reserve stacks and seeing all the older copies of books! At Skelmersdale, I am part of an excellent team who are all very supportive of my apprenticeship and always willing to help and answer questions when needed.
Working in Lancashire Libraries for the past year, I have had the opportu- nity to be involved in lots of exciting events. Over the summer holidays Lancashire Libraries have been running their summer activity challenge called SCART Club. The theme for this year was Planet Savers. Children taking part must read five books and take part in a series of eco challenges. We’ve run sessions in the library to help the children complete the chal- lenge and have made butterfly feeding stations, bug hotels and bird feeders. It’s great to see Lancashire Libraries encouraging children to think about such an important topic.
Can you talk us through the way your work, col- lege time and assignments fit into your working week?
As part of my apprenticeship, I am entitled to 20 per cent of my time off the job. This equates to approximately seven hours per week which can be used to work on my assign- ments, conduct research or attend workshops. I generally have two half days, which I use to work on my assignments. My Library Officer, Daisy, is brilliant and always flexible to allow me the time that I need to complete my work. I have been able to attend some great workshops organised by Lancashire Libraries where we have talks and activities from different departments within the library service and the wider Cultural Services. So far topics have included prison libraries, reading develop- ment and bibliotherapy. The workshops are a valuable opportunity to learn and network and allows all the ap- prentices in Lancashire Libraries to gather and discuss our progress on the apprenticeship.
How did you hear about the apprenticeship, what made you apply and why did you feel an apprentice- ship was the right route into libraries for you? I first heard about library apprenticeships when scroll- ing through Indeed looking for jobs. I wasn’t seriously job hunting at the time and was just having a general look to see what opportunities where available local- ly. I spotted the advertisement for an apprentice at Skelmersdale Library and clicked on the link to read more. I had never worked in a library before, but the job description instantly sparked my interest. This led me to speak to my mother-in-law to be, who worked in Glasgow Libraries before retiring. She encouraged me to go for it and apply for the role. Despite the encouragement and fond memories of libraries, applying for and accepting the apprenticeship was a leap of faith for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect at all. Thankfully, from the very first day I loved it. I loved it so much that I questioned why I had never thought of working in a library before!
You have been doing your apprenticeship for six months already – what was the biggest chal- lenge, or most surprising aspect about appren- ticeships?
September 2022 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 19
I would say the most surprising aspect of the apprenticeship has been the amount of academic writing involved. Each knowl- edge criteria requires a written piece of work demonstrating understanding of the knowledge. It was daunting at first having to produce these assignments as I haven’t done work like this for many years. Despite this, I have grown in confidence with each piece and now greatly enjoy researching and writing each assignment.
Helen Esdaile.
Another challenge I have encountered, was the Archives aspect of the apprentice- ship with having to write an assignment on archives for Knowledge 10. A workshop was arranged for the apprentices to attend the Lancashire Arches in Preston, which was an excellent opportunity to gather the infor- mation required for the assignment. This workshop was greatly enjoyable, and the tour allowed us to see some rare records such as the oldest item in the archives!
What has been the most rewarding aspect so far? Each day in the library is completely different; one minute you’re help- ing a customer on the computers and the next you’re singing nursery rhymes to toddlers. I’ve also learnt never to be surprised by a question! I would say my favourite task in the library is creating books displays. Some of my favourites I’ve created so far are a ‘Blind Date with a Book’ display, a ‘Travel the World in Books’ display and a ‘Woman’s History Month’ display. Promoting reading is so important and I find it so engaging being able to highlight different themes.
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