Library Ireland Week 8-13 March 2010: @ Your Library

 What is your Name?   Evelyn Flanagan  
 
Where are you From?  Tuam, Co Galway

Where do you Work? UCD Library, Special Collections.

Did you always want to be a librarian and if not what did you do before?

I didn’t always want  to   be a librarian.  Throughout most of my childhood I wanted to become a nurse. While in school however I developed an interest in history.  After school I studied Arts (History and Sociology & Politics) in NUI Galway. I went on to do an MA in History and to earn some money while doing this I worked part time in the university library as a shelver.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere and that was the first time really that I thought about becoming a librarian.  Throughout my time in college, and afterwards, I met really helpful, knowledgeable and friendly library staff.  I though that it would be great to have a job where you could be of help to people doing their projects and essays.  I also liked the idea of the librarian, whether in a public library or a university library, being an important part of any community, providing an educational service to all.

 

What is you average day like?

I am the Special Collections librarian in UCD so I look after the books which were inherited from UCD’s antecedent institutions (Catholic University of Ireland and the Royal College of Science).  Most of the material in Special Collections was published before 1850.  The books are hand printed on handmade paper and many are bound in leather.  Our oldest book was published in 1477, 27 years after the invention of the printing press.  It’s difficult to describe an average day as every day is different.  The job is very variedBecause of its age stock is held in an environmentally controlled area off our reading room.  Our primary function is making this material accessible to our users while ensuring that it is handled in a correct manner. 

Every day we plug in our dehumidifers to ensure that the relative humidity is stable and within the recommended ranges.  We also check that the temperature is stable.  When books or pamphlets are requested by users we retrieve the book and ask that the user use a pencil when taking notes.  We also provide book rests so that the spine of the books is supported, and weights so that the user dies not lean on the book to keep it open as some are bound tightly.  Some of our books would need conservation so we spend some time identifying items for repair.  Some time is spent applying for grants from various organisations, like the Heritage Council for example, and in seeking out sources of funding for conservation and preservation of materials.  We continue to catalogue our collection so that users know what we have.  We also arrange exhibitions of material.  Because we work in an academic university we work closely with the academic community.  We invite academics to visit special collections so that they are aware of the wealth of our collections.  They in turn advise their students to use our collections.  We seek their advice on profiling our collections within the university. 

I would draw their attention to items within our collection which might be of specific relevance to a course they are teaching.  We sometimes hold tours of special collections for classes on the request of their lecturer and I would go out to classes and give presentations on our holdings.  I also work on the development of our webpagesI am also a member of the LAI Rare Books Group committee.  This group is involved in organising seminars and workshops around the general theme of Rare Book curatorship.  These workshops and seminars help us in our continual professional development.  It’s important to get to know people who have a similar role in other institutions as they are the people who can provide advice on practical things like conservators, standards, procedures, exhibitions etc. My average day could involve any of the above activities.      

How many people do you work with?

I share an office with one person but we are part of a team of about 21 people that support the schools in the humanities and social sciences in UCD.  UCD’s library service has 189 staff overall, though not all are full time.

 

It is a privilege to work with antiquarian books on a daily basis.  Almost every day I discover a book that amazes in some way.  Many of our books have wonderful illustrations and some bear the signature of the author.  However, the most thing I enjoy about the job is guiding users towards items in our collection that will give them the information they need for their projects.

How do you unwind after a hard day? I like to go for a walk, watch TV and read.