For almost three years, I have been working as a part-time library administrator at UWE Bristol, commuting from Weston-Super-Mare to the Bristol office twice a week. Despite loving my work, it has been difficult sticking to a part-time role and making long, expensive commutes at the same time, struggling to make ends meet and facing exhaustion and stress from inconvenient commutes.
Regardless, it has given me the essential ability to focus on my postgraduate Diploma during my free days, which would have been near-impossible while doing full-time work. The ultimate goal has been to secure full-time work in a role I really want shortly before completing my course, and hopefully give me an opportunity to move back to Bristol. While living in Weston-super-Mare with a friend has been beneficial in so many ways, I have always felt the desire to return to Bristol, and this desire hasn't changed even after two years of being away.
And now, after many months of applying for various jobs, I can finally say, with great excitement, that I have secured a new position at the University of the West of England as an 'Education Services Operations Administrator', and successfully moved back to Bristol as a result!
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| View from the Grain Barge bar in Bristol city centre |
The job
In my new role, I work two days a week in the 'ES Operations' team at UWE, who manage the maintenance of library spaces, completion of works and purchase requests from across the department, keep administrative records of new and existing staff, and handle conference bookings for staff development. The role was advertised shortly before the end of my PG Diploma, which was perfectly timed, given I was actively applying for jobs and hoping to move back to Bristol once securing a full-time role. This job will give me valuable experience and knowledge of the operational workings of a university library department, especially one connected to various academic teams.
Thankfully, I can continue my role as a library administrator alongside the new job, given both roles are part-time, with one taking up 2 days and the other 2.5. Thus, I am now working 4.5 days a week in two different but connected roles, allowing me to increase my knowledge and experience, while continuing to work in a department where I've established good working relationships. I've been on the job for around three weeks, and it has already given me a great routine, keeping my mind occupied and giving me the security of near-full-time earnings.
The flat
My new home in Bristol is a beautiful flat in a shared building, based just off Whiteladies Road in the district of Redland. I have always liked this area of Bristol, and while I hadn't lived there previously, I could see why it was a popular and desirable area. Whiteladies Road has everything: shops, cafes, bars, a cinema, beautiful areas for walks like Clifton Downs, and a gorgeous local library which I've already made use of.
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| Redland Library |
I also feel incredibly fortunate to be living with a friend of mine, avoiding the stress of moving into house-shares with complete strangers. It was pure luck I got this opportunity, hearing about an upcoming vacant room through passing conversations and eventually realising it might be a good idea to express my interest in it! Without this opportunity coming along, I may not have moved out of Weston-super-Mare, given the affordable living costs and the fact my partner only lived a few minutes away. Nonetheless, securing the new job at UWE sealed the deal, since my full-time hours require me to be based in Bristol, and I couldn't waste the chance to live in a stunning part of it with someone I was already friends with.
The flat itself is beautifully-kept, with lots of large windows that create plenty of natural light. My room is small, but cosy and comfortable, and I have a lovely tree right by my window. Obviously it's so much easier to get to work, the dreaded two-hour commutes from Weston-super-Mare long behind me. It may be two buses for the new journey, but in total it only comes to about half an hour on the way in and forty-ish minutes on the way back. It feels far more relaxed than before (not to mention cheaper!) and I can go from place to place in the city whenever I want with regular buses only a five minute walk away from my flat.
The course
I mentioned my postgraduate Diploma in Library & Information Services Management, which I have been studying for during the last two years. Well, around a week ago, I was very excited to have completed and handed in my final assignment, bringing the course to an official end (at least until my final grades release and my graduation in January).
Given this was a distance-learning course from the University of Sheffield, I had to engage with all the content remotely, which was convenient, but mentally exhausting after a while. Regardless, it has been an essential building-block for my career, giving me the qualification I need to make me credible for various library/information jobs. Now the course is done, I have more time to focus on learning my new job, juggling it with my existing role, and using my spare time to research future roles, update my CV, and take on new CPD opportunities.
My writing
As you may have gathered, I am extremely happy to have more free time for creative writing, which includes updating this blog as regularly as I can, potentially writing research publications in support of my library career, and continuing to work on a draft of an original novel. I spend far too much time talking about writing instead of actually doing it, so I'm hoping to make the most of the free time I've been given to finish several projects. Moving to a new place has also given me a lot of inspiration (as it so often does), making me energised and ready to do as much writing as I can in my new environment.
Regardless what content of mine you read or keep up with, I hope you enjoy whatever I post, whether it's jut my silly ramblings, LIS-specific content, or, maybe one day, a published book. Who knows what I might have completed by the end of this year? I can't wait to find out. :)
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