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Meet Claire!
We asked Claire Holder, Honorary
Publications Officer, to tell us a bit about herself and her role in the
Career Development Group.
So Claire, how did you get into the librarianship thing?
I went straight from school to do my degree at Liverpool. I had been put
in charge of the school library for a year with a team of 15 assistants
- mainly 12 and 13 year olds - whilst the English teacher who was
nominally in charge escaped for lunch and accepted all offers from
pupils to become library assistants. This was a useful introduction to
management even if it didn't feel like it at the time!
I came to the conclusion at college that I wanted to be involved in
industrial libraries and when I graduated started work with what was
then known as John Brown as the Assistant Librarian. After a year I was
promoted to Company Librarian and have been there ever since. The
company has changed name, ownership and location over the years and the
library has constantly evolved to meet the changing needs of its users -
so much so that I have never been bored. The company is involved in the
design and construction of chemical plants around the world and it is
very satisfying to see a visible end result to the work you put in.
I was a founder member of our internal librarian's liaison network which
brought together staff working in library and information units around
the world some of whom had no previous library experience at all and who
were very much in need of support. I was also asked to represent
industrial libraries on the executive committee of Hatrics (the Southern
Information Network) and am currently Vice Chairman of the organisation.
Why did you became involved in the Career Development Group and in
the role of Hon. Publications Officer?
Like many Career Development Group committee members I got pounced on at
an event and asked if I would get involved on my regional committee. I
have always believed in two things, firstly that you shouldn't turn down
any opportunity (within reason!) and secondly that if you don't get
involved you can't then complain if things don't go the way you want
them to. As a result I found myself on the committee eventually becoming
Chairman. This led on to being asked to become a National Officer and so
I became the Honorary Equal Opportunities Officer. This was a much
broader brief than I had expected and was very enjoyable way of learning
about an area I had had little to do with previously.
Last year I took on the role of Honorary Publications Officer which has
introduced me to the complexities of the publishing industry something
which my 9 to 5 job would never bring me into contact with. Getting
involved professionally has given me many skills that I would never have
had the opportunity to develop at work and my employer has benefited
from having someone with a broader skill base and greater motivation.
What do you do as Hon. Publications Officer?
As Hon. Publications Officer I am responsible for the publishing
programme and the sales go to fund the Group's activities, as a result
there is a great impetus to maximise our profits. I have a publications
team around me made up of the Associate Publications Officer, Judith
Rich, the Hon. Treasurer, President, Hon. Editor, Hon. Membership &
Marketing Officers and David Lightfoot from Remploy Library Services. We
meet on a regular basis to plan the publishing programme and discuss
marketing and promotion of our titles.
Tell us a bit more about the Career Development Group books range.
Our latest title, A Chartership Reader, has been compiled by Kate
Wood and we think this will be very valuable to anyone working towards
their charter. Anna Atkinson. the Group's Learning Co-ordinator, has
written a foreword and there are fourteen chapters covering everything
from writing the Professional Development Report (PDR), the role of
supervisors, the views of a scrutineer and why you should go for it in
the first place. It includes many of the references suggested by the LA
as essential reading.
Many of our titles are the standard works in their field and we want to
ensure that they maintain their status and that our other titles become
essential reading.
And what about the role of the Publication Promotion Officers [PPO]?
The Divisional PPO's are a key part of our marketing effort as they are
publicising our books direct to the members through displays at events
and reviews in the newsletters. Judith and I are establishing closer
contact with the PPO network to keep them up to date with our
activities. This will also enable us to share ideas amongst the
divisions so that divisions are not reinventing the wheel all the time.
Having been involved in the divisions I know how helpful it is to
utilise the experiences of other committees especially when you haven't
done anything similar in your workplace, or when the divisional
committee has a lot of new members who don't know what has been done in
the past.
I’d like to finish by asking you about your plans for the
publications range in 2000 and beyond.
Later this year we will be bringing out Stephen Drodge's latest book on
support for adult learners that will give guidance on the issues
involved. This is not an area that I have been involved with before, but
found Stephen's book to be very accessible and an enjoyable read which
is rare in this type of book. Also forthcoming are a new volume of the
"Cumulated Fiction Index" and a new edition of "Equally Good".
For myself, I hope to see a profitable year ahead to lay the foundations
for increased activity for the Group as a whole and to try to give the
PPO network greater support.
To contact Claire:
Mail: Kvaerner Process (UK) Ltd.
4500 Parkway
Solent Business Park
Whiteley
Hampshire
PO15 7AY
Tel: 01489 614480
Fax: 01489 614243
E-mail:
claire.holder@kvaerner.com
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