A day in the life of UCT librarians

Balo Booi, specialist librarian at the Brand van Zyl Law Library

What do you do on a daily basis?

I provide a comprehensive information service and appropriate research skills to library users and colleagues.

Why did you become a librarian?

I enjoy helping people and learning from them. I meet different people with different information needs. The job provides a sense of continuous discovery, and has a clear and concrete impact on people's lives. And there are many exciting career opportunities within librarianship.

What are the highs and lows of your work?

The understanding and co-operation of staff and students make my workplace an exciting and enjoyable space to work. But I hate it that there are still some individuals who do not understand that I am a professional and who don't treat me with respect.

The strangest request or thing you've encountered?

A guy called and asked me to find his girlfriend in the library and tell her that he couldn't make it for supper. What?

What is the future of libraries?

There will be more emphasis on digitalisation of the collection. Research librarians with expert and subject knowledge will staff future libraries. They will attract librarians with honours, master's and PhD qualifications.

Janine Dunlop, specialist librarian in Manuscripts and Archives

What do you do on a daily basis?

I sort manuscripts, which are documents that people and organisations generate in their day-to-day lives. I'm in charge of digital exhibits, which means I spend time scanning images (or delegating scanning jobs to students), filing them electronically, describing them and making them available on the web. I also update our website, and compile and edit the department's weekly newsletter.

Why did you become a librarian?

I was going out with a guy who told me about a friend of his who'd studied librarianship and it sounded good. I found myself registering for the postgraduate diploma at UCT a few weeks later and I was good at it. I married the guy who told me about librarianship.

What are the highs and lows of your work?

The variety that librarianship offers, and travelling. Recently, I've had great travelling opportunities. In 2005, I went to the US to attend a conference and there are always meetings and symposia happening in South Africa that I can attend. Also, being able to work with original letters from people such as Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko. When it comes to lows, too much bureaucracy gets me down. If I have an idea about a new technology that can benefit the users of the library, I hate to wait for it to be implemented.

The strangest request or thing you've encountered?

I was very busy, attending to a long queue of people and I was looking up the details of someone who had swiped his card into our database. The message that came onto the screen was, "borrower does not exist". So I looked up at the man and said, "I'm sorry, but you don't exist". I had the whole queue in stitches.

What is the future of libraries?

I hope to see academic libraries evolving into more interactive places than they are now. I don't want to see all books going digital, but I can definitely see the value of 'bringing the library to the people' - making information available online so that the library really is just a click away.

Cyrill Smith, specialist librarian at the W H Bell Music Library

What do you do on a daily basis?

I assist with reference queries, consulting students, cataloguing and profiling new music material, and I develop web-based resources in support of these functions. I also participate in the teaching of the Advance Academic Literacy Course for postgraduate music students and take part in collection development in assigned areas of the library.

Why did you become a librarian?

It was a natural progression after completing my master's in music. After spending so much time in the music library with my master's research, I wanted to be there even more.

What are the highs and lows of your work?

Highs are seeing the appreciation when you help students.

The strangest request or thing you've encountered?

People often don't realise that we cater for the needs of the students at the College of Music and School of Dance. Now and then, requests for the music of Julio Iglesias or Eminem do come trickling in.

What is the future of libraries?

The library world is in the midst of a revolution and librarians need to be adaptable in their focus on trends and the future of libraries. Libraries that embrace these ideas and attitudes will overcome the challenges of budget, and limitations of space and mindset. Libraries' greatest challenge is their openness to rapid change in order to serve the fast-changing needs and demands of students, researchers and academic staff.