Post-script to Miss Moore thought otherwise…

Re-reading my blog posts, in the spirit of research and reflection, I realised I made an unforgivable error in the post ‘Miss Moore thought Otherwise’. I mentioned that I got my first library ‘card’ aged 5, completely forgetting that, at this point, libraries still operated the browne card issue method! So, I didnt get a ‘card’, I got a little brown envelope where the issue cards from the books were kept, that had my name on the front of it and lived in a little drawer in the main library desk. No bar codes in 1975! They looked a little bit like this:

I was totally obsessed with these little cards and the drawers they lived in. So it’s no wonder that I became a Librarian, really. But it’s got me thinking about how much more there is to the profession, even then. I saw the Librarian at our little branch library as almost Godlike in her ability to know exactly where a particular book was, and if they didn’t have it, she could get it for me! I thought it was by magic, but now I know it was simply the reservation and Inter-Library Loan systems that produced the eagerly awaited volume. She had the power to make or destroy my day/week.

I distinctly remember the first ILL I ever had: it was a copy of ‘The Blue Lagoon’ by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. I had recently watched the film, aged about 12ish, and was determined to read the book about two children cast ashore on a desert island with no adults to tell them what to do (every 12 year old’s dream, I think)! As it was an old book, which I didn’t know until I spoke to the Librarian about it, we didn’t have a copy in the local library, but never you fear, young Karen, she got it for me!

By today’s standard, the investigation she would have to do to find a copy would simply be to type it into Copac and send off for the text in question. In 1982, the process was much more arduous. It would’ve involved microfilm, I daresay. I don’t think I ever expressed my gratitude properly to her, or her very well-trained staff, so, belatedly, thank you to all Bilston Library staff from 1970 to the present day! I wouldn’t be where I am today without you…

Well, where does that leave me? I hope that, in my customer service dealings, I give as much to my customers as I received from the Bilston Library staff. The profession has changed beyond what Mrs Morgan would recognise now (and I know she retired about 1994). But the ethos remains the same: we facilitate access to knowledge and information, we do it with a smile on our face and we have a dedication to our profession that most occupations will never see…I thank my lucky stars I have been allowed into such a great institution and have such enthusiastic, wonderful colleagues and compatriots! Hats off to all Librarians everywhere! 🙂