Meet Matt Barrow

I left school at 16 and worked in retail before going to university in my early twenties. I then did various office jobs either side of a master’s degree before deciding to become a librarian. After getting my librarian qualification I joined the House of Commons Library in my early thirties, initially as an indexer.  

My current role involves managing the team responsible for looking after the Library’s physical collections. The biggest task we have at the moment is responding to the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) project. To make way for that, we have to move most of our collections to offsite storage, which requires a lot of organisation.  

I enjoy working with the physical collections (even if only in theory – a lot of my work is computer-based) and dealing with the practical issues our team faces. Another good thing about working here is the people – it’s a genuinely friendly place to work and the Library is very supportive of its staff. The main challenge in my role is that however well you plan, something will come up which will change things – it’s a process of constantly adapting.