Three thousand books down, and nearly 8,000 to go.
Facing McGoogan Library’s rare books collection, Kara Walters does the math. Supporting the inventory of these texts is among Walters’ current projects and is representative of unique opportunities provided to the library’s student workers.
The efforts of students like Walters bear great effects at McGoogan.
Recent and current student workers have catalogued the library’s cache of visual art; photographed and highlighted an assemblage of infant feeders; and organized vast collections of physical media, among other accomplishments, said Darby Kurtz, special collections curator at McGoogan.
McGoogan Library staff never saddles students with “grunt work” or “busy work,” said Kurtz, who serves both as a sort of hiring manager and overseer for the library’s interns. Rather, when offered a calibrated mixture of trust and guidance, these students prove “integral” to library services, Kurtz added.
What it takes to work at McGoogan Library
Student workers suited for the library display certain common traits, said Carrie Meyer, associate dean of the Robert S. Wigton Department of Special Collections and Archives.
Among them: maturity, curiosity, self-awareness and critical thinking. The daily work of special collections and archives can grow monotonous, Meyer added, and not every student worker will enjoy each assigned task.
But discovering the work you don’t wish to pursue long-term can be as valuable as identifying the work you do, Meyer said.
Walters agrees, noting that student workers should have enough wherewithal to recognize what they do and don’t do well.
And to hear Kurtz tell it, Walters does both big and very small—minuscule, in fact—tasks well. A student worker should also possess attention to detail and prove capable of describing an object “soup to nuts,” she said.
Kurtz trusts Walters to process a small artifact collection—and “almost” to the same professional degree as Kurtz herself.
She recalled Walters’ ability to write in tiny but legible language along the edge of a specimen slide.
“This is so beautiful,” Kurtz remembered thinking. “No one’s going to know to look here, but this is so beautiful.”
How student workers interact with library staff
When student workers begin their tenure at the library, Kurtz introduces them to the collections they’ll attend, then asks gently revealing questions about how they would begin a project. From there, Kurtz regularly meets one-on-one with workers to see how and what they’re up to.
Walters enjoys observing staff and faculty at their own tasks, noticing their focus and how specialized a librarian’s work can be.
The work of special collections and archives fits Walters, she said, who’s always looking to remain busy while working independently. With a background in both science and art, Walters processes books in much the same fashion as she paints: with music between her ears, working toward a sort of “flow state.”
What working at McGoogan can do for students
Kurtz knows that, for students, among the “biggest hurdle(s) in our field” is finding opportunities to do important work while being compensated for their time. If a student quite literally can’t afford to volunteer for a library or museum, often they don’t enter the profession.
Kurtz works from inside national and international groups that advocate for paid work experiences. The library is both a display case for these principles and a place where the conversation is furthered, Kurtz said with clear pride.
Students working here receive help sifting the skills and jobs available to them, Kurtz said. She enjoys coming alongside students to explore the possibilities together.
Walters looks at her experience so far and sees how she’s better prepared for today’s working world, learning everything from how to use widely adopted office programs like Teams and work with a greater independence.
She’s also seen how a medical campus operates and the various positions that make it go, a boon as she sets her sights on a career in medicine.
What student workers are up to today
Student work at and on behalf of McGoogan Library continues. Walters isn’t only thousands of volumes deep in the rare books collection; she’s also acquiring annual reports from a variety of UNMC departments and colleges; and she’s processing a collection of obstetric forceps that dates to the 19th century.
Other student workers currently assist with exhibit installation and de-installation, Kurtz said, as well as process oral histories and other objects.
Each of these assignments reflects both intention on the part of UNMC’s librarians and an investment of trust in the students whose work proves ever vital.
