Inside BookSpace: Reflections from a week of work experience

At BookSpace, we’re proud to support young people through meaningful work experience opportunities. In July, we welcomed Petro Yermak to our team and invited him to document his work experience in his own words. Here’s his diary of the week, sharing what he learned, the projects he worked on, and what it was like to spend time at BookSpace.

This week, I completed my Work Experience (WEX) placement at BookSpace, a specialist library design company that helps schools across the UK create inspiring spaces for young readers.

Over five days, I got a genuine, hands-on insight into how a library design company actually runs behind the scenes, from market research and learning the basics of SEO, to visiting a primary school and helping to design a brand-new school library from scratch. I was surprised by just how many different skills go into the job, from creative design work to marketing, admin and health and safety. Here is a day-by-day look at what I got up to during my week at BookSpace.

Monday: Website audits, competitor research and SEO

I began the week by carrying out a full website audit for BookSpace, taking a close look at how the site currently performs and where there might be room for improvement.

From there, I moved on to researching BookSpace’s competitors. This involved three main tasks: checking where rival websites ranked on Google for key search terms, comparing the products and services offered by other companies in the library design market, and analysing how competitor websites function, including their navigation, layout and overall user experience.

In the afternoon, I learned about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for the first time, including how URLs, meta descriptions and H1 tags all help a website rank well on Google.

It was interesting to discover how something as small as a well-written meta description or a clearly structured heading can influence how a page performs in search results.

To finish the day on a more creative note, I put together a Fantasy and Magical Worlds booklist for children aged 2 to 12, featuring 12 books in total, made up of a mix of classic favourites and more recent releases.

Tuesday: Visiting a primary school and measuring a library space

Tuesday took me out of the office and into a primary school near London. I joined Michelle Tomlinson, one of BookSpace’s designers, to meet a client who wants to transform their school library. It was fascinating to see the early stages of BookSpace’s library design service in action, listening to what the school wanted from their new space and the kinds of questions a designer needs to ask to properly understand the school’s needs.

After the meeting, we measured the room carefully and I helped put together a 3D model of the space. This model will act as the starting point for the design options created later in the week, giving the team an accurate base to work from before any library furniture, shelving or seating is planned.

Wednesday: Designing and quoting a school library project

Using the measurements and 3D model from the day before, I worked alongside Michelle to create three different library design options in SketchUp.

Each option considered layout, book display and the school library furniture that would work best for the space, from low-level browsing units to cosy reading corners.

Once the three designs were finished, I created a quotation for each option using Excel, pricing up everything from library shelving to soft seating and signage, so the school can easily compare their options side by side and choose the design that best suits their budget and vision.

Seeing a project move from the initial consultation to a fully-priced design was one of my favourite parts of the week.

Thursday: RAMS, design materials and my personal booklist

Thursday brought a real mix of tasks. I started by filling out RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement) documentation for upcoming school library installations, which gave me a good understanding of the health and safety planning that takes place long before a single piece of library furniture is fitted.

I also supported the wider design team by preparing fabric samples, which will be used to help a school choose colours and finishes for their new furniture. To end the day, I put together a personal booklist of 5 books I would like to read myself, a nice reminder that even in a busy design company, there is always time to talk about books.

Fabric and laminate samples fanned out on a table for choosing a school library colour scheme.

Friday: Office organisation and working with WordPress

My final day began with helping to organise the office storage space, a great opportunity to see how the team keeps samples, catalogues and materials in order behind the scenes.

I then spent the afternoon working directly on the BookSpace website using WordPress, creating this blog by adding text, images, hyperlinks and keywords, which tied in nicely with everything I had learned about SEO earlier in the week.

Reflecting on my week at BookSpace

Looking back, this week has given me a brilliant introduction to everything that goes into running a successful library design company, from marketing and research, right through to design, pricing and installation planning. I now have a much better understanding of how BookSpace’s library design service works from start to finish, and I have loved being able to combine creative tasks, like compiling booklists, with more technical ones, like SEO and 3D modelling.

I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team at BookSpace for such a welcoming, varied and enjoyable week of work experience. It has given me a real appreciation for everything that goes into transforming an empty room into an engaging school library that pupils genuinely want to spend time in.

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