Masland Library Blog

When you were a kid, you probably thought you wanted to be a spy. There’s a common misconception among young people that that’s the coolest job you could possibly have. But that’s only because few children know how cool it is to be a Student Worker in the University Library. In fact, being a library worker is sort of like being a spy in a lot of ways! Here are five examples.

1.       They overhear everything: What you qualify as a whisper probably isn’t as quiet as you thought. Student Workers overhear a lot in the library (and they’re not even invisible). Wearing headphones, taking calls outside, and actually whispering will help keep your secret schemes under wraps. But don’t worry, library workers are sworn to secrecy when it comes to classified information like your academic record.

2.       They have gadgets: If you’ve ever seen a library worker sneaking around with a hand-held device, they aren’t scanning your retinas or looking at blueprints. These little gizmos keep track of how many times books have been used, but not checked out. This is why we ask you to leave your used books on the carts around the library or at your table - as evidence.

4.       They consult high-tech databases: Nearly everything a Library Worker needs to know can be found either in their training manuals or in the limited-access online databases. If you’re a Cairn student, you too have access to these stockpiles of information. If you’re having trouble accessing or using a database, one of these Student Workers or a librarian can help you.

5.       They wear a badge: Nothing says “elite” like the shiny faux-gold of a library nametag. These badges are proudly worn by (undisguised) library employees who would be happy to serve you the next time you need help accessing information!

~Christine Fitzpatrick

How many of you watched the Super Bowl this year? Great! Now, how many of you watched the Super Bowl just for the advertisements? Yup, same here. Out of all of the commercials, my favorite would have to be the Oreo Cookie or Cream library fight because no matter what happened during the fight everyone whispered. 

Whispering in the library is well known as library etiquette but did you know that there are other rules that go along with library etiquette? Rules such as “Don’t knock the library shelves over” and “Don’t try to climb the architecture in the library” but the biggest one of all is “No food or open drink in the library.” I know all of us at a time or two were thinking “Well I am only going to talk to my friend for a minute so I really don’t have to whisper” or “I am so hungry and I have this twenty page paper to write for my class in a half hour, it won’t be a big deal if I bring my turkey dinner into the library.” Okay so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but in all seriousness the library is a place of quiet study. 

This semester the library is starting a new campaign and we want YOU to help promote it! It is called the “Shush” campaign and basically we are asking that students help keep the noise level in the library low. Many people come to use the library as a quiet place to study for midterms, write copious amounts of papers, and even sometimes read. If the people in the Oreo commercial can have an all out war and still be quiet I think we at the library can do the same! So just remember keep the noise to a dull roar (or even a little less) and eat your *Oreo’s before you enter. The last question that remains is: Cookie or Cream?

*No Oreo’s were harmed in the making of this blog

~Jenny Dunning