Freya Spoor

Name: Freya Spoor
Club 21 Employer: Glasgow School of Art
Degree Subject: History/History of Art
Year of Graduation: 2010

I applied for a Club 21 placement because, in the current uncertain job climate, any practical experience on your CV shows a potential employer that you can take the initiative and develop your skills beyond your university education. 

I wanted to apply for the placement at Glasgow School of Art Library because it offered me an opportunity to work in an Arts environment with an exciting collection of materials, both in the special collections and in the lending department.  I was surprised at the variety of tasks that I was involved in during my placement, as they offered me a really broad spectrum of experiences in the library as a workplace. 

After my initial training in both the Dewey decimal and UDC systems, I was able to work through my initial task of cataloguing a series of 19th century architecture books and carrying out remedial conservation work on some of the rarer volumes.  I think my placement employer was surprised at the speed at which I was able to learn and apply the skills they had taught me, and they rewarded my hard work with more responsibilities.  These extra tasks included valuing the entire special collection at the school, as well as reclassifying several artists books, including the prolific work of Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Findlay.

By taking on these extra responsibilities and proving that I could be trusted with them, I became more acclimatised to my team, and this allowed me to be involved in more creative activities.  These activities included putting on a small exhibition of the architecture books I had catalogued and attending a day trip organised to gather research for a taught Masters option. 

My colleagues were incredibly supportive, and by capitalising on skills such as good time management and communication, I feel I was able to achieve as much practical experience as possible, to the benefit of both my placement employer and myself.  The Glasgow School of Art Library is a great place to work if you enjoy a creative environment where you are driven to take on new challenges and a variety of tasks.