As Newnham College Library welcomes its 25th ‘Library Graduate Trainee’, we reflect on the memories and lasting legacies of nearly a quarter of a century of trainees.
Debbie Hodder, the Librarian at Newnham College has trained nearly 25 trainees during her time as Librarian, introducing the role of Library Graduate Trainee at a time when a national training scheme existed, with only three other Cambridge colleges taking part. Over the subsequent decades the number of trainees in Cambridge grew, with a reduction in recent years as Colleges encounter ever increasing financial pressures. Trainees leave Newnham College with skills, both specific and transferable, and a deep appreciation for academic librarianship. More than that though, they often leave having formed a deep love for the uniquely friendly and welcoming environment Newnham College offers.
Each year the new trainee learns all they can about caring for the 100,000+ volumes held by the library, from fast-changing and high-demand Natural Sciences textbooks, to precious and fascinating rare books held in the Katherine Stephen room. Tasks for a trainee librarian begin with the daily turnover of books, scanning and shelving each book carefully and keeping an eye out for misshelved books. Each trainee can take on a number of projects of personal and professional interest to them under the guidance of the Librarian, alongside learning the essential skills of cataloguing, collection development and processing of books. The Library staff work hard to be a welcoming and friendly port of call for any student struggling to find the resources they need, signposting them wherever possible and assisting with everything from printer malfunctions, locating a hard-to-find book, to jubilantly binding final hard copies of students dissertations. It is an unparalleled joy to hear from the inspiring students of Newnham, from their first tentative steps into the Library when they join College, to a cheery ‘goodbye’ when they pick up books to read over the Vacations.
Perhaps the best way to learn of the lasting legacy of the Graduate Trainee job, is by hearing from those who have held the role. Below, four previous trainees reflect on life in Newnham College Library and the long-lived effect it has had on their lives and careers:
“I was Trainee in 2019-20, my first job after graduating from Queens’ College the same summer, making me the 24th Library Graduate Trainee at Newnham. I relished the opportunity to join a supportive, small team and loved the sense of community that comes with working in a College. I now work permanently in the Roll & Development Office at Newnham College, having taken transferable skills, enthusiasms and friendships from my time as Trainee. While I didn’t follow the path I thought I had so carefully mapped out when applying to work as Library Graduate Trainee, I have learned invaluable lessons and skills and had the enormous privilege to be part of a the ongoing cycle of Trainees in the Library. I will never forget quiet sunny winter mornings spent shelving books, the continually inspiring students and the love for public relations and communications being Graduate Trainee helped me realize. Witnessing the tremendous digital shift the COVID-19 pandemic brought in my last few months as trainee filled me with great respect and protectiveness of the profession and spaces libraries offer, to be able to offer unmatched support from afar as students were scattered by the pandemic was humbling to see. I will never forget my time in the Library and look forward to meeting subsequent trainees as the cycle continues!” Beth, 2019-20
“I started the graduate trainee scheme in the library at Newnham in September 2016 and over the course of a year was quickly acquainted with all aspects of library work, learning through being part of a really successful college library service. Newnham College Library is such a beautiful building but also a really supportive working environment with wonderful colleagues and kind, fun and engaged students! I enjoyed my year working in Newnham College Library so much that I decided I wanted to pursue a career in libraries and started studying for a part-time MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL which I’m just finishing now. I was lucky enough to stay an extra year at Newnham College Library in a project role helping with a big library catalogue migration and then got my current job as Senior Library Assistant at the Scott Polar Research Institute. I still miss walking around the beautiful gardens and tending to a little allotment plot on my lunch breaks at Newnham!” Frankie, 2016-17
“My graduate traineeship was a brilliant introduction to academic librarianship and a wonderful opportunity to visit libraries in other sectors too. I especially enjoyed cataloguing donations from Peirene Press, exhibiting our Woolf collection of Bloomsbury connections, and helping with Newnham’s Literary Archive event on poetry.
The graduate traineeship made me certain I wanted to work in libraries, and I was lucky enough to be able to stay on at Newnham as Senior Library Assistant. I spent the first two years in this role studying part-time for an MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL, and the next two working towards becoming a Chartered Librarian.
These were busy years for the Library: we worked on another Literary Archive event and accompanying exhibition, this time focusing on writing for children; reclassified various sections of the library, from International Relations to Medicine; and migrated our catalogue to the University’s new Library Management System, helping students and staff to navigate the new search and discovery platform.
Most recently, I have enjoyed researching the history of the Library for the next Newnham Anthology, digitising archives for Newnham’s Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, and working with librarians across Cambridge to provide a Virtual Library and support students remotely during lockdown. Making friends with past and present graduate trainees is a highlight of the job: we learn so much from their new ideas every year and they join a very supportive professional community. I’m looking forward to meeting the next trainee in September!” Eve, 2014-15
“I really enjoyed my time as a graduate trainee, which provided me with invaluable experience — I was given an introduction to all aspects of academic librarianship, and I have very fond memories of my time there. I went on to work in several other college libraries in Cambridge, as well as the Seeley, before ending up in my current role in the UL, where I’m responsible for English-language acquisitions.” Becca