Hi, my name is Eleftheria, but most people here call me Ellie. (I hope my mum will never read that – she hates it when people change my name!) I come from Thessaloniki in Greece and I’ve lived in Glasgow for three and a half years now.
I have a degree in Information and Library studies which I got in Greece. Then I went to a couple of other European countries and tried to do other things that didn’t really work out and now I’m here! I hope this will work, I am getting old and I really do like it here!
After coming here I took a post graduate course in Information and Library studies. A friend suggested that it would be good to freshen up my skills increase my employability and boost my confidence, I agreed it was a good advice and I enjoyed my course, the only problem was that two years letter I still didn’t have a library job, according to my interview feedbacks because of my lack of experience in library work.
So I decided to volunteer in one and gain some experience and some confidence and try to convince at least my self that I can really do this even after all this time. So after an email asking for a cataloguing position as a volunteer and an application for a post as finance assistant volunteer, since that was the only volunteering post available at the time (I needed to get near a library fast I was starting to forget everything my postgraduate degree had reminded me again) I started volunteering as a receptionist two days a week!
And it was great! The atmosphere in the library, the people who work, visit, volunteer in it, everything was great, and I was thrilled, for two days a week I had my dream job even if it was a volunteering one, I can do other things to pay my rent as I’d done all these years, at least now I also have something I actually enjoy doing! And the months go by and I don’t even notice that it’s been 6 months already and then one morning a part-time job came up at the library, and I start to thing about it and try to figure out how could I fit two jobs and my volunteering in one week, or if it would be to much I had some serious thinking to do, but then I realised I was being a bit daft, I don’t have to keep volunteering in the library, yes I do enjoy it very much but if I could work in it I’d probably enjoyed it as much if not more.
So I applied for it and I got it! And now I’m in my third week as the part time National Lifelong Learning administrative assistant which I really do enjoy as much, and though I do feel a little lost most of the time for now, with Morag’s guidance and help, and the support that I get from everyone it the library I’m sure I’ll be just fine!
Wish me luck!
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