Sylvie Moine, University Library Lille 1, France

Q: How long have you worked in your current job?

A: Since 1998. Formerly Head of the Science and Technology Department, I have been responsible for science and technology collection development and the management of serials and electronic resources for two years.

Q: Which fictional character would you most like to be?

A: Thea Kronborg in Willa Cather's novel The Song of the Lark, moving from rural and bitter beginnings in Colorado to Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera House and becoming a famous Wagnerian soprano.

Q: What are you most afraid of?

A: Of a world which loses its memory and encroaches on the human mind too much, depriving it of freedom and preventing it from thinking.

Q: Name one place that you would like to go back to?

A: The Peloponnese, particularly the area of Argolida (Tyrins, Mycenea, Epidaurus) and the area of Mani (its tower houses and its small Byzantine churches), the beauty of the scenery and the hospitality of its inhabitants.

Q: What is the last film you watched?

A: The Dead, John Huston's last movie, brilliantly directed. Very little happens, just the usual flow of life, but every detail contributes to a feeling of nostalgia and, with the final epiphany, to intense poignancy.

Q: How do you like to relax after work?

A: When the weather is fine I cycle along the narrow routes in the countryside around my place and, during the weekends, in West Belgium Flanders.

Q: Can you highlight three qualities of your institution?

A: A valued partner in study, teaching and research at the university, which supports the building of our new library, a learning centre. A participant of the French consortium Couperin and an active centre for expanding digital resources, A lively place for collaborative efforts and innovative ways.

To find out more about Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, please visit the website www.ustl1.univ-lille1.fr