Murphy Library News

Meet a few more invaluable student workers at Murphy Library!

Isabella Pahl: Reference and Special Collections

By Teri Holford, interim Outreach Librarian

Isabella Pahl, a first year student from Appleton, WI, is majoring in History with French and Archeology minors. She is currently working for two areas of the library: the Reference Collection unit and Special Collections/Area Research Center. 

Isabella learned about the possibility of working as a student in the library from her History professor. She was curious as to how she could become more involved on campus, and was encouraged to apply for a job at Murphy Library, especially in the Special Collections/Area Research Center which turned out to become a natural fit for her because of her interest in history and archeology.

What Isabella especially likes about working in the library is learning about all of the different areas and units -- more than she ever thought possible. She really likes the variety of tasks that she does at any given time. Every shift is different. She's constantly learning something new. Seeing what happens behind the scenes at all levels is eye-opening. 

Skills that she’s learned on the job are how to stay organized, how to manage her time between projects, and how to be confident and ask for help. One thing she does on a regular basis is reshelve books in the Reference Collection, and has thus gotten to know the Library of Congress classification system quite well. Other special projects she’s worked on so far include creating instructions for microfiche readers, correcting broken links in online Library Guides, and updating the county level historic tax roll books that are housed in the Area Research Center--ones that go back to the mid 19th century. 

One thing that has surprised Isabella is seeing how expansive the spectrum is of what is considered to be library resources. For example, she recently updated the list of political campaign resources for candidates on the library’s Voting Guide. 

Something else that was a pleasant surprise is finding the human touch in archival collections, a joy for anyone interested in history. While working on updating the historic tax records, she stumbled on a few odd papers signed by people over one hundred years ago that were tucked away in the pages. Getting what is referred to as “red rot” on her clothes was another thing she can brag about (“red rot” is shop talk for degrading leather powder on very old archival items that sticks to hands and clothes when touched). 

Isabella would definitely recommend working in the library because the hours are very flexible, the work isn't very demanding and you learn skills that you wouldn’t have ever thought you’d need.

Thank you Isabella for your curiosity and hard work! The library is happy that you’ll be around for a few more years!

Gracie Onesti and Sasha Obradovich: Access Services

Every year, the Access Services unit creates fun, themed staff photos. This year's theme is "your favorite book".

Meet Gracie Onesti and Sasha Obradovich who work in Access Services. 

Both are Biology majors and work at the front help desk or in that general area. 

How did you find out that students could work in the library?

Both Gracie and Sasha found out about working at the library by word-of-mouth from other students.

Would you recommend a student worker library job to other students?

Both agree that the slow pace environment is nice and gives opportunities to help other students. Having time to get some homework done is also an added bonus!

Are there things you have learned working at the library that you think will be helpful after you have graduated?

Yes! Reference information, microfilm knowledge, locating books and getting better with using multiple types of software.

Thank you Gracie and Sasha for helping students at the front desk!