Category: Library Professionals

Work Placement at the Bill Bryson Library

A post by Vicky Bishop

I am a student on the MA Museum and Artefact Studies course, and one of the course requirements is to complete a 20 day work placement. I have been lucky enough to spend my work placement with the great team at the Billy B. This may seem strange – surely the library is not a museum? – but actually there are a lot of similarities for they both hold collections which are available (in different ways, granted) for public consumption and research, and there are many shared professional skillsets and practices. The university recognises this synergy, for the university’s libraries and museums are part of the same directorate: University Libraries and Collections, or ULC for short. 

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Cleaning up

A post by Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson

I’m not really one for new year’s resolutions, but one thing I wanted to make sure I did in 2023 was make full use of the volunteering time that Durham University generously provides for staff. I have done a bit of volunteering through work before, at a foodbank and preparing Christmas treats for children. But with an entitlement of 35 hours of volunteering time to use, I set about finding something that I could do across the course of the whole year, via the Staff Volunteering Newsletter.

I’m quite an outdoorsy type, so I settled on litter picking/beach cleaning. The university work closely with SeaScapes to improve the state of our beaches and ultimately protect the fragile marine environment, and run monthly beach cleans (starting in April) on 1st Wednesday of every month 10 – 12pm.

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An unusual venue for a library workshop…

A post by Ben Taylorson

As the Faculty Librarian for the Business School, I am a member of the Business Librarians Association (BLA). Last month we were able to meet as a group for the first time since 2020. In itself, it was great to be able to do that – but it was made all the more enjoyable by the choice of meeting venue…

It will probably not come as a surprise when I admit that, as a librarian, I had not been to a work thing at safari park before. But Woburn Safari Park near Milton Keynes was the venue for the BLA members’ workshop, and it made for a memorable day!

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#DULibIntroducing Rebecca Jones

In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing meets Digital Learning Developer Rebecca Jones.

Rebecca Jones

Please state your name, full job title, and a brief description of what that entails:

Rebecca Jones, Digital Learning Developer. My job involves developing digital resources and online provisions for the library and collections. Digital learning developers often have a varied skill set. For example, they can shoot and edit educational videos, design courses and tutorials, create animations, or even produce immersive augmented or virtual reality experiences.

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Graduate intern update: Jenny

Graduate intern Jenny Coulton tells us what she’s been up to recently…

Hello again readers! I’m here to give another update on what I’ve been up to since October as an intern with Durham’s Archives and Special Collections.

One of the biggest projects I’ve been working on has been cataloguing my first collection. I’ve been working on the Backhaus family papers – a small group of material that will be part of our larger Else Headlam-Morley collection. The papers are centred around a woman (Frieda Backhaus nee Herzberg), her life in Germany 1893-1950, and her emigration and final years living in the UK under the employment of the Headlam-Morleys. It’s a fascinating insight into a family, and a great source for life in Germany just before and after the Second World War. One of the most interesting items, in my opinion, is a letter from Frieda’s father, Max, to the commander of the Russian occupation of Berlin, praising the Red Army and even sending the commander a copy of a manuscript he had been working on – and all this on a letter written only a few days after the end of the war! I’ve also been really enjoying the process of cataloguing, although learning how to not get sucked into reading every detail is surprisingly difficult. Nevertheless, it’s very satisfying to summarise, and even more fulfilling to realise that my work means that these collections are now mor easily accessible for future academics and research.

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Playful Learning Conference 20/21/22

A post by Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of attending the Playful Learning conference in Leicester. This was the second time I’d been able to attend – the last being in 2019 before everything went awry. The conference was back after a 2-year hiatus, and the organisers made up for it with a packed calendar of sessions, talks and activities.

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Open Days

A post by Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson

Welcoming and introducing people to the University Library during open days is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. It’s always nice to see so many prospective students (and their families) coming onto campus for the first time, and looking to get a feel for both the university and the city. And being able to offer them guidance, information and – in some cases – reassurance (“don’t worry, you won’t have to read all of the books!) is particularly satisfying.

Earlier this month Durham hosted a couple of open days which were easily the biggest since Covid stopped such things. As always seems to be the case on open days, the sun was shining and Durham was looking particularly welcoming as 1,000s of people descended on Durham to take in as much as they could in the few hours they were here.

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#DULibIntroducing Kate Williamson

In the next of our series introducing members of staff, #DULibIntroducing meets Information Assistant Kate Williamson.

Kate Williamson (and Archie!)

Please tell us your name, full job title, and a brief description of your role.

Kate Williamson, Information Assistant. I work at the Bill Bryson Library in a customer service role. You will usually find me at the Help and Information Desk helping with queries, finding books for people, fixing printers, and passing out the ever so popular staplers and pens. I am also part of the team that processes resource requests, which is our service to help provide staff and students with Scan and Deliver requests, Postal Loans, Inter-Library loans, and book purchases through our Acquisitions team.

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Graduate intern update: Beth

Graduate intern Beth Hall updates us on what she’s been up to recently…

Hello! It’s Beth, back again with a long-awaited intern update. I’m glad to have the opportunity to sit myself down and reflect on these last few hectic and varied months. It’s been a busy year so far – just how I like it!

One of the largest and heaviest books I’ve ever had to retrieve – the Hartlepool Antiphonal, yes that is the size of an entire trolley!
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