INSIGHT
‘‘ Apprentice
Appreciating the value of a local library
B
EFORE my apprentice- ship, I had never worked in libraries before. What I’ve learnt during my apprenticeship is that the
library off ers more than books and has a central role to supporting those in the local community.
This has never been more evident than with the Warm and Welcome off er which has been provided by Lancashire County Council in response the cost-of- living crisis. The core of the off er is for hot drinks to be available for customers in the library and to provide a space where they can spend time and keep warm. Customers have also had access to extra jigsaws, puzzles and games for entertainment. The off er has had a huge impact on borrowers with increased time spent in the library but also has brought in new people who did not previously use the library. The scheme has opened my eyes to the impact the library has on people’s lives and the essential role it has.
The start of the year has been an exciting time and I have been involved in many activities at the library. I’ve created several book displays including a ‘Beat the January Blues’ and a ‘Big Books Last Longer than New Year’s Resolutions’ which were both popular displays. I’ve also been getting involved with preparations at Skelmersdale for the new reading development scheme for two to fi ve-year-olds called Little Steps. I’ve been assisting my colleagues in preparing the displays in the junior library and thinking of ideas for events to hold.
In terms of my apprenticeship, I have 50 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
recently moved through the ‘gateway’ as it is referred to which means that I have now entered the fi nal stage of my apprenticeship. Once through the gateway, I have nine weeks to create and deliver a project, write up a report and present my project. The project needs to address an information need and it’s essential that it meets all the Knowledge, Skill and Behaviour assessment criteria’s to be able to pass. So careful consideration had to be made in what project to undertake.
Having a strong interest in reading development, I decided to look at creating a reading challenge for adults with the aim to add variety to reading and to draw attention to digital services such as the online library catalogue and BorrowBox. My idea was to create a year-long reading challenge with a diff erent theme each month with borrowers reading a book which fi ts that theme. As I only had four weeks to carry out the project, I just trailed one month’s category.
I started by creating a questionnaire gathering information about customers current reading habits which showed 66 per cent of borrowers tended to read the same author and genre. I decided to try and tie each month’s theme with events on the Libraries Connected Universal Off ers Calendar so for March’s category I selected ‘Prize-Winning Female Authors’. I created a visually engaging book display with titles that fi t the theme and set up an experimental placement report using the collection management software, Collection HQ, to track the number of issues from the display. At the time of writing this I am
Helen Mitchell is an Apprentice Library Assistant at Skelmersdale Library, Cultural Services, Lancashire County Council.
I have now entered the fi nal stage of my apprenticeship. Once through the gateway, I have nine weeks to create and deliver a project...
awaiting the fi nal results for the success of the display. Though I am pleased to say that the display is close to meeting its target of 30 issues for the month. I’ll be completing my display by asking the participating customers to complete an online feedback form.
The next few weeks are set to be very full-on but exciting with the completion of my project and my apprentice end-point assessment. Now my apprenticeship is drawing to a close, I refl ect on my time at Skelmersdale Library and I am very appreciative of the opportunities for learning, networking and personal and professional development which the apprenticeship has off ered me. My focus now will be on seeking a permanent position in libraries and looking forward to the future and hopefully a long and successful career in library services. IP
April-May 2023
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