IN DEPTH ‘‘
Lucy Roper, Librarian,Uni- versity College of Estate Management (UCEM), library advocate and author of The Solo Librarian: A Practical Handbook.
As part of CILIP professional registration, it is recommended that you get a mentor and having a mentor had a real positive effect on me.
The solo librarian
Lucy Roper FCLIP is an academic solo librarian at the University College of Estate Management (UCEM) and recently published The Solo Librarian: A Practical Handbook.
MY role is to manage, organise, evaluate, and disseminate information, supporting members of the UCEM academic commu- nity, including students, lecturing staff and researchers. I have over 25 years of experience managing library and informa- tion services and 12 years working as a solo librarian.
I recently decided to share my experiences with those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines by writing The Solo Librari- an: A Practical Handbook.
There are a lot more solo librarians than people realise and following the COVID pandemic many librarians found themselves newly soloed as a consequence. Solo librarians can be found working anywhere in the world – in law libraries, museums, corporate, hospitals, prisons, zoos, forestry services, school libraries, small public and academic librar- ies (that include small private colleges, satellite campuses, community colleges, or faculty/specialist libraries), transport libraries, architectural firms, stately homes and houses of worship. Over the pandemic and lockdown period I decided to make good use of my time and undertake the highest level of CILIP Professional Registration, namely Fellowship. As part of CILIP professional registration, it is recommended that you get a men- tor and having a mentor had a real positive effect on me. It allowed me to work with someone who had a wealth of knowledge and experience, could observe and advise, ask questions, provide feedback and suggest new ideas.
Professional Registration also provides a platform for us to reflect on our working practices. As part of
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the Chartered Fellowship route evidence needs to be provided to show substantial achievements and significant contributions to the profession, and so networking, collaboration and publishing work was put forward to me. From discussions and brain- storming, the idea of sharing my experiences as a solo librarian practitioner was sown and how we (solo librarians, library and information scientists) describe and advocate what we do and encapsulate the special ingredients that we can bring and share for public benefit and societal good.
The premise for The Solo Librarian: A Practical Handbook
Identifying the need
Whilst there are plenty of books that cover library work in detail, there are very few, and certainly no current, UK-based practical books, that cover this work from the perspective of a solo librarian, who must juggle multiple tasks at one time and has to deal with all aspects of library provision on their own that can be a daunting task. Therefore, the gap in the market was identified for this practical handbook that will help to break down the tasks involved and offer support on how to cope with these situations from an experienced practitioner.
Proposing a solution
A culmination of 25 years of experience has provided me with a wealth of information, advice and guidance that I would like to share with others, especially those about to embark on the solo librarianship journey, actively diversifying the content to increase its rele- vance to an international audience. Through this publication – an internationally
Summer 2025
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