Meet your Academic Services Librarian #1

This term we will do a series of posts introducing you to the members of the Academic Services Team. We'll start with the Academic Services Manager and Law Librarian. Take it away Lillian...

Lillian Stevenson
I have been working in Information Services and the Library at Aberystwyth University for a fair few years and like a lot of people studied at Aber too.



Moving back in time I studied law at Birmingham University and Sheffield University before seeing the light and taking a postgraduate course at the College of Librarianship Wales, now the Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University. I spent a glorious year, perhaps a gap year in today’s terms, in North Wales on the Lleyn Peninsula working on mobile libraries delivering often quite recently published books to remote farmhouses, hamlets and villages. The clientele included RS Thomas, Vicar of Aberdaron. It was a huge shock when I moved to London to take up my first professional post as one of three librarians in a large City law firm- Norton Rose. It was a far cry from rural Wales and was my first foray to “The South” and it seemed very sophisticated with partners lunches and Christmas Dinner at the Dorchester.

However move on I did to a post as Law Librarian at Manchester Metropolitan University with Christmas dinners in Chinatown this time. I obviously liked the academic environment because after a short time working for a legal consultancy/publishing company whilst looking after my young son, I moved to Aberystwyth University as Law Librarian and the rest is history as they say …. I am still Law Librarian but have taken on other responsibilities over the years and am currently Academic Services Manager here. Aberystwyth is a beautiful and magical place and yes the sun is shining as I write and yes I have just moved into my new office with stunning views of Cardigan Bay…..

A bit of a "do" to celebrate the Law Library 2013

A new academic session has just started and after attending a recent talk by David Edgar, I am re-reading Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man, but I will leave you with some postcard comments which departing Aber students left:

“Just enjoy the experience, you will miss it when you leave”

”See those bottles labelled Sambuca? Don’t drink them, they’ll eat your loan”

“Be an individual and do what you want to do”

and some possible desert island discs I may choose:

Louis Armstrong – Wonderful World
Leonard Cohen – Halleluja
Richard Thompson – Oops!... I Did It Again
Bellowhead – Prickle Eye Bush
The Smiths – This Charming Man
Grace Kelly & Phil Woods – Man with the Hat
Bill Haley – See You Later Alligator
Ewan MacColl – Joy of Living