Your Library needs you! Student Library Tour Guide opportunities

Elizabeth Andrews
Friday 12 April 2019
Lightbox sign "Welcome Fresh Saints"
Welcome #FreshSaints

The Library is currently recruiting Student Library Tour Guides to start in September 2019.  We employed students as tour guides for the first time in September 2018 to help us manage an ever increasing number of new students coming on Library tours.  We also felt the student guides would help new students feel welcome (Library staff make huge efforts to be welcoming too!).

We saw over 1400 new students over three days during Orientation week, so our tour guides were kept busy, welcoming new students, showing them around the Library, demonstrating how to borrow books and how to use the printers, and sharing their insight into how the Library works.

A group of new students listening to their tour guide
Student;s mid-tour

Students who attended a tour had the option to complete a feedback card, and some included comments about the student tour guides.

“I liked that the tour was given by a student who used the Library”

“Our student guide was really nice and helpful, thank you!”

“The third year guide was great!”

Since orientation our student guides, working alongside Library staff, have provided Library tours to prospective students on Visiting Day, and in January we had some of our student guides on hand on level 2 of the Main Library to help people use the new Library webpage and search system.

Student Library Tour Guides offering help with the new Library Webpage
Student Library Tour Guides offering help with the new Library Webpage

We asked our current Student Library Tour Guides what they liked about the role, aside from being paid!  This is what they said:

“I got to meet students and prospective students from around the world and help ease them into finding their way around the library. It sounds daft but for folks thousands of miles away from home, asking a staff member for help can sometimes feel a bit daunting. Speaking to other students seems to be a bit easier and it’s great when you are able to help someone feel that little bit more welcome as part of the University.”

“The student library tour guide role has been great casual and flexible work for me this year – a great chance to meet other, especially new students at the University and to show off the great facilities we have which are always improving. It’s really rewarding to be able to answer questions and be a friendly face to incoming students and their families.”

“Being part of the tour team is fairly easy work as the tours are nice and simple and very rewarding as you can boost your own confidence in talking to groups, large or small.”

“For me the job was a real confidence boost and it helps a lot with public speaking skills. I also genuinely enjoyed telling potential applicants why I love the university so much.”

“I got to meet many of the library staff members who have all been absolutely lovely; as are my fellow tour guides, and also learned things about the library that I myself was unaware of, which as a result really helped me with my own essays!.”

“It’s a shame I’m graduating almost because I won’t be able to do it anymore!”

Applications are invited from Undergraduate and Postgraduate students who will be returning in September, if you’re enthusiastic about the Library, and want to help welcome new students to the Library, and you’d like to apply, then take a look at the job description on Careers Connect from the Careers Centre (search for Student Library Tour Guide). Application is by CV and covering letter by the closing date of 12th April 2019.

Sharon Nangle (Academic Liaison Librarian)

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