[Portrait] Isabelle Auriol, Special Assistant Librarian (BIBAS) at the University Library's researcher service

What is your job?

After training at the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in bookbinding and gilding, I took competitive exams and worked at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and then at the Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg as a restorer of rare and precious works on various materials and media used for writing: papyrus, ostraca, oles (palm leaves), ancient terrestrial and celestial maps, posters... Then, I arrived at the BU d'Avignon in 2016 where, like all my colleagues, my first mission is to welcome and inform the public. I am also in charge of acquiring books in computer science and mathematics, but for half of my working time I am in the Service aux Chercheurs. I was working to keep track of the past, now I am helping to shape the future.

What is its link with research?

I don't do research, but I accompany and disseminate it with my colleague Dorian Miler and in collaboration with the other services of the University, a small link to capitalise on the work of our researchers.

Permanent deposit of theses, administration of the HAL Avignon portalThe implementation and monitoring of bibliometric tools such as the Open Science BarometerThe challenge is to make research accessible to as many people as possible. This is a job that requires constant monitoring and keeping up with technical and societal developments,

My job and my missions are therefore very diversified and exciting.

What does it mean to you to work at a university?

I have always loved books and reading and also contact with the public, with young people, so this is an opportunity. I like to believe that knowledge allows you to make informed decisions. So working in a place of knowledge and transmission of this knowledge makes a lot of sense to me.

What advice would you give to people who want to work in research support?

The world of research is so vast, and my humble experience reminds me that we must sometimes seize the bridges that allow us to move from one world to another, keep our minds open and continue to be amazed.
 Marie Curie: "Without the curiosity of the mindWhat would we be? This is the beauty and nobility of science: a never-ending desire to push back the frontiers of knowledge, to hunt down the secrets of matter and life without any preconceived idea of the possible consequences.

What object or image from your business best illustrates you?

African proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go with someone".
It is this discreet, anonymous and cooperative work that, when put together, makes it possible to go further.