School of Information Management

Faculty of Management

Alieda Blandford

Reference Librarian, Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Have you followed a circuitous path to your current position, or a straightforward path? It was mostly a matter of sheer luck. After graduation, I decided to take a cross-continental road trip all the way from Halifax to New York and Washington D.C., then from Kentucky to Florida, from Texas to Montana and on to Vancouver Island for Christmas. I had no real plan, but luckily I was called to interview for this position on the day I arrived in BC, and I started a few weeks later.

Has serendipity played a role in your career? Absolutely. A sense of adventure, curiosity, and openness to new experiences has really helped me. I'm very lucky, but in a sense, I also make my own luck: I see possibilities and opportunities everywhere.

Favourite aspect of your job? My favourite part of my job is my day-to-day work. I love the unexpected variety of research and reference questions that I receive in the course of my day. Without fail, I am always surprised at how interesting the questions and their answers turn out to be. (I realize that legal research might sound dry, but the truth is that the work of the provincial government, and the law, intersects with vitally important local issues in fascinating ways.) I learn something new, and often lots of new things, every day. Whether I am researching health care facilities, safety in schools, details of local history, land title or trade agreements, social funding, current news coverage, or environmental science, the information I provide may go on to shape policy and debate. At the very least, it will help my clients do their jobs, serving the public in some way.