Trish N•••

About

On the record

I started my working career as a teacher - but life had other plans and, like many people I know, libraries found me! I'm so glad they did, libraries are exciting, rewarding places to work and you never know what the day will bring. Over my years in public libraries I've had the opportunity to experience a range of roles - from research to customer service, training staff to engaging in outreach, frontline roles to managerial positions. One of my real passions is the role of libraries in the field of literacy and I've strived to develop our services in this area throughout my career. My latest endeavour in my role as Right to Read Coordinator has been the Literacy-Friendly County Carlow research report which we're hoping will be just the first step in making Carlow the first Literacy-Friendly County in Ireland.(We can but try!) I was thrilled to have this work recognised by my appointment to the Board of Directors of NALA (National Adult Literacy Agency) in 2022. As the first public library representative on the board it gives an opportunity to engage at national level on such an important topic. Since taking up my current role I've become actively involved in the LAI (Library Association of Ireland) which has opened up a whole new world to me. My appointment as Web Officer for the Association has given me the opportunity to collaborate with a new range of organisations and enables me to experience the profession from a variety of perspectives. There is no end to what we as Librarians are doing and have the potential to do!