Changing jobs... in a pandemic

This month I said a fond farewell to the team at the Royal College of Nursing Library and Archive Service. It's been a very strange time to be moving jobs but they gave me a cracking (virtual) send off nonetheless and even sent an entire book of photo highlights, giving me a chance to revisit some of the fun times I've had at the RCN, including:

... the time the exterior of the historic RCN HQ building at 20 Cavendish Square was being restored and we had a hard-hat tour

... a charity walk we did to commemorate the RCN's centenary year

... that time we celebrated Meghan and Harry's wedding(!)

... that time I co-hosted a gameshow

... and the time we were voted the RCN Team of the Year and also got to meet Sir Ian McKellen.

There are loads more examples I could've included here in what was a fantastic five years I had there and I will definitely miss the whole team a lot. They even went to the trouble of putting together this incredible collage of *all* the libraries I've visited, as featured on this very blog:

The new job at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) brings with it a bit more responsibility and, excitingly, the chance to (eventually) work at the resplendently Art Deco and recently renovated LSHTM Library 😍

LSHTM Library's main reading room when it first opened in 1929

[Image from LSHTMArchives licensed under CC BY 4.0]

For the time-being, the new workplace looks strikingly similar to the old as we continue to work from home:

The old workplace ... and the new

It's not clear, with continued COVID-related restrictions, just when I'll be able to get in to actually see the library in real life (my interview was done online, if you're wondering). There's certainly a lot more optimism around in 2021 thus far though - what with the rapid roll-out of vaccines and a roadmap towards whatever 'new normal' we're heading to - so hopefully it won't be too long now 🤞