Backstory

I love my job. My job title is Library Assistant and I job share which means I get paid for working 2 1/2 days a week. I work in a state secondary school in West Sussex: our library has over 8000 books in print and 10 desktop computers.  I have done this for almost one school year.

Why am I so excited about this? Why have I decided to write a blog about it? I want to share my love of books and reading not only with the students but with anyone who is interested.

I fell into library work. I got a call from my previous school asking if I’d come in and help out in the library until they could appoint a library assistant. I’d been helping as a parent in the school for the previous four years, so they knew what they were letting themselves in for…they never did recruit a library assistant, I was asked to stay on and I did – for six wonderfully full-filling years.

I started working 2 1/2 days a week, that increased to four days a week and finally full-time, five days a week. I worked for three outstanding librarians, all very different and boy, did I learn a lot! During that time, I also went to night school at the local university and got myself a Certificate in Librarianship which gave me the confidence to believe I knew what I was talking about (despite previously mentioned librarians being kind enough to tell me I did!).

This all happened when our family was living in Hong Kong. When we moved back to the UK four years ago, I started to look for library work. Sadly, the public library system has been decimated by the last two governments and finding a job in any kind of library has become nigh on impossible. However, I signed myself up to all sorts of job websites and last December my current job was advertised and the rest is history.

So, that’s me. I plan on updating when I have something to share about books, displays or anything reading related that’s just too good to keep to myself.

Hope you’re in for the ride.