Thanks to Ingrid Haas, Librarian at TU Wien and member of IOP Publishing’s Library Advisory Board, for agreeing to take part in our Librarian Spotlight interview series.

“Accuracy, curiosity, openness and enjoying working with data and people.”

• What made you decide to become a librarian?

I like working with people. Working at the access point to knowledge and helping people to find what they are looking for seemed very attractive to me.

• What’s the best thing about being a librarian?

Most people have a rather outdated image of librarians and their tasks. I like the surprised look of people when I tell them about our university library, the number of staff, the tasks, how the focus has shifted.

• Tell us about your favourite book?

I don’t have a favourite book, but I like to read books that are playful with language and words. Books in which life stories are described unembellished, giving an insight into other realities of life. Elfriede Jelinek, Herta Müller, Olga Tokarczuk come to my mind.

• After a hard day, what do you do to relax?

I love to go to the cinema. Vienna still has great arthouse cinemas, my favorite one, “Filmcasino”, is not far from the TU Wien campus. When I need to get my head clear I go to a movie and plunge into a completely different world.

• In your opinion, what are the most important skills to have when working as a librarian?

Accuracy, curiosity, openness and enjoying working with data and people.

• What’s your favourite place in your library?

The stairwell. My office is in the reading room on the second floor, most of my colleagues are on the 6th floor. When you leave the office there is a concentrated atmosphere and when you come into the stairwell there is a lot of activity. As I climb the stairs, I can sort out my thoughts, chat with colleagues and observe students.

• In your opinion, what is the importance of the library?

The library offers services for all user groups and is an open space for everyone. Apart from offering access to literature, or being a place to study, there are many more services for university members but also for the general public.

• Tell us what a typical day looks like for you as a librarian.

E-mails, spreadsheets with pricing/usage/publication output; meetings with colleagues from TU Wien or from other libraries belonging to the Austrian Academic Library Consortium. Most days go by too quickly.

• What is your favourite part of the day at work?

The last hour before I leave the office, because usually that is when I finally find the peace and time to complete a task.

• Could you give us one book recommendation that everyone should read?

I found Liv Strömquist’s Fruit of Knowledge very interesting and entertaining.

• If you had to describe a library in one word what would it be?

Lively.