24 January 2022
Library Lives: Rosemary O’Hare, Glasgow
‘In every library I have worked in there is always a ‘library cardigan’. No one will know who it originally belonged to, but it appears – like the sword of Gryffindor – for those that need it when working late evenings in cold buildings.’
In this month’s celebration of librarians, we meet Rosemary O’Hare, Principal Librarian in The Mitchell Library in Glasgow.
Tell us about your role.
I manage Glasgow Libraries’ eResources (information databases to support study, research and business) as well as the Business & IP Centre (BIPC) Glasgow. The BIPC network is led by the British Library and has centres across the UK but Glasgow is the first BIPC in Scotland. The BIPC model blends the use of library resources and working with partners to offer support and advice for entrepreneurs and small businesses. We help businesses to start up and grow, with emphasis on underrepresented groups.
Where was your local library growing up?
Coatbridge Library in North Lanarkshire. At that time, it was a traditional sandstone Carnegie library, which was imposing from the outside but welcoming once inside.
Why did you want to become a librarian?
I previously worked in a bookshop and enjoyed researching and sourcing material for customers. I liked the idea of enabling others to do the same so went back to university to do a Library Studies course.
Do you have a favourite item in your library’s collection?
I’m biased towards the eResources – we provide access to amazing resources that would otherwise be out of reach or prohibitively expensive for most people.
It’s also handy to know that when you come across a paywall while reading an article online that there’s a good chance you can access the full story via our ProQuest database (newspapers, magazines and journals) with our library card – for free and without creating an account with yet another site.
What is your favourite query you have helped someone with?
My favourite queries are the ones where you surpass the user’s expectations. We used to be a reference-only library and sometimes people get in touch thinking everything is still as restricted, for example, when they want to view British Standards (technical standards required on a wide range of products and services). When they are shown that we now have the entire collection available to search through online (around 40,000 current, historic and draft British, European and International standards produced by the British Standards Institution), that staff are available to provide user support and that they are even able to view the standards remotely with a library card, they are amazed. Being able to highlight other relevant resources or refer them on to our Experts in Residence programme is always satisfying.
What's your favourite thing that you can do in a library?
Have the freedom to learn, read and think.
Other than your own, where's your favourite library, or one you would most like to visit?
Helsinki Central Library Oodi. I visited a number of libraries in Helsinki a few years back and it was just about to be built. I liked the Finnish attitude to libraries, that design was as important to the library experience as the content and services, and that they should be designed in consultation with users.
Sum up being a librarian in three words
Information literacy champion.
Tell us something about yourself that has nothing to do with your job
I love visiting new places when travelling around Britain – anywhere there’s a tea room with local varieties of baked goods!
What one thing do you wish people knew about libraries which you suspect they don’t?
That a lot of work goes on behind the scenes in order to provide the public service – like an iceberg you’re only seeing the tip.
How have things changed in libraries since you qualified?
The role of the internet has made the greatest change. It was still a novelty when I chartered [gained the professional librarian qualification] but I now edit websites as part of my job. It has opened up library collections, many of which can now be accessed outside of opening hours, making accurate and curated information more freely available and easily accessible.
Book recommendation?
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? By Seamas O'Reilly. It’s a memoir following the tragedy of the title which also manages to be laugh-out-loud funny.
Find out more about Glasgow’s BIPC Centre by clicking here. It’s one of 19 National Network BIPCs around the UK. The BIPC can help you imagine, start or develop your business.
Interview by Ellen Morgan.
We’re interviewing people who have professional registration status as a librarian via the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals or who have an academic qualification such as a first degree, a postgraduate diploma or a Master’s degree in library and information studies or librarianship.
Is this you? If you’d like to feature in Library Lives, get in touch with [email protected]
Would you like this to be you? Find out more about becoming a librarian on the CILIP website.