Prior to working in libraries, I'd done a variety of jobs: a spot of web design, counter clerk for the DVLA, medical secretary and head receptionist for a women's sexual health clinic. We've all heard the stereotypes about librarians, and it's impossible to enter the profession without a few preconceived notions about what your role will involve. Here are a few tips I wish someone told me prior to starting my graduate traineeship. Unfortunately, it's mostly relevant for academic librarians-in-training, so apologies for the lack of relevance to other sectors as I'm sticking to the old adage of write what you know:
1. Learn who people are, and what role they do. The library I work in has over 200 members of staff, split across three sites, so this might seem like an arduous task, but everyone from the head librarian to shelving clerks will have invaluable information for you.
2. Dress. I wore 3" heels and a suit on my first day, only to find the rest of the customer service staff around my age were clad in jeans, Converse and t-shirts from Threadless. If your job is anything like mine was, you'll get dirty. Ink and toner, and discarding books from the stacks, will give you flaky hands and librarian's knee from all that bending. I never thought I'd be sitting behind an oak desk pointing to books on numismatics with a glossy smile and a perfectly manicured nail, but I didn't think I'd spend quite so much time crawling through Stack General Science discarding Russian journals from 1880 on epidemiology. A thick cardigan is a must if you're working in Special Collections or archives. Temperature control keeps them chilly.
3. Research your postgraduate course (assuming you want to do one, that is) as soon as possible. I started my traineeship in July. Before I knew it, it was March, and I was chain-smoking and biting my nails trying to catch up with my undergraduate tutor for a reference and sending application forms special delivery. It worked out well for me; I love my course. However, it's a source of stress you can easily avoid.
4. Shadow wherever you can, especially if, like me, you have a traineeship where there's not much rotation. Yes, even in the areas that you think might be really dull. I learned I loved cataloguing and thanks to my colleague in the book repairing unit, can mend a broken spine using a piece of cardboard and PVA glue. Also try and scatter shadowing days and visits throughout the year, so you'll always be learning something new. Though, to be honest, librarianship is a profession where the learning never stops.
5. Keep a reflective journal of what you've done. If you're liable to procrastinate these things, ask your mentor/line manager to give it a quick read-over once a month. It will act as a useful reminder of how much you've done in the year, and it's a great way of showing management that you're great value for money. I didn't keep a reflective journal, and ended up collating a large amount of e-mails and notes from meetings which was time-consuming and could easily have been avoided.
6. Undertake routine tasks with grace, and don't be snobbish about doing anything. I'm not a particular fan of our patrols, where we walk up and down the library telling people to be quiet and put their food and drinks away, but tasks like this are the glue that hold the library together. My current manager will still shelve for an hour on weekends, and my old line manager in customer services is the first to jump in and assist during busy times on the circ desk. I find this awesome, and intend to do the same if I'm in a similar position.
7. Treat all customers as you'd like to be treated, irrespective of the way they treat you. As a graduate trainee, you may have recently graduated yourself, so it's not difficult to think back to your essay deadlines and late night exam cramming. In an ideal world, there would be one copy and one computer for everybody, but that's not the case. Be proactive and flexible in offering whatever solutions you can. Could they find a cheap copy of their coursebook on Amazon? Do they know how to search the catalogue for books on similar topics? Do they know how to place a hold, or contact their faculty team librarian for extra copies? Learn from customer service staff who attempt to meet students half-way, but accept you can't please everyone all the time.
8. Network with other graduate trainees. In her excellent post, Bethan mentions the need for more networking. CILIP do have Chapter One, though, which is a useful starting point, but informal networking is alive and well. My boss knew the names of the trainees at another university in my city, and the four of us got to know each other really well even though we have a variety of interests -- I'm putting together a conference proposal with one, as a matter of fact. You may not be the only graduate trainee in your institution, but there are likely to be paraprofessional members of staff studying for, or thinking about studying for, professional qualifications. Ask around!
9.Prove your worth. Make sure that people remember you. Write a proposal for a conference, offer to undertake project work, share any observations you've picked up that only a new member of staff might question. Our libraries are, essentially, paying for our training. Most of us will move on after a year and be employed elsewhere, and the number of graduate trainee positions is declining year after year. If we don't prove our worth in an already depressed economy, what incentive do management have to train the next generation?
10. Obtain a cat. Better yet, obtain several cats. Bake cakes. (Yorkshire tea loaf and lemon drizzle went down well.) Attend cross-site meetings. Join the library football team. When the library gives you lemons, laugh. This is vital for bonding with your colleagues, and ensures your name will stick around long after your traineeship is over.
