Award for isles librarian

Librarian Catherine Jeromson has won the Ian Johnson Alumnus Award from Robert Gordon University.

This is conferred upon a former student who, within five years of graduation, has made as significant contribution to enhance her library service, and/or demonstrated significant personal and professional development.

Mrs Jeromson took an unpaid year out from her job with Shetland Library in 2010 to qualify as a librarian at RGU and has since been working towards becoming a chartered librarian. She has worked in both the public and school library service in Shetland and much of her work is with young people.

She was nominated by Peter Reid, professor of librarianship and head of the department of information management at RGU.

Prof Reid said: “The Ian Johnson Alumnus Award is named after a former head of department and is made annually to a recent graduate of the department who has demonstrated real commitment to libraries.

“Catherine has consistently shown real enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism working with Shetland Libraries and has steadfastly displayed her passion for libraries and their capacity to enrich the lives of members of the community. She is a worthy recipient of the award.”

Shetland Library executive manager Karen Fraser said: “We did not know Catherine had been nominated so this is a lovely surprise and richly deserved.

“The energy she puts in to her work, her professional approach, customer focus and her unfailing sense of humour has undoubtedly enhanced our service.”

Meanwhile Shetland Library has added two new digital resources to its catalogue – “Go Citizen” and “Access to Research”.

The Go Citizen database is an online study resource for candidates preparing for the Life in the UK test or the British Citizenship test. Passing the Life in the UK test is a requirement for anyone applying for a UK visa or citizenship.

The Access to Research resource is available on the library premises and offers access to more than 1.5 million academic articles. It is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers that will assist students, independent researchers and small businesses who may need access to specialist articles.

Both databases and a wide range of other reference resources are available on the library’s webpage at www.shetland-library.gov.uk by clicking on the “24 Hour Library” link. It is free of charge for Shetland Library members.