Preparation, preparation

This is my workspace at Burton College. As you can see, there is no office in the Library so all staff are always visible to the students (you can see the service counter in the top left corner of the picture). This is both useful and difficult - you're available immediately during busy periods, but no other work gets done!

In preparation for Kathy Lea's arrival at the College I've been attempting to clear my desk. It's looking quite tidy at the moment! I've also been preparing a work schedule to direct what needs to be accomplished and when.
Each summer we use the time when the library is quieter or closed to make improvements to the physical layout. This year we are planning to re-arrange the reference/quiet study area (pictured) to add 2 more computers and further study space for students, as well as another staff work area. Kathy will be able to offer further advice in doing this.

Final preparations are also underway for my arrival at Lethbridge (via Vancouver). I'll be leaving England on June 24th so at least I'll see some World Cup matches first. Fortunately, I'll meet Kathy here in Burton before I leave to exchange last minute instructions and find out all the best places to visit whilst on my travels!

In the Beginning

As I've already explained, from now on you can find out all about my Job Exchange to Canada.

I was really lucky because Kathy was only my second contact from the LIBEX exchange list managed by CILIP. We both work for Colleges, Burton is a Further Education College and Lethbridge a Community College, which seem to be as close a match as possible in terms of size and range of courses on offer. We were both looking for an exchange of approximately 4 months and neither of us were in a position to offer a house swap. We're also both qualified Librarians.

The exchange will officially begin on July 1st 2006 and run until October 31st 2006 - but we'll both be in our exchange countries before that time.

Between our two blogs you'll find out just how different and similar our Colleges are, what we're learning from our new jobs and what we feel we've gained from the experience.
Readers of this one will also find out if I get sick of maple syrup, how upset the Canadians get when I confuse them with people from the United States and if anyone understands my accent!!