Paul's story

“For many of our customers, our Library is a lifeline and a ‘safe place’ to go.”

“In my role, I supervise a busy team of sixteen Librarians and four volunteer staff within Aylesbury Library. It is my responsibility to keep staff up to date, ensuring we offer an outstanding service to the public. Around half of our work relates to books, whilst the remainder of our time is spent helping customers access services — whether that’s via PC access and Wi-Fi or signposting them elsewhere.

Positive customer feedback is something that really motivates me. This can come in many forms, whether it’s verbal feedback, such as after helping someone download one of our free library e-book apps, or formal recognition for putting together a particular project that has been successful. I also enjoy training my staff, so that they can go on to help the customers. It gives me great pleasure when I see the people I manage putting training in to action in the workplace.

Our library services have a clear management hierarchy and support system, ensuring there's always someone available for assistance, be it your line manager, the stock team, or the systems team. The library also prioritises learning and development, offering opportunities to expand knowledge. Under our Reference and Information Lead, I received training from Bucks Vision to help visually impaired individuals enhance their lives through voice-assisted technology, empowering them in daily tasks.”