I was first introduced to rare books through our family's antiquarian book business. Later on, in my secondary school days, I remember being approached to take over the running of the school library. Of course,I always had a liking for books and reading them, I thought this might be fun and ended up managing it for three years.
So when it came to college, I selected a number of course options including theology, librarianship and film/media studies. I opted for the course in Information and Library Management at John Moores University in Liverpool. In my University days, I joined the 'University Job Shop', which provided paid work, some of which took place in the local college libraries. I also worked for a short time at W.E. Gladstone's library (known as St. Deiniol's), in Hawarden Wales.
While in Birmingham I worked at a College library. Perhaps looking for a change of scene, I then worked in a shop for two years in Ireland, before returning back to the library business.