Introducing your subject librarian...

Hello, my name is Alison Evans. I am a part-time Assistant Librarian based in the Owen Library, and I look after the business subject area with Emily Hywel. I have a degree in history, and qualified as a librarian by completing an MA in Library and Information Studies at Loughborough University. I have worked in academic libraries at the universities of Kent and Reading. I have also spent some time working as a childrens' librarian - a very different experience, at the other end of the education environment and great fun. I'm still trying to figure out how I can sneak a few stories, glue pots and glitter into our user education sessions here at SMU!! I first came to SMU when it was still Swansea Institute of HE. I was then based in Townhill library and helped look after the education and art subject areas. I took a break from (paid!) work when my children were small and came back to SMU in 2009.

I love reading and riffling through books! I get through a huge range of material - anything that takes my fancy, from the big prize winners through to the potboilers I read on the bus. I'm a sucker for history and historical fiction tomes. I'm currently working my way through C J Sansom's Shardlake series - fab writing, with lots of historical mystery, and high (generally grisly) body count. What's not to like?? I've also been known to sneak a peek at my childrens' reads. Having spent two weeks travelling round Scotland in the summer, enclosed in the car with the whole family and a cache of Horrible History CDs, my current party trick is to be virtually word perfect in the wonderful spoof songs from the BBC series. If you've not yet encountered The Viking Song, have a look on YouTube...

Introducing your subject librarian...

Hi, my name is Sam Scoulding and I'm an Assistant Librarian here at the Owen Library on the Mount Pleasant campus. I look after the subject areas of Leisure, Tourism & Sport, Public Services, and Health...so I have plenty of variety! I've been working here for 15 years now (not that I'm counting!) but I haven't always been a librarian...

Having got my B.A (Hons) degree in English Literature from Swansea University in 1996, I first started off as a Library Assistant for Swansea public library service, working in Gorseinon, Pontarddulais, and eventually Swansea Central Library. That was followed by 8 years as a Library Assistant here at SMU (or Swansea Institute of Higher Education as it was then!) until I eventually decided to take the plunge and study for my Postgraduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies as a distance learner with Aberystwyth University. During that time I worked as a Trainee Assistant Librarian here, before I finally qualified in December 2008. So having done my fair share of studying, I like to think I'm in a good position to understand what our SMU students are going through!

Outside of work I enjoy going to the cinema, theatre, walking, and travelling to new places - just as well since I'm a tourism librarian. In fact, I've just got back from a fantastic trip to Croatia and have already got holiday brochures for next year! I could probably get struck off as a librarian for saying this but, I'm not an avid reader...unless you count celebrity gossip magazines!! I am, however, a big fan of social media and am very active on Facebook and Twitter, and also contribute to our official library blog.

So, that's me! Pop in and say 'hi' sometime soon, I look forward to meeting you.