Working at the library was always a small dream I had in the back of my mind. What could be better than being surrounded by books, helping people find exactly what they were looking for? Of course, I grew up and realized librarians don’t exactly make a ton of money, and I realized how rude some people were, and slowly the magic of working in the library disappeared.
Skip to junior year of college and your girl now has a work study job in the library. And I mean it’s cool. I can now find any book I need for research a lot quicker, and I’m still getting the hang of the online databases. It’s definitely helpful when I need to write research papers, or when students come in looking for help finding books.
But honestly, sometimes this job is just a little much. I spend my time filling out an Excel spreadsheet of some of the information that gets filled out on the group study room form – room #, amount of people, and amount of time spent in the room – and I pull books from the shelves that are on hold, or restack books that have been returned or left out. But my favorite thing has to be singing out the group study rooms.
People try to bribe me with coffee or money to get them higher on the list (which is pretty impossible) or they think that flirting with me is helpful. Honestly none of these things are going to work. I know that when midnight hits, I look like a hot mess – hair everywhere, eyes half closed, body slowly shutting down, slightly sweaty because the library is always hot – so you’re really only flirting to get something. The first couple times were a surprise; I didn’t realize how desperate people were to get in a study room. Now, I just try to handle it without it becoming a distraction, especially when my supervisor is around which is all kinds of awkward.
Better yet I get yelled at by people who missed the group study room text and are now at the bottom of the waiting list. Or those who didn’t realize that the people who sign the waitlist or the ones who have to come sign up for the room. It’s the best when people don’t read the rules and then yell at me like I’m being unreasonable. I couldn’t ask for a better job. Honestly it’s great. I’m definitely not annoyed by the students of this school at all.