Interning at the Library: not just about books
Interning at the Library
“so is that just like…sorting out books?”
This is the question I have been asked numerous times when discussing my summer plans with friends. My name is Alison and given that I don’t spend enough of my term time at the library already, this summer I decided to return to my ‘second home’ for June and July too. I am currently in my second week of a month long communications and behaviour internship at the University Library which was offered as part of the St Andrews’ Summer Internship Scheme. Several departments offer opportunities for currents students to get involved in and see the behind the scenes of how the University is run.
I’ve started this blog to keep track of what I’m up to, to share my research and show some of the behind-the-scenes of the library buildings. So far, I’ve not even been here two weeks but I can definitely tell you that the library is a whole lot more than just sorting out books.
The Library employs over 100 people across several different sites, spanning from special collections to academic liaison. My job is to join the Communications team and carry out research in to UX (User Experience). Basically this means collecting feedback from students and staff that use the library and harnessing this information to improve the library’s services. Considering everything from the layout of web pages to suggestions of a rooftop bar (how cool would that be?!), the library wants to make improvements based on what YOU want, rather than what library staff think you want. Previous studies at other universities have showed that the two tend to be quite different! Before I started I didn’t know that this was such a big field but there is a lot of research out there, with published books and even conferences on the subject. Thankfully, this internship means I am now being inducted into the Library UX Club. #squadgoals
In order to get this feedback we use different qualitative research techniques. This includes the usual suspects of interviews and focus groups but also much more snazzy methods like cognitive mapping, customer journey mapping and participant observation. The last of these is possibly my favourite because it is essentially an official form of people-watching.
When not being an intern I am normally in the library working on my joint honours degree in Geography and Psychology. When I tell people this, most of them reply with, “mountains and brains, … that’s an odd combo”. And yes it is, except that what I actually study is people and their behaviour. I find humans fascinating, so naturally, getting paid to talk to people and watch their behaviours (in a non-creepy way I promise) seemed like the ideal way to spend a month of my summer.
I am pleased to report that so far I am enjoying it. A lot! From going to Taste to test booking a study-room off campus, to eating the new branded jelly bean merchandise (I had to check quality control obviously), it’s all going pretty well. I even have my own desk!
If you’ve been in the Main Library this week you may have noticed the light boxes that sit on the Welcome and Service desks. I’m proud to say that among my tasks this week, one of them was making these (best job ever).
As cool as light boxes are, my favourite part of the internship so far however, is that my key card now gets me access to areas of the library I would never normally see.
The basement of the Main Library is like the Tardis – way bigger on the inside. It’s full of over 250,000 books that either don’t fit on the upstairs shelves, have recently been donated or aren’t used that often. These are all still available for research and are listed on the library catalogue just like everything else – they just happen to be stored here instead. If a book you need is in the ‘Main Lib Store’ and ‘available for recall’ this is where it will come from, and will be set aside for you on the hold-shelf the next day. Unless it’s a weekend, then it will arrive on Monday instead.
To maximise on space there is a rolling shelf system or ‘the stacks’ as we call them. The idea is that all the shelves are tightly packed together and you only roll out the one shelf that you need at a time. It’s both impressive and terrifying (the creepy vibe is enhanced by the fact that it’s underground).
Another bit of in-group slang I’ve learned is what we call the process of cleaning books that have pencil marks in. This never ending task is collectively referred to as ‘rubby dubby’. Aptly named.
I’ve also been allowed to go on to the upstairs balcony at the King James Library. For those of you that haven’t been in, it’s a beautiful space to work, full of old architecture and wall-to-ceiling book shelves. The bird’s eye view is perfect for observing students on the floor below (again I promise I’m not a stalker). To get to the balcony you go through a door that is opened with one of the biggest keys you’ve ever seen and which creaks when you open it. I didn’t want to disturb the silence but given that the library was built in 1643, I think a creaking door is allowed. Sometimes I forget how much history is embedded within this wonderful university.
So it’s not been a bad first two weeks! In the coming days I’ll be helping with a ‘Feedback and Brownies’ session (distracting students with food is always a great tactic), running a focus group, taking over the instagram account (#plug @standrewsunilib) and seeing some of the insanely old archives that we have stored in Special Collections. So stay tuned, and you’ll see that the library isn’t just about books, but it’s fair to say that they’re pretty cool too.
Alison Thomas has just finished the third year of her MA Geography and Psychology degree. Follow her internship progress on this blog and see some behind-the-scenes of what she’s up to on our instagram account @standrewsunilib.