1. Senior Library Manager (Academic Liaison and STEM)
Working in Education
Cheryl Coveney
Senior Library Manager (Academic Liaison and STEM)
The Open University

2. Are you ready for a career in education?
Close your eyes………….

3. Are you ready for a career in Education?
Could you….
Negotiate with a maths academic, complete with socks and sandals to convince him that resources with Words in might be a helpful thing for their students?
Explain to a 17 year old that using an A Level Psychology text book to keep their chicken and chips warm is not a good thing?
Run a Manga club for 10 year olds? (After you’ve finished your day’s work that is?
If you can answer Yes ~ to any of the above ~ then ‘You’re hired!’

4. Tell me more!
School Libraries
Further Education Libraries ( aka Learning Centres, Learning Resource Centres )
Higher Education

5. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3….
Salary scales vary depending on the sector you choose to work in, and what you choose to do when you’re there.
Schools often part-time, term-time only ~ hence lower salaries
Further Education
Universities, tend to have higher salaries than the other sectors, and greater potential for growing a career within

6. This means…..
One job ~ all the roles or
One role and a choice of many jobs

7. School Librarians are the…..
Library Manager
Chief negotiator
Finance Manager and budget holder
Systems specialist
Acquisitions lead
Cataloguer
Customer Services Manager
Teacher, Referee, Library accommodation design specialist, expert in children’s and teenage literature, club leader………………………

8. Further Education Librarians are the………..
Learning Centre Manager
Finance Manager and Budget holder
Liaison with teaching staff
Customer Services Manager
Depending on the size of your team you may also be or manage
Systems specialist
Acquisitions lead
Cataloguer

9. University Library staff can be the ….
Research Outputs Manager…. or the
Systems Librarian…. or the
Electronic and Data Services Librarian….. or the
Metadata, Discovery and Analytics Co-ordinator….or the
Librarian….or the
Subject Librarian (many variations of this job title)… or the
Senior Associate Director…or the
Eresources Manager
Digital Preservation Manager

10. Or the ………… Academic Support Librarian…. Or the…
Head of collections & resource description (acquisitions, cataloguing and electronic resources)

11. What skills and knowledge do I need?
Communications

12. Soft skills Team working Negotiating Advocacy
Organisational and prioritisation skills
Problem solving
Flexibility
Innovative
‘A genuine desire to help students’
Leadership

13. Knowledge IT ~ especially MS Office
Library software: Library Management Systems, Resource Discovery Tools, reading list software, authentication protocols.
Data literacy
Metadata standards (AACR2, MARC21, Dublin Core…)
Budgetary and financial management
Managing people
Relationship management

14. And do keep up to date…
A commitment to ongoing professional development and training
Knowledge of current developments and issues in…..