My job!

About twenty days ago I was in a bloggy funk with no forthcoming inspiration, so I asked for some questions and Katie obliged! I can only say that I am very sorry for leaving it so long to answer!! She asked me what my job was to do with and how I ended up in that particular career. Well, Katie, you have been waiting patiently for my answer and you need wait no longer!

My recent six word memoir was "books, books, books, here, there, everywhere!" and this is so very appropriate for both my personal life and my career. Appropriate for my personal life because I am rarely to be found without a book in my hand and every surface in my house usually has a book on it!

It's also appropriate for my career because I am a dyed-in-the-wool Librarian (without obligatory bun or cardigan!!) and I am surrounded by books at work too! I am actually what is known as a Special Librarian because I focus on a very particular type of library, by which is usually meant that I am anything but a public librarian! (I don't think that I could put up with children running around the library all day long!)

I should point out that "Special Librarian" really covers those that do not work in academic or public libraries, instead it is a category that tries to cover business, hospital, and legal libraries. Anyway, my specific catch-all title has undergone many changes over the last few decades or so! We were originally Medical Librarians, with variants such as Nursing Librarians, but today most of us are Healthcare Librarians so as not to discriminate against any doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, psychologist, etc, etc, that may wish to use the library.

Naturally we all have very different job titles, I started off as Senior Library Assistant when I was freshly sprung from University just over ten years ago and now I am pleased (horrified?!) to say that I am now Head Librarian, albeit in a different hospital library to where I started ten years ago!

Why did I decide to become a librarian? It's a mix of reasons really, the first one being that the Library and Information Studies degree on offer at Loughborough University seemed to be the right one for me - up until that point I don't think that I had really given Librarianship much point. Plus, it was a vocational degree rather than any old subject which I reasoned would give me a headstart on those who would try to say that I couldn't do a job because I am deaf (huh!). In addition to which it seemed to make sense...I enjoy books so much, why shouldn't I work with them? I am not even one to get all squeamish at the sight of the surgical and trauma books as they actually quite fascinating!

So there you have it - which is why my six word memoir is books, books, books, here, there, everywhere!