As a university student studying political science and Asian studies in the United States, he needed to work part time and found a job in the university's library putting books back on shelves.

He eventually became student supervisor of other bookshelf stackers, and in his final years at university worked evenings at the social sciences reference desk. 'By the time I was working at the reference desk, I found my research skills honed from studying and my knowledge of the library enabled me to help other students use the library's resources,' he said.

Dr Ferguson continued working in libraries while he did his master's in political science, replacing the full-time reference librarians when they went on holiday.

At the time, Dr Ferguson believed his time spent in libraries would simply be an enjoyable means to an end, but that was not the case, as circumstances forced his hand.

His ultimate goal was to teach Chinese politics, but while doing his PhD in political science in 1970 and 1971 he had a change of heart.

'The United States had not yet normalised relations with China, and public dissatisfaction with the Vietnam war made it look like a teaching career focusing on China was not too likely,' he said.

Not wanting to teach general or American politics, he started to look around for something in the education field.

His library supervisors convinced him to consider a career in libraries, and after getting his master's in political science, he switched to library science.

'A year later I received a second master's degree [in library science] and had been offered a job before I finished. I have worked in libraries ever since,' he said.

His first job was as social science librarian for a university in Utah, where his main roles were doing reference work and selecting books.

As a result of his being able to speak and read Chinese, and his interest in Asian culture, he was also asked to develop a separate Asian Studies collection.

Seven years later, he was appointed to a supervisory position and became involved in a national organisation to promote improvements in collection development work, and wrote numerous papers on related subjects.

'After working in this role for six years, I started to look around for an assistant director position, which I found at a university in Texas, and then subsequently moved on to Columbia University,' Dr Ferguson said.

He spent 16 years at Columbia, supervising selectors and subject specialists, building collections and also getting involved in fund-raising and other areas of the library, including rare books, manuscripts and library preservation.

'It was then in my late 40s that I decided to go back to school to complete the doctorate that I had stepped away from many years previously. I completed a doctorate in comparative and international education, which reignited my passion for Asia and enabled me to return to China to do research and renew my language skills,' he said.

It was after completing the programme that his daughter, who was staying with a Chinese librarian friend in Hong Kong at the time, saw a job advertised at the University of Hong Kong library. She encouraged her father to apply and he got the job.

His role now is complex and involves all aspects of the library programme, directing the work of supervisors who co-ordinate the selecting, purchasing, cataloguing, shelving, circulating and preservation of printed books and journals.

They also work with librarians dealing with the public and training people to use the traditional and electronic forms of information available. They also supervise the technical infrastructure associated with electronic databases of thousands of books and journals. Dr Ferguson holds regular meetings, writes and presents papers, and does fund-raising and public relations work.

'The library has more than 250 employees, with 2.3 million volumes and seven million books with more being purchased every year, so we are a beehive of activity,' he said.

A typical day involves answering e-mail, attending meetings and working with others in producing, collecting, sharing or exhibiting information on campus, and reading and writing reports.

Dr Ferguson is also the president of the Hong Kong Libraries Association and chair of the Pacific Rim Digital Libraries Alliance.

'As the university's librarian, I am also thrust into all sorts of other responsibilities.'

For those interested in working in a university library, a basic degree and a master's or other advanced training in library or information science is required. For public and other libraries, a basic degree is required and the master's or further study is often done as part of on-the-job training.

Dr Ferguson said a librarian needed to be well organised, unafraid of details and willing to handle change to keep in step with technology.

'In my own career, we have gone from mainly print to an equal emphasis on electronic forms of information, and we have changed the way libraries work,' he said.

New librarians can expect to be given jobs in referencing, cataloguing or acquisitions. Dr Ferguson said it was not always possible to get a job at an academic library, and working in a different library for a few years might be the first step.

'Librarians have to be generalists so they can take advantage of opportunities that come their way while they gradually amble towards their ultimate job,' he said.

'Finding a job in a library is not difficult if you are willing to be flexible in location and the kind of work you will do. Advancement in libraries is often horizontal, not vertical. That is, to get a better job you must be willing to move to another job.'

However, in Hong Kong moving to another university library could mean a reduction in benefits, which discouraged some. This was an area that should be addressed.

There are also plenty of opportunities and potential in China, but salaries are substantially lower than in Hong Kong.

'In time I believe this will change, and we might find that librarians with Hong Kong experience will be hired in China,' Dr Ferguson said.

He recommends the profession and has enjoyed his career choice.

'I think the thing I like most about my profession is the variety of duties. My work has been in constant change so I have never become bored.'

His advice to budding librarians is to get as much education as possible before embarking on this career and to continue to learn.

'You have to always be moving forward otherwise you will be left behind. Work harder and smarter than others and you will always have lots of career opportunities.' Being flexible and willing to adapt to new circumstances was also critical. 'In the end, you can only do your best. Knowing that you have done that means more than all the advancements.'

TO BE THE BEST

Obtain as much education as possible

Continue to learn

Be flexible

Work hard

Do your best

SALARIES

University librarian

$64,000 to $80,000

15 or more years' experience

Assistant director

$44,000 to $56,000

5 or more years' experience

Division head

$32,000 to $46,000

3 to 5 years' experience

Department head

$28,000 to $36,000

5 years' experience

Reference librarian

$20,000 to $26,000

no experience necessary

Note: Job titles vary in other types of libraries (not academic), but years of experience required will be similar.

Salaries are generally lower in non-academic libraries, for example, a person with no experience working in a school library would start at $17,000 per month and in a public library at $12,000 per month.