Interning with the Library
Jenny Elwin, going into 4th year studying English and Modern History
With third year drawing to a close, and the unknown quantity that is employment post-St Andrews becoming an increasingly pressing concern, I set about finding a summer internship. My dream job, however unlikely, would involve spending large amounts of time on Pinterest, so a social media internship seemed to suggest my dream was not as impossible as I had presumed.
I have spent the last month interning with the Marketing and Communications Team in the University Library. I was particularly interested in gaining marketing experience due the area’s scope for combining creativity and organisation. My main task was to review and implement a renewed social media presence for the library. Discovering that the copyright laws surrounding Pinterest were murkier than I realised, I decided to primarily work on the instagram account (@standrewsunilib).
In addition to working with social media I was able to gain a wider understanding of what is involved in running the library. My behind the scenes insights included helping quality check five hundred bags for orientation, exploring the roof and finally getting to see what is underneath the library (more books, it turns out!). I particularly enjoyed learning about the thought process that goes into selecting and designing library publicity, the vintage poster campaign for instance. The internship has also increased my understanding of the details involved in creating a corporate image and how social media can be planned around this.
I would definitely recommend that other students apply to the university internship scheme. It is nice to be learning new things in the comfort and convenience of a familiar place. After a lazy few weeks of exam recovery, working nine to five was certainly a bit of a shock to the system. But moving back into the library will have prepared me well for fourth year!