When I started this apprenticeship, I made a commitment to put my foot forward in everything new. And here I was taking on a project I would not have considered a year ago. A daunting yet opportunistic prospect; something this apprenticeship has provided abundantly.

Most of the library staff were off on their annual leave (an extremely well deserved break after their continuous hard work). I was sat reading Kirstie’s (Development Librarian) email. “I would love for you to be involved”. I was hesitant; these were important people and I was… well an apprentice. What if I messed up the presentation…? Or worse still, embarrassed myself?

Three hours and six minutes later I’d put myself forward to present at the Libraries Connected Regional Development Day alongside my fellow librarian Eric, and of course the hivemind of projects herself; Kirstie, despite having huge reservations whether I could do this.

The Regional Development Day had a focus on Cultural Ecology and was an opportunity for local authorities to showcase the work they had done during the lockdown. The project theme was Libraries from Home (fitting for the year we’ve had!). It was a chance for all local authorities to showcase how they had adapted to the current circumstances and how they had met the needs of their service users.

Eric and I had an initial meeting with Kirstie so she could guide us and help us choose what we wanted to talk about in our individual presentations (five minutes each, which would then be put together as a 15 minute piece). She left the ball in our court on how we wanted to proceed. Eric chose to talk about his journey as a librarian and working with LAL (Library Adventures Live) team through a verbal presentation. I, however, had only my subject (Kirklees Cosmia Event of 2020) and no concrete plan on how I would present it.

I went away and pondered about what I wanted to get across to all those at the event. I was fortunate that Kirstie wanted our work to reflect us as individuals; thus giving me the opportunity to express myself without being confined in a box of expectations. The first course of action for myself was to write what I wanted to say. And when I say the words flowed out of me like the River Nile, it is no exaggeration. The joys of having a job you love is – it’s not too difficult to reflect the passion in the projects you do. Next step was to put it together. Like Eric, I also wanted a presentation that was pre-recorded beforehand; ready to play at the event. After the millionth technical and wi-fi issue you learn to prepare beforehand as much as possible!

We followed up with meetings before the actual event to test run and put together all the pieces. Thankfully, we pretty much had it perfected within the first two meetings. For the five local authorities that were presenting, there was a trial run a few days before the event to ensure there were no technical issues and everyone knew what to do.

Two days before, we were emailed with the programme for the day and on it we had three very important individuals who would be speaking; Isobel Hunter – Chief Executive Libraries Connected, Sue Williamson – Director Libraries ACE and Jenny Peachey – Senior Policy and Development Officer Carnegie UK Trust. I was well aware these were some of the giants of our sector and was relieved I’d pre-recorded because I would have been tongue tied in their presence. Hearing them speak about the visions and goals for libraries filled me with pride; here I was, part of the mission to touch the lives of as many individuals as possible in a positive way. Knowing so many of us across the country have been a lifeline in these difficult times was no less than tear inducing. Hearing them all speak, I understood why we were so successful; leaders who believe in their vision, transmit their passion. I left the event feeling rejuvenated and ever the more determined to find new and innovating ways to reach every individual I could.