And now for something almost completely different

Today is my first day as a Casual Library Assistant, West Locality, Gloucestershire County Council. I’m working in Coleford, in the Forest of Dean. It’s been a long time coming, as I was offered the job in early June!

So, what are the similarities to the libraries I usually work in? Well, they use Netloan to manage computer bookings and release printing; the self-service machines are the same (although called ‘RFID’); in the staff room there are lockers for staff to put their belongings in; there’s a lunch hour (but I only take half of that, as soon as I’m told I can). And, of course, there are books.

The differences begin with the building. First of all, yes, there is a car park, but it’s full when I get there. There are several car parks in the area, but they require payment. Fortunately I’m allowed to park behind our ‘Team Leader’. The building is new and is shared by other social services. There’s a round pillar to put community notices on in the lobby, and there’s a model of Willie Wonka (made out of bubble wrap and paper, I think. It’s very effective) to greet you as you come in the door. The room is square, with coloured display stands against the walls and used to divide up the space, with a separate room housing 10 computers, a printer and a coffee machine. There are windows above the shelving units, and these, I discover, areoperated by switches, rather than manual handles i.e. press a switch to open or close windows. The shutters close in the same way as the libraries I’m used to, but, interestingly, the shutters are on the inside of the windows (and therefore not made of galvanised iron!).

There’s a separate staff room with loo, which requires a swipe card to enter; there’s a ‘back room’ equipped with a couple of computers and several green boxes (rather than crates) for inter-library loans; and then there are two computers at the front desk. Individual library staff logon as themselves to use the computers, rather than a generic logon. This requires constant switching between users.

My first morning is spent doing my induction training from an 11-page booklet, much of which my Team Leader (TL) crosses through, saying I won’t need it as I’m ‘just’ a casual worker. In the end I change my password and spend some time doing online training in fire safety (‘you must get 80% to pass this’!) and equality.

Then I’m given a brief tour of the library by the other library assistant, who’s very nice and has a good sense of humour (a definite requirement!). She tells me what goes in the green boxes. There is a set day for van deliveries, which is good. Green labels for reservations, white for returning books to their home library, separate boxes for local libraries.

She runs through the LMS, which seems straightforward enough. It’s called Alto. We release all the printing and manually put the money in the cash till, it’s not linked to the LMS. Behind the front desk we have the newspapers (the Gloucester Citizen, and the ‘i’; today several people come in asking for the free paper, the Forest Review) and paper coffee cups. This is also where people come for bus passes and to return crutches! I discover this when a man comes in wielding a pair! We don’t take wheelchairs, apparently…

With all this going on behind the desk, we don’t have much to do with the BFR, which is going on in this library, too. In fact, there’s a young volunteer who has a desk at the entrance and she hands out the pack to our young readers. The packs are generic, with the wallet and scratch ’n’ sniff cards, but in this library they also give a gold voucher for readers to put their name on, which goes on a board when they take out their first two books. This voucher moves to a second board with the second set of books, and finally, to a third, prior to being given a medal and certificate. At the moment, the majority are on the first board. There are some other items we don’t have in Bristol, including some intriguing glasses which add a rainbow-like outline to whatever you are looking at!

Anyway, I’m told my job will mainly be shelving, so, as the library is quiet, that’s what I go and do. There are Quick Reads and Fast Backs, and a shelf of books for sale right at the entrance. Some of the adult fiction shelves are very full. They seem to be on ‘glass’ shelves. I notice that it’s mostly popular writers, and they are labelled ‘novels’. (I don’t feel the urge to borrow anything, which is unusual for me!) The non-fiction section has labels describing exactly what can be found on the shelves below e.g. Cookery. This is a good idea, I think. The Westerns are not shelved with the spines facing outwards, but with the covers facing outwards, about 4 deep. The stack does not always contain books by the same author, nor, indeed, is there any alphabetical order.

This way of shelving is repeated in the children’s fiction section, too — the book covers facing outward in a stack, rather than the spine, although these are in alphabetical order. They are separated by book-shaped dividers with a letter of the alphabet indicating the start of authors beginning with P, for instance. I tidy this section, but each stack consists of several books written by the same author.

Another novel (excuse the pun!) way of displaying the books in what I think is an eye-catching way is in the younger readers section. There’s a sort of zig-zag effect on the shelves, the way the dvds are displayed at Horfield, so the books are displayed in a v-shape, with the covers facing outwards. So, on one side of the v are the Hopscotch books, for example. The other side is left blank. On the next v are the Twisters, and so on. I wonder if I could do this at Southmead?

There are also audio books (these are free in Bristol, but not here) and dvds (there is a charge to rent these per night — not 3 weeks like Bristol!) to rent and I’m pleased to see there is a shelf of very new dvds.

And what of the customers? They are, to a person, all white and British. Many have tattoos. Some are fat. Some are ‘special needs’. Some are just plain eccentric (not quite as eccentric as our ‘cowboy’ in Bristol, but with big beards and wearing straw hats in the manner of an Englishman abroad, rather than a Wurzil, for example). Some quite normal mums and daughters. I won’t be expecting to find any books in Polish on these shelves, or IELTS books on learning English…

It takes me the same length of time to get home as it does from a Bristol library — about half an hour. But I’m happy not to pay £6.60 to cross the bridge…