Diary of a Librarian

A few of you have been asking about my librarianship, as mentioned perfunctorily over on the left column, and so this post is to give a bit more information, as well as to set a literary challenge. You did so well with the twins one (must produce a list at some point...) that I'm sure you won't disappoint here. Look out for the challenge at the bottom of the page...

So, what am I doing next year? My position has the rather grand title 'Graduate Trainee Library Assistant', and I received one of the Bodleian Traineeships. This means that, unlike the other departmental positions, I shall rotate through three libraries in Oxford next year (image of myself spinning on the spot, holding piles of books...) starting in the Radcliffe Science Library. As an Englicist, as we are forced to label ourselves, to avoid xenophobia ("are you an English student? " always sounds horrifically unPC), the Realms of Science may be a little confusing. But only Our Vicar's Wife and I, in the entire extended family, are non-scientists. We've learnt to adapt to their propensities to wear grey and talk about calculus.

What does my job entail? That's kind of anyone's guess, at the moment. A little bit of everything that doesn't require expertise, I think - issue desk, cataloguing, mending, enquiries, technological bitsandbobs. All good fun. My personal quest (which probably doesn't appear in the contract I still haven't read) is to inject some colour into the Science Library, mostly through the medium of wool, and the specific form of jumpers.

And after all this... I'll have the necessary year of experience required to get me into Library School. The mystery gets thicker - from what I've seen, these courses contain ominous topics such as 'Transferral Management Skills' and 'Incorporative Information Science'. Going to need to buy a lot more colourful jumpers. But, in my mind, the first lesson will go a little like the sketch today... Perhaps not the first lesson; it's a little advanced.

Onto the challenge. We've done twins in literature. Howsabout Literary Librarians? Where do librarians appear in literature? Body in the Library doesn't count. Off the top of my head... Harry Potter provides stereotypes of every kind; step forward Madam Pince.