Thanks to Sheldon Korpet, Library Systems and Discovery Adviser at Manchester Metropolitan University Library, for agreeing to take part in our Librarian Spotlight interview series.
“In the age of the internet, Librarians are some of the most informationally literate people to have ever lived on Earth. That’s mind-blowing.”
- What made you decide to become a librarian?
I was working in an unfulfilling job, and I stumbled on a career description for Librarian. I thought “Hey, that describes me!”. So, I applied to be a Shelver and quit my job within a week. One graduate traineeship, an MSc, 10 years’ experience later and I’m still at it so I think it was a good decision.
- What’s the best thing about being a librarian?
If you love to learn, having access to so much information and being able to navigate it is an absolute gift. In the age of the internet, Librarians are some of the most informationally literate people to have ever lived on Earth. That’s mind-blowing!
- After a hard day, what do you do to relax?
I love being outside in nature. If I’m not cycling, running, scrambling, or kayaking, I’m probably visiting my wild goose friends or hunting for antique bottles. Here is a photo of my favourite gander, Fella, waiting patiently for wheat seed and the oldest bottle in my collection, dated 1840 – 1870 (I found this one by slipping on it!)
- In your opinion, what are the most important skills to have when working as a librarian?
Being able to adapt and persevere.
- What’s your favourite place in your library?
My team are establishing an Innovation Lab right now. It’s a soft launch but we’re aiming to promote digital literacy, undertake UX work, and co-create with students. We’ve also got our hands on some VR headsets; it’s giving students an opportunity to try something new.
- In your opinion, what is the importance of the library?
Exposing people to new possibilities and expanding the mind.
- Tell us what a typical day looks like for you as a librarian.
I work in the digital library team so I might start my day on the Virtual Help Desk, assisting users to access resources and resolve issues, updating our Systems dashboard with resource maintenance updates or dealing with internal staff requests. After a lunchtime walk, I might get my head down and continue coding a work tool or adding a feature to a Virtual Bookshelf app I’m creating as a result of the UX work undertaken around the concept of ‘Browsing’ with students. I’ve been using next.js and APIs to allow our users to “browse” book covers for our items by subject.
- Is there anything you would like to share with other librarians?
If you’re coding (or want to and are not sure how to get started!) I’d love to chat. Drop me an email: s.korpet@mmu.ac.uk. I began by focusing on Python and programming concepts/theory. You can also read about how I taught myself to code on my blog: https://medium.com/@sheldonkorpet
- Could you give us one book recommendation that everyone should read?
I think you should read what matters to you, rather than books deemed “good” by anyone else, and don’t be afraid to quit the boring ones you’re not inspired by.
- If you had to describe a library in one word, what would it be?
Magnificent.
