PEOPLE
APPRENTICE
Apprenticeship allows creativty to shine through
WHEN I completed my four-year degree in Fine Art, I didn’t think about where it would lead. My motivation has always been creativity – it didn’t matter what, or how – the habit of producing, designing and present- ing meaningful work is intrinsic.
I’ve always been interested in books, they direct my work at every juncture, but they carry my history too. I have vivid memories of sitting on the floor in empty houses as child; we moved around a lot, but books were a way of having friends wherever I went. When I saw an opening for a library job in my local academy, I saw an opportunity to share my passion for books and creativity with the next generation. My apprenticeship in Library, Information and Archive Services began in January 2023. I’m currently completing my apprenticeship at Thomas Deacon Academy, one of the larg- est academies in the Midlands, where I and my team serve 2,000 plus students and teachers. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was merging real-life experience with theory on the trot, and it was a steep learning curve. Everything was new – communicating with kids and assisting teachers by day, and immersing myself in archival practices and library history by night. It was exciting, exhausting, and has changed my ideas forever regarding libraries; particularly ones in the education sector. It isn’t anything like people imagine, and in truth, the per- spective of school libraries in the eyes of the public was a shock to me. We operate under the umbrella of the school and are there to serve, but we stand firm as an entirely indi- vidual institution of free learning, and free reading. Despite the purpose of schools being to educate, breaking through the politics around censorship and raising our voice to maintain our values as a library has been a difficult but valuable ven- ture that I’m proud to be a part of. An apprenticeship is a fantastic way to get to grips with
the profession you’re in – to really understand it. I think this is incredibly important for working in a library. Once you understand why the library exists, why they need to be pro- tected, it ensures your capability to stay motivated. My boss has worked in the library sector for a long time, and I was in the perfect position to glean as much information as I could because of my apprenticeship – the assignments pushed me to ask questions, to discuss with my tutor about how the tar- gets were applied in a school setting. I would advise anyone who is looking to begin a career in
the library and information sector to consider an apprentice- ship, if there’s one available! You’ll hopefully learn as much about yourself as you study the theory. It’s integral to our ser- vice to be aware of our role in the school environment, and this helps us to stand firm in our values and abilities. Combining the physical job of working at a school with the theory of the apprenticeship was daunting at first! My role as
46 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Laurie Gibbs, Library Apprentice at Thomas Deacon Academy.
a school librarian in the first few months was building up a good muscle memory – what to do when spontaneous class- es appear, how to host inductions, guiding children through online learning and teaching children from ages 5-18 how to self-study – and once I’d got the hang of my methods at work, I could apply my learning from my apprenticeship study. The combination has produced a positive outcome and with the help of a fantastic boss and a tutor who was dialled in to the demands of a school library job meant that I
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Once you understand why the library exists, why they need to be protected, it ensures your capability to stay motivated.
Spring 2025
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