Coffee Meeting

Meet the IL Group Committee: Laura Woods

What is your role on the committee?
I am the Secretary of the Information Literacy Group committee.

Laura Woods, Secretary

When did you join and why?
I joined the committee in August 2015, as Membership Secretary. I was new to the academic libraries sector at the time, and was exploring ILG as a way of improving my knowledge of information literacy. When I saw the Membership Secretary role advertised it seemed an ideal opportunity to work within the group, and build links with more experienced information professionals within the area of Information Literacy. I’ve always considered volunteering with professional bodies both a great way to develop experience, and to give back to the professional community that’s always supported me.

In April 2016, when a vacancy for Secretary arose, I decided to go for it as I felt that this would be a good way of getting more immersed in the work of the Group.

What do you do in your role?
I am responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Committee. This includes organising and minuting meetings, chasing up actions from the rest of the committee, and representing the Group at the CILIP Memberships Network. I’ll also need to organise and minute the AGM, but as I took over as Secretary just after the last AGM, I haven’t go to that point yet! I haven’t been in the role long, but have enjoyed making use of my librarianish tendency to over-organise…

What is your day job?
I am a Subject Librarian at the University of Huddersfield. I’ve been in this role since October 2014, and starting to feel like I’m getting to grips with the academic world! I’ve sector-hopped a bit throughout my career: previous roles have been in a legal institute, several commercial law firms, and a small road safety charity, so working in Higher Education came as quite a big change for me.

What are your other interests?
When I’m not working I love reading, gardening (not long ago I moved into my first ever house with a garden, so have been enjoying growing my own veg this year), and cooking. I’ve also recently started teaching myself to play the ukulele – much to the dismay of my rescue cat, Samson, who refuses to stay in the same room while I’m plonking away on the strings!

Find out more about the work of the Information Literacy Group

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