Case studies: Reader development librarian: Helen

Helen is a reader development librarian at West Berkshire Council. She studied for a BA Hons Writing with Drama followed by an MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield.

I chose librarianship as my career as I am passionate about books and reading. Being a public librarian means I can be passionate about them for a living. I also believe strongly in the value of public libraries and the role they play in society, and I wanted to have a job where I could give something back.

I did voluntary work experience at my local public library in the summer after graduating before beginning a year’s post as a graduate trainee at the University of Exeter. This is a scheme run by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), where library services have one year posts that are designed to give you an overview of library work. I enjoyed my year and it gave me a lot of experience.

From there I went to the University of Sheffield to do an MA in Librarianship. During my MA I decided to specialise in public libraries and did my dissertation on that area. I also set up and ran a book group. I applied for a series of public librarian posts and was lucky enough to get one.

My current role as reader development librarian involves answering enquiries, ordering stock, running projects, training staff, developing new initiatives, stock weeding and running promotions. As my experience has grown, I have been able to take on more roles and try new things as well as taking on more responsibility. There are also opportunities to get involved with different projects and organisations outside of the council so there’s lots of variety. In the future, I would like to move into the management side of things.

The parts of my job that I find most rewarding are meeting and working with different people every day, and helping them to find the information or the book they need. I also enjoy seeing how different people react to the same book and getting the chance to use my communication skills. The less enjoyable parts are that some tasks can be repetitive, and some customers can be difficult.

My undergraduate degree in writing with drama gave me a wide experience of the publishing industry, which helped when demonstrating knowledge at job interviews. I also gained communication and research skills, as I needed to be confident when speaking in front of people through drama performances. My postgraduate degree was specifically for the profession, so gave me a huge amount of relevant skills and knowledge. 

My tip to succeed in librarianship is to join CILIP as they have lots of information and services to tell you about the profession. You will also get job listings and a regular journal that will give you an insight into different areas of the sector.