On Curiosity: How a History Degree Prepared me for Starting a Library Career

By Beth Houlis
Reading Lists Assistant, Northumbria University,
CILIP NE Treasurer

View of George Square from the library in winter

I could spend hours sharing the lessons I learned at university and how those experiences helped me secure my first library position, but it was the sense of curiosity that the course helped nurture which I deem most valuable. Studying societies and events so far removed from contemporary experiences requires a degree of inquisitiveness, a quality I think is important to any branch of librarianship. A sense of wonder lends itself well to a sector which is largely centred on aiding and facilitating the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. That is not to say that studying history is the only option for curious minds, absolutely not, it just happened to be the backdrop against which I could begin to question the world around me, what I thought about it and where I would like to go. 

Truthfully, one of the main reasons that I applied for the course was because I enjoyed A-Level history and it seemed like the most attractive option at the time. Luckily it worked out well and I made the right decision! But I entered university apathetic and largely detached from what I was studying. It was the information in a textbook which was interesting but essentially something to be passively digested, typed up in an essay and forgotten about. At other times, I viewed it almost as entertainment: fascinating, shocking, peculiar and often harrowing entertainment. I liked to learn about the past and studying how and why things happened, but I didn’t take it much further than that. 

But as the course progressed, I learned to engage with what I was learning. I was encouraged to question everything I read and compare arguments and continuously ask ‘why’? Essay feedback urged me to expand on points, avoid reductionist theories and highlighted avenues for further reading. Nothing was to be taken at face value and I learned to approach studying with curiosity. I was drawn to modules on medieval and early modern women. Due to the nature of historical sources, the female voice is difficult to get to in these eras and any examples are likely to have been filtered through the elite male lens. Yet the logistical constraints which obscured an accurate reading of how these women considered and interacted with the world around them only fuelled my own curiosity. 

The University of Edinburgh's Old College

In my current role as a Reading Lists Assistant at Northumbria University, I try to remain as curious as I was when exploring the lives of these women. My degree has provided me with a wider appreciation for collection curation and the benefit of staying inspired. Just like there are multiple ways of considering the past, there are various angles to approach work. I am trying to remain open to the ways my colleagues carry out processes and absorb the lessons they teach me. There is a lot I do not know, and I see that prospect as exciting rather than disheartening. I am at the very start of my career and am excited to see where I will end up. Whatever I end up doing, I hope I stay curious!

Online Privacy Skills Webinar Event Summary

By Beth Houlis
Reading Lists Assistant, Northumbria University,
CILIP NE Treasurer

On Tuesday the 24th of November, CILIP North East RMN hosted our second webinar, a lunchtime session led by Aude Charillon who covered online privacy skills. Aude is a Library and Information Officer at Newcastle Libraries and the lead author of Leading the way – a guide to privacy for public library staff published by the Carnegie UK Trust and CILIP in 2018. Aude tackled a complex topic which is particularly relevant in today’s climate where avenues of communication have become increasingly digital and our day-to-day experiences are often centred around a laptop or mobile phone. The event was not recorded but you can download Aude’s presentation at the bottom of this post.

As participants entered the webinar, they shared their reasons for registering for the event and what they hoped to gain from the session either for their own safety online or to pass onto those they work with. The complex nature of the topic generated a lively discussion in the chat where participants shared their own experiences and worries of navigating the online world safely. The overarching message of Aude’s paper was that privacy is about choice and it is a good idea to equip yourself with the knowledge to make an informed decision about how you navigate the online world in a way that does not encroach on your privacy. Aude shared her own preference for turning off the Wi-Fi on her phone when she is out and about as she does not feel comfortable with her phone broadcasting her location. However, she stressed that someone else may not share this concern. The important thing is to have an awareness of what can impact our online privacy. 

The webinar covered various aspects of online privacy and helped to demystify some familiar terms such as ‘cookies’ which are essentially files that sit within a browser. Not all cookies are bad, some are necessary for a website to work properly although most of us will have accepted cookies at some point without really knowing what they were or how they were used. Aude’s presentation slides include a link to a useful video which explains cookies further in an accessible way. The webinar also explored threat modelling and Aude used the potential threat of her location being shared as an example. Other topics which Aude discussed were encryption, safe browsers and search engines and app permissions, particularly on mobile phones. She encouraged us to look at what the apps on our phones had access to and question whether they really required access to all this information.

The part of the session I found most valuable was Aude’s recommendations for the safest way to create and store passwords. Many of us rarely go a day without logging into some sort of online account many of which contain sensitive information we would rather not share. When creating a secure password, Aude recommended not reusing the same password and to make it random. She also encouraged using passphrases which are longer and therefore harder to crack. In terms of storing passwords, I was relieved to learn that I was not the only attendee who currently had their passwords listed in the note’s app on their phone! However, Aude stressed that the key thing was to ask yourself, ‘who could access this information’? Even with the security of fingerprint recognition, I swiftly deleted the note on my phone listing all of my passwords opting instead for a physical notebook which I have hidden in my bedroom. This was one of Aude’s recommended methods as there are very few people who realistically have access to this information. She also recommended password managers, such as KeePassium, which creates and stores passwords for all your accounts. 

Aude picked up questions posted in the chat throughout the webinar but there was also an opportunity at the end to pick up any that were missed or raise any new ideas. One of the most interesting topics which arose was the timely discussion of the NHS app, it’s pros and cons and how it impacts our privacy. The app requires Bluetooth to be turned on and Aude discussed the implications, both positive and negative, of using the app and whether the wider benefit to society outweighs any potential risks to privacy. I was also particularly curious to know the risks of having credit card details saved in a browser. Again, Aude’s key message was a recommendation to arm yourself with the facts so that you can come to your own conclusion about how to navigate the online world in the best way for you. 

Aude’s presentation provided an excellent introduction to online privacy skills and equipped participants with information on how they can begin to make informed decisions about what they choose to share and how this may impact privacy. The session included practical tips and real-life examples and offered an insight into how we can take responsibility for our own online privacy. We have received some great feedback on the session and lots of constructive tips for how we can improve our future webinars as a committee. The feedback we have received so far has highlighted the relevance of this topic with requests for further exploration. Aude has kindly offered to do a part two which will focus more on online privacy skills in a library setting. We are hoping to run this event sometime in 2021. 

Thanks again to all who attended the webinar and many thanks to Aude for making a complex topic accessible and engaging. 

Aude's Powerpoint slides are available here: