When I finished my first degree in 1985, I thought I would probably become a librarian. I remember looking at the various postgraduate courses on offer, but most colleges seemed to expect a year’s experience before they would give you a place and anyway, I had had enough of studying for a while. So I put the librarian idea to the back of my mind and, quite by accident, became a bookseller instead. A temporary job lead to a permanent fulltime job and eventually 11 years as a Waterstone’s manager. And I loved it – well, mostly. I loved the books and the people (colleagues and customers – well, mostly) and I also enjoyed the financial aspect. I discovered a very competitive streak that I suppose I hadn’t been aware of before. I loved my branch to beat targets and if we beat them by more than any other branch, even better.
Why did I leave bookselling and return to plan A? The short answer is that Waterstone’s changed. Managers were still held accountable for their branch’s performance, but we no longer had any real control. Most of the books were ordered by head office and we were told what had to go in the window, what was in the bestsellers section (no more local footballer biographies), even which book had to go on which table. I also had a regional manager who was a complete moron – rumour had it, he had never even read a book. So, I waited for the annual performance bonus to be paid out and plotted my escape.
I started a Masters in Information and Library Management at Northumbria University
I have been lucky to work in very different libraries, especially considering I never did have that year’s experience before I started the course. I worked in my local public library while I was finishing my Masters. Like most library assistants, I did a bit of everything – my favourite job was probably helping with school holiday craft activities, which involved distributing large quantities of multicoloured glitter around the library, the kids and myself! My least favourite was probably washing the picture books.
On finishing my course, I left the glitter behind to work as a senior library assistant in a university library. I was involved in several projects and learned a lot, but was happy to move on to my current job after 16 months. I have now worked as an NHS librarian for over 5 years. I would never have imagined doing this all those years ago when I first considered being a librarian. It might seem a world away from being a bookshop manager, but it is still about the books (and information in other formats) and the people.
