Isolde Harpur is the Trinity subject librarian for Asian Studies, Clinical Speech and Language Studies, Deaf Studies, English Studies, Germanic Studies, Language and Communication Studies, and Russian and Slavonic Studies. A Dublin native, Isolde studied Russian and German as an undergraduate at Trinity (which included spending time abroad in Moscow and Munich), and following a newspaper advertisement seeking library trainees, spent a year working in Trinity’s library before undertaking a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at UCD. Having worked briefly at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, she returned to Ireland to take up a post at DCU (then known as the National Institute for Higher Education), where she worked for three years before joining Trinity’s faculty as a subject librarian in 1990. I sat down with Isolde to discuss what exactly her career entails, and to see what guidance she could offer to those currently interested in following in her footsteps.
As we discussed whether she had always envisioned becoming a librarian, Isolde explained what drew her towards the field: “I wasn’t conscious that I always wanted to become a librarian, but I loved books obviously, I loved reading, I loved education, and I loved helping people.” The eldest of four children, Isolde recalls the teacher role she assumed towards her siblings (helping them develop life skills such as telling the time), and how she was drawn towards a similar instructional capacity she observed in librarians during her days as an undergraduate. After graduating, Isolde applied for both a research position at RTÉ and a trainee librarian position at Trinity, and attributes fate as part of the reason for ending up where she is: “I think I could have gone into teaching, research, or librarianship, but like everything else, there’s an element of luck, and fate plays its part, so that’s how I ended up in the library world.”
While Isolde notes that her role has shifted slightly over the years, she provided a helpful glimpse into what a typical day in her life looks like: “A lot of my day would be student consultations, talking to students, helping them with their assignments; mainly students get in touch when they are doing their Capstones.” These meetings occur both in person, and since COVID, via online platforms such as Teams or Zoom. Isolde also works at the library information desk one morning a week, in addition to handling routine administrative tasks such as meetings and emails. Furthermore, she “holds the purse strings” for the library purchases of the various schools she works in, handling book orders requested by students and staff alike, and is involved with committee work, including a lead role in the library’s sustainability efforts.
Isolde considers herself “very fortunate” to be working at Trinity, and cites travel as one of the greatest opportunities that has come with the job. Her role has seen her embark on trips to the likes of Outer Magnolia in the 2000s, working in tandem with another European university as part of a scheme designed to assist libraries in developing countries by sharing skills from their own institutions. As the subject librarian for Clinical Speech and Language Studies, she has assisted in scoping reviews, which have provided a unique opportunity through which she has contributed to and appeared in publications. Indeed, Isolde considers the greatest perk of her job to be “working in an environment where learning and knowledge are key. I feel my job also gives me the opportunity to stay abreast at things like the impact of AI. You have the great opportunity to be with some of the greatest brains around”. She also lists Trinity’s scenic campus and connecting with old peers, now holding different roles across the college, as additional perks, and compares working with the library staff to “being with a second family”. As for the downsides, she struggles to pinpoint them: “I can’t say that there are any glaring downsides to it. Sometimes it can be really hectic, but that’s like any job.”
We also touched upon common misconceptions, with Isolde busting the myth of the strict librarian “in a bun and glasses…sitting in a room all day telling people to be quiet”. In fact, she specified that a personable demeanour is one of the most important qualities a librarian should have: “Libraries really excel when people are good at working in teams…you have to be people focused, not just from the point of working in teams, but also, being able to get on with students and staff, and recognising that students are not a homogenous group.” Establishing that “libraries are a reflection of what’s going on in society”, Isolde also denied that a love of reading is a prerequisite for the job (although she herself was a passionate reader as a child), as “nowadays libraries are more about knowing systems, computers, archives and digital archives”, while inclusivity campaigns, designed to engage with students from diverse backgrounds, are also emerging.
For students considering a career as a librarian, she encourages them “to think outside the box, and not to pigeonhole yourself”, but to “do the extra bit”, listing extra-curriculars and volunteering in the likes of libraries and Oxfam as helpful ways to boost job prospects.
Isolde expresses no regrets about her career choice, whilst acknowledging that selecting a career can be a fraught decision: “I’m really delighted that I chose it. Like every other young person, you’re listening to what other people think, and you’re saying, is this the right fit for me? It definitely was for me. I love the university environment, I love all the opportunities to learn, I love dealing with students and the staff.” Describing helping students as constituting part of her DNA, she celebrates the role of a librarian for allowing her to do just that.
Isolde’s guidance provides valuable insight into a vital field, one that arguably forms the backbone of society, but that is, most unfortunately, often overlooked. For those, like Isolde (whose helpfulness and generosity extended to taking time out of her busy schedule to be interviewed on a Monday morning), whose passions include teaching, learning, research, travel, and collaborative work, it seems that library science could be the field for you!
