BIOGRAPHY
Born in Pierrelatte, France, in 1975, Cecile Dubuis, MA, is usually described as a friendly artistic gothic librarian, currently working at the University College London. A lifelong lover of Gothic, Horror and Occult Literature, fascinated by all occult subjects and browsing dusty bookshelves. Outside work she is both an organizer and a very active participants within the London Goth & Vampire Scene.
This dissertation: Libraries and the Occult was written for my Master in 2004, please bear that in mind as some of the details, links and attitude might have change since then.
Cecile has been an UK resident since 1994.

EDUCATION
Baccalaureate A3 in Art, History of Art and Philosophy at Lycee St Joseph, Avignon (1994)
BTEC Diploma in Foundations Studies in Art and Design at City Lit, London (1998)
BA (Hons) Degree in Visual Art, Ceramic, at Camberwell College of Arts, London (2001)
MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL, London (2004)

WORK HISTORY
Subject Librarian in Anthropology and Geography at UCL (2007- )
Senior Library Assistant to the Subject Group at  UCL Library (2006-2007)
Issue Desk Supervisor at St George’s Medical School Library (2002-2006)
Library Assistant at Westminster Reference Library (2000)
Pottery Teacher at Wix Primary School (2000-2001)

LECTURES
Two sell out talks in 2007 at Treadwell’s Bookshops entitled: Dangerous Books, Hidden Knowledge and Demons in Vellum the Keepers of Occult Books in Libraries Today.

“A book could be a spiritual landmine, for reading an occult text could ruin an innocent life… no? And are there not hidden secrets behind the vellum binding – think Da Vinci Code, think Rule of Four, think Name of the Rose. These are deep atavistic beliefs that operate consciously or subconsciously in the minds of both the occultists and the keepers of the books. Most occult texts are held in libraries, yet their keepers the librarians are rarely occultists, and some are actually afraid of the occult – and the doors are so often barred…

Tonight’s speaker went on a mission to find out how much (and how) libraries hinder people’s access to the occult texts in their possession. Her field research aimed to do a few things: first, to try to see how libraries reacted to an occultist trying to gain access to occult books. She also (wearing her scholar’s hat) interviewed librarians about their attitudes to occult books and how they felt about being custodians of such material. Her findings were surprising at times, comforting at others and – once or twice – a bit horrifying. This is a talk for anyone who has ever been awestruck in a library, for anyone who has ever sought out the “occult section” of the stacks, or has dreamt of having a private book collection.