Before joining the House of Commons Library I worked as a subtitler, providing television subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. This involved watching a lot of TV, which wasn’t always as much fun as it sounds, so I went back to university and completed a course in Information Science.
I support the Library’s research teams. What makes my role so exciting is the variety of tasks I get to do. There are typical ‘library’ things such as selecting, ordering and cataloguing books and reports. I also create reading lists on a range of subjects and collate press article alerts for Library users. One of the most interesting aspects of my role is researching topics like financial services as part of the information request service we provide to MPs and their staff.
The biggest challenge I faced when I joined the Library was the sheer amount to learn. Aside from the day-to-day role, there’s also the matter of how Parliament works. However, the Library offers training and support, and colleagues are always willing to take the time to help. The learning never stops, but being new to both libraries and Parliament has certainly not been a barrier.