Born on Third Base: Part 3

Student Assistant at the USC Special Collection Library

To understand what I do, first you must understand where I work. The Special Collection Library is one of the many libraries on campus. However, this library is a little different than most. The Special Collection library is where USC houses all of its primary source materials and books. Most of the time they are not only old but also very rare. The collection contains over 1,000 archival collections and over 2 million photographs. These materials date back as far as the 13th century.

This library is also different because patrons aren’t able to walk through the book stacks, look through books unwatched or even check material out. Due to the nature of the material everyone who comes in contact with the books or other collections must be sure to treat them with the utmost care. This is to preserve the original condition of the material stored at the library.

Now that you understand the requirements of the library, you can understand what is expected of the student assistants who work there. During my shifts, my time was divided mainly between three responsibilities: 

•  Managing patron requests

•  Monitoring patrons in the reading room

•  The shifting project

I can explain each of theses responsibilities by sharing how they figure into my daily responsibilities.

When you first arrive at work you need to get your badge so that you are free to move around the different levels of the library. While picking up my badge I would read the schedule my boss assigned all the student assistants that week. I most often work shifts of three hours: one being allotted to the reading room, one being checking out requests and the rest of my time would then be focused on shifting.

Managing Patron Requests

My first and most important job was to manage patron requests. Since patrons are not allowed in the book stacks in this library the student assistants are the ones responsible for checking out and putting materials on hold. Every time it was my turn to search for requests, I was given a stack of papers with the material name, year and identifying number. I then had to find the material which was sometimes a struggle. The books were ordered by size and most times the size would not be stated on the request sheet, requiring that I check all the sizes from small to oversize. The material would often not be where it should making the matter even more confusing, but as I worked in the library for more time finding the material gradually became easier. After finding the material I would then need to log into a software, logging that I had checked out all the material and that I was putting it on hold. I was then responsible for bringing all the materials I had checked out to the holds room, which is next to the patron reading room. I had to order all the material that I had checked out in the organization system so that each book, box or photograph collection had its specific spot. This would allow the other staff and student assistants to easily find the materials that had been requested and quickly present them to the patron when they come in to read.

Monitoring Patrons in the Reading Room

The student assistants were generally given one reading room hour for every shift they worked. This job was the general favorite of all the student workers. This is because when a patron wanted to read during your hour you would basically need to “babysit” them. Since the material in the library is so fragile someone working at the library would need to be watching whoever was with the material. This meant that you would sit in the reading room with the patron while they read. There would be cameras all around that you would need to watch on the monitor. They also had special rules they would need to follow when they were looking at any material. Many of the student assistants agreed this was their favorite because while observing the patron you could also do your homework, go on your phone and watch a movie (without headphones) if you were careful enough to remember to look every two or so minutes. Sadly, this job was not as common as the other two since there was no guarantee a patron would come in during your shift or even for that day. When there was no one reading during my shift I would need to go back to doing the other work I had.

The Shifting Project

The shifting project is what I would do when I wasn’t processing book requests or monitoring patrons in the reading room. The shifting project was a something that had been going on for quite some time now. It was the process or completely reorganizing how all the material was stored. A library containing over 200,000 volumes needing to be shifted would occupy a lot of time. This is why it was what I was doing most of my days. It would usually consist of me in the book stacks going to find three different sections of books, sometimes four. These sections would then all be put onto book carts and brought to where I currently was in the shifting project. I would then begin organizing then and placing them on to their new shelf all interfiled. The most time consuming part of this was making sure the books were all in order and that I hadn’t missed one. Once I would finish all three carts I would go get three more each from their individual spots, ordering the three separate piles, finally organizing them into one big collection again.

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