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So, I'm over two thirds of the way through my traineeship, and back in the cataloguing department. This means waving goodbye to the cosy little office that is interlibrary loans, and back to the wide open spaces that are cataloguing. I'm picking up stuff again reasonably quickly - as I was assured, cataloguing is rather like riding a bicycle, except I can't ride a bicycle, and I can, to some degree, catalogue, as I hope I've been proving this week!

So, having experienced my fill of the library's departments (at least the ones we get to actively experience) I suppose I ought to jot down a few thoughts. The first is something that has come up a couple of times in this blog before, and that's the idea of circulation. The great thing about switching between departments is that you get to see the links between those departments. I've never worked in acquisitions, but as soon as books are ordered and received, they come straight through to be catalogued. They get labelled - okay, so I miss this step! - then I get to shelve them, issue them on my circulation desk shifts in the evenings and weekends, and then they come back to me to shelve again. In addition, having worked in interlibrary loans, I now know what it's like when other libraries want our books, and how we deal with researchers with wider needs than we can serve through our books and journals alone, which is pretty central to my interest in supporting research. I've got a much wider appreciation for the system of libraries than I had before I worked here, even though I was behind the desk in a library before.

In addition, I think I've picked up some pretty cool skills here. Not a lot of graduate trainees get to catalogue, and while I'm not sure that's terribly heartbreaking (and although cataloguing's not my dream job) it's illuminating to understand cataloguing at a certain level, and I'm sure it'll stand me in good stead in library school and future job interviews. Getting enquiry desk experience has given me oodles to think about in terms of how to interact with library users, and again is something really important to have on my CV. I keep on saying that this post has been a great preparation for library school. I've still got 4 months before I'll find out how true that is!

Labels: cataloguing, circulation, interlibrary loans, traineeship