My life in slides

1
My life in slides

• Matthew Hall
• LIBR 500 Foundations of Information Technology
• ool272_at_gmail.com

2
Me

• Born 27th February 1979, in St. Thomas Hospital,
  London, UK
• Eldest child
• I lived in Clapham, South London, for most of my
  childhood
• Im not photogenic

3
My Family

• My father, Peter, used to be a government
  solicitor, but retired early and is now studying
  for a degree in ceramics
• My mother, Harriet, works as a legal advisor for
  the UKs financial services regulator
• My brother, William, who is 24, has finished
  university but has yet to decide on a career
• My sister, Helen, who is 19, is between school
  and university
• My mothers eldest sister and her husband moved
  to Montreal in the late 70s, and are still there
• Her eldest son lives in Victoria with his family

4
I have lived in

• London
• Brussels (1987-90)
• My father was working for the EEC
• Coventry (1997-2004)
• Guildford (2004-05)
• Vancouver

5
I have been to

• The red countries!

6
My first two degrees

• The University of Warwick (link)
• Actually in Coventry, not Warwick
• 1997-2001 MMath
• An extended bachelors degree in mathematics
• 2002-03 MSc in mathematics
• Was to have been a PhD but my plans changed
• My field was algebra
• Dont ask me about my dissertation, I can barely
  remember it!
• Eventually I will have three Ms after my name

7
Career choices

• I gave up my PhD because
• I didnt want to be an academic
• It was extremely stressful
• I wasnt enjoying the subject any more
• Typical jobs for mathematics graduates
• Accountancy
• Actuarial work
• IT
• Teaching
• None of them appealed to me!

• After graduating the second time, I spent some
  time working for a parcel company
• I decided to pursue library work because
• I wanted a job that allowed me to be useful to
  others
• I enjoy finding things out, and like libraries
  and books
• The great variety of different job opportunities
  for library professionals

8
Library work

• Central Library, Birmingham (link)
• One of the largest public libraries in Europe
• Strange ziggurat building
• Architecture publicly denounced by Prince Charles
• Unpaid work experience in
• Science library
• Adult education department

9
Library work continued

• In the UK, most library schools require a years
  experience working in a library environment for
  admission
• Many academic and special libraries offer
  graduate trainee library assistant positions for
  people wanting to gain this experience
• After many applications, I got one
• University of Surrey Library, Guildford (link)
• I worked in all the major teams
• Acquisitions
• Cataloguing
• Interlibrary Loans
• Periodicals
• Public Services

10
Coming to Canada

• I applied to SLAIS because
• The programme seemed much broader and more
  interesting than those based in the UK, which are
  only a year in length
• ALA qualifications are recognised back home
• I really liked Vancouver on previous visits here
• Studying abroad was an exciting idea!
• Its too early for me to say whether Ill stay
  once I graduate

11
Hobbies

• I am a science fiction and fantasy fan
• Favourite authors include
• Gene Wolfe
• Ursula Le Guin
• Philip K. Dick
• Favourite TV shows include
• Babylon 5
• Farscape
• Futurama

12
Hobbies continued

• My musical favourites change all the time.
  Currently they include
• Leonard Cohen
• Sigur Rós
• British Sea Power
• Elbow
• I enjoy hiking and generally seeing the great
  outdoors
• Like half this SLAIS intake (or so it seems), I
  enjoy birdwatching

13
The End
14
Image Sources

• Pages 4 and 6 Google Earth (http//earth.google.c
  om)
• Page 5 MyWorld66 (http//www.world66.com/myworld6
  6)
• Page 8 Birmingham City Council
  (http//www.birmingham.gov.uk)
• Page 9 University of Surrey (http//www.surrey.ac
  .uk)
• Page 11 Amazon.com (http//www.amazon.com)