Nicola Semple

Nicola Semple

In 2019, after 7 years of a career in commercial copywriting and marketing, I decided I was ready for a change and made my move over to libraries. I started my library experience volunteering at Manchester’s own Chetham’s Library, helping with tours at the magnificent historical landmark. This experience helped me to gain the Colwyn and Jean Rich Scholarship, and I completed the Library and Information Management MA at Manchester Metropolitan University in December 2020, slightly delayed by the pandemic.

While studying, I worked for Manchester Poetry Library alongside Becky Swain and Martin Kratz, supporting acquisitions to build a collection worthy of Manchester. I also built their following on Instagram and Twitter before their grand opening. I spent most of 2020 doing this while completing research on Oldham Libraries and their use of volunteers for my dissertation. In October 2020, I started working for Manchester Libraries.

It was an unusual time to change career, nevermind working for a public service which plays such a huge part in structural and social aspects of communities, during a pandemic which restricted so much of that. Working in public libraries requires a lot of patience, passion and resilience, and is not for the faint of heart! I massively respect and admire public library workers, and the service they provide for communities and individuals. I have a passion for public libraries which is driven by frustration at the lack of understanding of what public libraries are and do. It is a topic I will cover on this website.

In 2021, I decided to venture into academic libraries and joined the team at LTE Group – an education group who own The Manchester College, UCEN and others. I spent the next year at a number of their campus libraries, focusing on supporting the development of a study skills and info skills programme. I was also part of a working group tasked to improve the library website. This became a huge project involving improvement of the entire information architecture of the website. The website project centred around usability, accessibility and sustainability – the topic of a talk I did during this time for CILIP Conference 2022. Work on the website slowed down as the library team went through a restructure in time for the opening of the new city campus, and closure of others. A few months after my move to the city campus, I decided that my time there had come to an end and I was ready for a new challenge.

I joined the Academic Engagement and Teaching Services team at Manchester Metropolitan University in October 2022. In my role as an Academic Liaison Adviser I specialised in the planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of the open information skills programme tailored for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students. This involved teaching essential information skills, including referencing, advanced search techniques, and the use of Boolean operators, to enhance students’ academic success. My role also involved compiling statistics, evaluating data, and reporting on service quality and impact, which helped in measuring and improving this service.

Delving deeper into information literacy led me to consider a big change – I wanted to help students at an earlier point, to give them the knowledge and skills to use and assess information regardless of whether they went to college or university.

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In November 2023, I became a librarian at a high school. My first project to improve the library involved moving the library over to a new library management system to allow students to gain more experience and confidence with searching an online catalogue, and to empower them to find information independently. Over the next year, I am aiming to build the collection to accommodate more interests and research needs of the students, support students in understanding how to ethically and safely use AI and how to navigate information online.

But I’m not only about work, work, work. I love to read and visit libraries wherever I am, and you can follow my library adventures over on Instagram. I also love to write, and have been delving into the world of Substack under the name ‘Philosophy of a Librarian’. You can subscribe for free!