Last Word...

I was excited and a little apprehensive when I came to Clare – moving from a smaller modern college to the second oldest college in Cambridge! I was attracted to the Library by its location in the heart of Memorial Court, the welcoming atmosphere and sense of community. When starting at Clare, I was grateful to benefit from the hard work of a succession of dedicated College Librarians, including my predecessor Anne Hughes.
Prior to working in the University, I worked in scientific libraries in the north and east of England. I moved into librarianship as a career change, leaving a role as a research chemist to take postgraduate and professional qualifications in information and library management. I was attracted to working in libraries by an interest in supporting researchers with finding information, and I was inspired by the information professionals I had worked with during my own research. Moving into academic libraries enabled me to pursue an interest in supporting students’ learning, and helping them to develop the information skills they need for their university studies and beyond. I love having a people-focused role and the opportunity to work with wide-ranging collections; my working day can include anything from medieval manuscripts to electronic books. I also feel lucky to be able to collaborate with a large and supportive network of talented librarians, archivists and others across the University.

At the beginning of October we welcome Freshers to the Library for the new academic year, this is a favourite time for the team – we love a busy library! We introduce the College Library as a “home” library for all Clare students, available to them throughout their time at Clare. It contributes to the academic and pastoral life of the College by providing a supportive, inclusive and multidisciplinary space with its own “Clare” atmosphere. The community nature of the Library enables the team to get to know students and this has many advantages. We can tailor services to our current students, provide 1:1 help during informal drop-ins, and sometimes we can help just by being there to listen during a challenging day.

In addition to providing study spaces and collections, the Library has continued over the past year to develop resources and training to support academic skills development. We have provided focused writing sessions and created online resources to support students in areas such as literature searching, critical reading and reference management. We have also continued to work alongside Tutors, College Nurses and others in College to support student wellbeing. In addition to developing the wellbeing book collection, we provided activities and events for taking a break together, with “Doughnut Fridays” continuing to be a firm favourite.

The Library had been closed for five years during building work on the North Range of Old Court. The complex and challenging project of returning the books to the Library shelves followed the collaborative work of multiple College departments to prepare the Library. We all felt very proud when the Fellows’ Library reopened for use by Clare Fellows and visiting researchers at the start of the academic year.

There have been significant achievements in the College Archives this year, with development of the administrative archives, the Archives Management System, and indexes, to enhance discovery of records and to support enquiries from within and external to the College. In the College Library, we have been developing the collection by reclassifying and re-organising to reflect evolving subject areas. It is a particularly interesting time for managing the Library collections, and there is a lot to discuss, as we assess how students’ use of print and ebooks is developing after heavy reliance on electronic resources during the Covid pandemic.

The end of the academic year and graduation represents another favourite part of the year: on graduation day we share students’ joy as they celebrate their success. We are always proud when students tell us that the Library and the team have made a positive difference to their time in College. I would like to thank my team for all their support and achievements this year: Deputy Librarian, Julie Hope; Assistant Librarian, Raphaëlle Goyeau; Archivist, Jonathan Smith; and Archives Assistant, Claire Butlin. We were sad to say good-bye to Jonathan this year as he left College to take up a new role.

I am also grateful to the Senior Tutor, Fellows’ Librarian, Honorary Archivist and Library Committee members for their support and encouragement, and to all College departments that support Library and Archives. We look forward to celebrating the successes of the students and researchers who will use the Library and Archives during the 2024/2025 academic year.