We were a bunch of young and newly graduated people who arrived at CBS Library at Rosenørns Allé in the years around 1995.  The internet was “just invented”, and we were welcomed inside the library which at that time was on its way to become more effective and user-friendly. Many of us got the opportunity to go on an academic ‘grand tour’ in 1996.  We could each choose a library which we wished to visit for 4-5 weeks. It was a declaration of confidence and gave us freedom with responsibility – several people chose to visit business libraries in USA, but I chose to use a month at the library in the Centre Pompiduo in Paris. And I believe the following statement includes all who got the chance: Our academic skills were boosted when we each returned from all around the world. The head of library at that time Michael Gotta-Schønerg took a wise choice when prioritising our informal supplementary training. It enlarged our frame of reference used in our every day work, and we also became better at welcoming foreign guests. In addition, in the years after our relocation to Solbjerg Plads, a swarm of people from far and wide came to see our beautiful and photogenic library. Nice.

Memory flash 1: On a specific Sunday in December 1999, a group of colleagues ran up and down the stairs in the library at Solbjerg Plads to properly arrange the books – and even dry of surfaces with a damp cloth where needed. It was the day before the library opened for the students for the very first time. Many colleagues – with a young René Steffensen in charge of the relocation from Rosenørns Allé – were involved in the planning of the new and much bigger library. I actually do not think we were “paid anything” to help that day. However, it just felt important to be there. And what a vitamin shot to suddenly be at the heart of CBS. In the swarm of students and employees. Nice.

Memory flash 2: I joined a cross-disciplinary staff group which should give inputs to the interior layout at the Wedge. I remember that Lundgaard & Tranberg’s proposal differed from the rest when we were invited to see the architectural suggestions. I was quietly thinking: “It is probably too modern for the decision-makers”. Luckily, I was wrong. It was not too modern. The staff group which was appointed to give advice on the interior design was very diverse – from young HK’er to older IT-supporters and professors. And besides being taken seriously and going on an awesome inspiration tour to Utrecht and Rotterdam, I experienced that I came closer to the broad CBS organisation during my time in the staff group and also got a valuable network. Nice.

Memory flash 3: The rather overwhelming task of arranging CBS’ Christmas party had to be assigned to the library at some point. The task was drawn up in the late summer of 2006. So we went at it with determination, and the party turned out to be one that at least we will remember for a long time. A sudden idea in the planning stage was to ask all tables (50?) to model a Christmas fantasy out of play dough. And we honestly got cold feet when we set the table. But in the late afternoon, 50 amazing, creative Christmas fantasies were actually to be found. Nice.

Memory flash 4: René Steffensen started with saying in his low-key way: “You are allowed to say no, thank you!” So I said yes – yes to organise a conference for heads of business libraries from all over the world in the spring of 2007.  And in sum, this was probably the best (and most difficult) task of my time at CBS. It included logistics, communication, food, music, sponsor contact and execution. Nice.

A word which summarises my almost 15 years of experience at CBS (in addition to a student employment) must be enthusiasm. The organisation I was employed in as a 27-year-old, newly educated librarian was curious and open in many ways. There was a willingness to try out things and ideas which pushed us young people with limited experience out in tasks we were not qualified to do on paper, but we accomplished most and felt recognised. Together with a couple of great colleagues from the library’s IT-unit, I took part in brainstorming and developing Experts@CBS. The expert database was launched just after demands of communication were added to the University Act and since then, many other universities have followed suit with similar systematic access for academic staff. I could follow the use of Experts@CBS closely since a lot of my work assignments also included registering CBS researchers’ publications and communicative activities. The media also contacted young researchers who were added to the database on an ongoing basis. One way to stay updated about new researchers was by listening to DR P1 from home every morning. Nice.