Library

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In April we were able to visit the library at the Judge Business School, which is housed in the old Addenbrooke’s Hospital building on Trumpington Street. It is a striking building, remodelled in the 1990s in a colourful, post-modernist style. We were met in the lobby by the Deputy Information and Library Services Manager, who gave us our first sneak peek of the library as we went to collect the User Experience Librarian, before leading us up one of the building’s “floating” staircases to the Business School’s café. They very kindly treated us to our choice of hot drinks, and we all sat down in the café to get an overview of how they run their library and how it fits into life and work at the Judge Business School. 

Judge Business School floating staircase
Judge Business School entrance

They have a relatively small physical collection of approximately 10,000 volumes, but have a huge digital offering of resources like e-books and databases. This means that their students can access library resources from anywhere in the building – and anywhere in the world, which is very important as they have a large number of international students who are studying remotely. These students are very rarely – if ever – in Cambridge to visit the physical library space, so it is crucial that they are able to access the relevant materials online. They always aim to get a digital copy alongside every print copy of a book they order. 

The Judge library offers an incredibly user-focused service (where many older libraries with lots of rare books might be more collections-focused), and this comes across in their customer service and user experience initiatives as well as their collections management. For example, due to the high number of remote international students, they manage an incredibly active chat service. While the COVID-19 pandemic forced many academic libraries to start offering services like academic sessions and inductions over Zoom, the Judge library was already offering such services via Skype well before this. 

It was quite interesting to note that none of the library staff came from a business background, despite working in a specialist business library. As we’ve seen from speaking to other specialist librarians, this appears to be quite common – in many cases, having the skills to run a library is the most important thing, and specialist knowledge can be picked up along the way. This is really reassuring and good to know, as new professionals like us might otherwise be put off applying to roles in specialist libraries because they don’t have specialist knowledge of that field. 

Once we got into the library, it quickly became evident that they really do understand and cater to the needs of their users (both academically and generally) and it comes across in every facet of how they run their library. Their “Boost” collection offers a number of non-academic titles to supplement readers alongside their study needs – from graphic novels and pleasure reads to wellbeing titles and recipe books.

Judge Business School library Boost collection
Judge Business School library Boost collection

Just across from this is the “Weird Ideas” collection, which highlights books that introduce new, innovative, and disruptive ideas to the world of business and economics. Interestingly, as some of these ideas inevitably make it into the mainstream (cryptocurrency being one such example), the book is no longer a ‘weird’ idea and gets moved to the main collection. This is therefore a very interesting and dynamic part of the library, and a concept that works uniquely well for a subject like business. 

They also showed us Bloomberg, a database that provides live stock market information, the same as anyone on Wall Street would have in their office (the “Buy” button is understandably deactivated on the library version). There’s a lot of interesting information that can be found on Bloomberg but one of the highlights that they showed us was Posh, an internal marketplace for the ultra-rich. Think eBay or Craigslist but for yachts, small islands, city centre apartments, and Fabergé eggs. For us librarians it was a lot of fun to poke around and explore Bloomberg, but for the students and staff at Judge Business School, I imagine it must be an invaluable resource of live information. 

The space offers blankets and bean bags so students can have a comfortable experience in the library and even squeeze in a power nap if they need to. Past these and up the stairs, alongside some student desks, is a paper “graffiti wall” where students can provide feedback about different features of the library – and the library staff write back! This allows students to report things that they might not bother to write an email about or find a member of staff for – for example if a door hinge squeaks. 

As well as all the interesting and varied practical library services and UX initiatives, there were also a lot of fun extras. As Star Wars Day was approaching (May 4th), they had a lot of Star Wars paraphernalia in the office ready to set up for it, including a full-sized Baby Yoda/Grogu. There was also a “dinky door” in the back of the library, board games that students can play, and a secret false book hidden on one of the shelves, with chocolate inside for anyone who finds it. All of these extra touches ensure that students (and library staff, I have no doubt) can have a lot of fun when visiting the library, as well as finding the resources they need. 

We are very grateful to the team at JBS for hosting us and making us feel so welcome. 

Library Graduate Trainee Application Top Tips

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It’s the start of a New Year, and with it the start of a new Library Graduate Trainee application cycle. Most of the traineeship listings for 2022 will start to appear between now and the spring. It can be a very busy and complicated time for prospective new trainees, with application deadlines looming and the struggle of putting together a winning personal statement for each one. Since we know exactly what it’s like, having been in the same position this time last year, we thought you might like to hear some advice from the current trainees on how to make your application stand out and (hopefully!) get you the job.

These top tips are brought to you by Katherine (Newnham), Emma (Queens’), Ellen (ARU), Lauren (English, Divinity, and Philosophy Faculty Libraries), and Lucy (Trinity).

Do your research

Katherine: Research the library you’re applying to and be interested in what makes it unique. If it’s in person, you’ll usually get a tour of the library beforehand. Do your research, ask questions, and most of all be interested!

Make sure you also research the type of library you’re applying to – law libraries have a very different focus to academic libraries, for example, and may use very different software. College and faculty/university libraries will be different, and some will be lending and some will not. (School libraries also have very different priorities, such as considering safeguarding of children, which are very important and which you could read up on beforehand.) Don’t be put off of applying to a library if it’s outside your experience – you’re there to learn and you could learn something really interesting! – but it’s good to have an idea of how they differ to show you’re interested in librarianship as a profession and not just as a library user.

Cast a wide net

Ellen: My best piece of advice for a successful Library Graduate Trainee application is to submit a lot of them. Each library that offers a trainee position gets a huge number of applications, so you may find yourself facing a lot of rejections. Don’t be disheartened by this. Personally, I applied to eight different graduate traineeships (as well as other library jobs) and was only invited to interview for two of them. It goes without saying that the more traineeships you apply to, the higher your chances are of securing one.

Katherine: Don’t worry if you don’t get interviews for all of your trainee positions. It’s quite common to be rejected by some and accepted for others. Traineeships are slightly different from library to library so keep applying – you might have the perfect skills for a place you didn’t even realise existed!

Tailor your application

Lucy & Emma: Try to tailor parts of your application to the specific library that you’re applying to. For example, have a look at the library’s special collections, or the responsibilities included within the job description that are unique to the library you’re applying to, and think about why they particularly appeal to you. This can be difficult and time-consuming if you’re applying to lots of different traineeships, but try and make sure that your applications are specific.

Say yes

Ellen: If you are offered an informal chat or a tour of the library, take them up on that offer. This has a double benefit of showing that you are really interested, and it will make you more memorable than other candidates. There is lots of great advice online about how to get the most out of an informal chat, so do your research and then pick up the phone.

It’s not just about books

Lauren: My manager said that this year, a lot of people fell down the trap of just talking about books. Being in an academic library environment means your readers are students and academics. As well as taking care of those books, you are likely to provide teaching, converse with lecturers about scans and reading lists, and communicate with students and senior members over library services. Make sure in your interview to really demonstrate your communication skills, providing examples of teaching, customer service, even retail! Your job really is all about the students, not the books.   

Keep an eye on the listings

Ellen: Virtually every Graduate Trainee post in the UK gets listed on Information Professional Jobs. I remember checking it almost daily last year, and ultimately that’s how I found the traineeship that I am in now. Checking it regularly will enable you to find new openings as soon as they get advertised, giving you plenty of time to put an application together before the closing date.

Reflect on your experiences in libraries

Emma: Try and think of any specific interactions that you’ve had with librarians. What was it about them that was helpful or not helpful? For example, explaining cataloguing systems, being welcoming, or helping you to locate items.

Highlight your relevant experience

Emma: Draw on any experiences of working with books that you have. This might include volunteering in second-hand bookshops or public libraries, working in bookshops, or anything else book-related.

Lucy: It’s also important to bring attention to any other relevant skills you might have. Demonstrate your cross-transferable skills! Whilst not all your experience to date may be in a library setting, you can still use previous experience to evidence good communication and interpersonal skills, as well as an ability to work as part of a team.

Katherine: Bring out any other experience you’ve had! A lot of librarianship is focused on customer service skills, for example – or any time you’ve done a lot of work with spreadsheets, or creating displays. It’s not just all about a love of books!

Think ahead

Ellen: Employers will want to know what you are planning to do once your traineeship is over. One of the main reasons Graduate Trainee positions exist is to give trainees the skills and experience they need for library school. If you want to go on to gain a postgraduate qualification in Libraries & Information, make sure you let them know that! Of course, plans can change, but having some idea of where you want your career to go is a huge advantage.

We hope these tips help you put together a truly stand-out Library Graduate Trainee application. To find out more about current vacancies, you can check out our Twitter thread of library traineeships that opened for applications this month (many of which are closing soon, so be quick!), or keep checking Information Professional Jobs throughout the next few months.