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Introducing the CILIP NW Committee Gil Young, Mentor Support Officer




Name: Gil Young

 Role on the CILIP NW Committee: Mentor Support Officer

 Work: NHS Library and Knowledge Services Development Manager 

 Which other CILIP member networks do you belong to? 
In addition to being a CILIP mentor I am a member of the Health Libraries Group, the Library & Information Research Group and the Public & Mobile Libraries Group. My current role does have some overlap with HR so I am also an associate member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)

 How has your career developed up to now? 
Randomly in many ways as I have moved across sectors and made a number of sideways moves when something has interested me or circumstances have changed. I was a graduate trainee at MMU and my first professional post was at the Christie Medical Library. I then had posts at MMU, at Stockport Public Libraries, CALIM (Consortium of Academic Libraries in Manchester) and NoWAL (North West Academic Libraries). I was made redundant from NoWAL in 2010 and then got a job with HCLU (Health Care Libraries Unit). At that point the remit for HCLU was the North West but it has since expanded to the whole of the North of England.

 What’s been your best professional moment? 
I have been very lucky and have had a few. These include hearing that the Health Librarianship module I have been working on with Dr Geoff Walton will be available to students on the MA in Library and Information Management from September 2019, working with the fantastic event committee to plan the recent It’s Great Up North (#itsgreatupnth), getting my book published (alongside Tracey Pratchett, Carol Brooks, Lisa Jeskins and Helen Monagle), every time any of my mentees get their qualification as they have all worked so hard to get them and winning mentor of the year the first time it was awarded. 

 What drives you on? 
I particularly enjoy working with library and knowledge staff to enable them to reach their full potential and facilitating partnerships amongst different services and sectors. 

 Do you have any career advice or top tips? 
  • Get to know as many different people in as many different sectors as you can. Your fellow library and knowledge workers are the best resource out there.  
  • Say yes to stuff (unless there is a good reason to say no) and panic about not being able to do it after. You usually will be able to do it and will learn so much more than staying in your comfort zone.
  • Never be afraid to say you don’t understand something or that you need help.
  • Do your Certification/Chartership/Fellowship – whichever is right for you. The way of thinking that these qualifications require will help you throughout your career.
  • Never stop learning and developing. There is always something new to find out about and different things to try. 
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?  
I love spending time with my husband and friends. Other than that, I like reading, going to the gym and Pilates, going to the cinema and theatre (particularly the ballet) and watching television. I love Game of Thrones and anything which includes murder in a picturesque setting such as Endeavour, Midsomer or Vera. I am currently enjoying Big Little Lies, Years and Years, Killing Eve and Chernobyl 

 What would be your Desert Island read? 
This is the most difficult question! I get through 2 or 3 books a week so it would have to be something long. I haven’t read War and Peace so maybe that or A Dance to the Music of Time. I am currently finishing off The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry and looking forward to starting Big Sky, the new Jackson Brodie novel by Kate Atkinson.
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