Lessons From the High School Library

Let’s set the scene: my high school was going through major construction the summer before my senior year, and a new library was part of the plan. It was built just in time for the school year to start and was somewhat functional, but the moving process still had to be finished.

The moving-in offered me a unique look into what setting up a high school library entailed, and then working at the library helped me learn so many new skills that are still listed on my resume to this day. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Helping out in my school’s library is my favorite memory from that time and I always encourage high school students to do the same, especially if they have a passion for reading.

The biggest project myself and a handful of other students took on throughout the day (I was a student aid in the morning during third period) was shelving the hundreds, if not thousands, of books that had been moved from the old library and stored over summer while it was knocked down and the new library was built.

This was a process that took a few months. Carts and carts full of books were scattered across the library. We went through every single book individually, gave away the ones that were too worn to remain in the library, wiped down the covers of the ones we were keeping, and got to work organizing them in order to then shelve them. Our fiction books were shelved alphabetically, and our reference books were shelved according to the Dewey Decimal System. The shelving process alone taught a certain attention to detail and organizational skill that I only see in library people. That skill was continuously worked throughout the school year when returned books had to be reshelved.

Learning the library’s computer system and inputting books was also a big project that never ended. After all the books were shelved, we spent days re-cataloguing every single one in order to make sure it was in the computer system and had all the correct information listed. When new books were purchased, we barcoded those and into the system they went. I checked out books to students, checked them in, or searched the system to see if we had a certain one they wanted. I didn’t realize until after college that the adaptability I exercised in learning an entire system was something I carried with me in the years following high school and used any time I was introduced to a new computer program, for both school and post-college work.

While I learned the traditional library skills like shelving books, checking them in and out, and implementing new ones into the computer system, I also learned how to use a copy machine and help students with computer problems, and I even figured out how the sensors are put into library books so that they aren’t stolen. However, the most surprising set of skills I acquired were event planning and set up skills.

The library was now big enough that it had the space to host more events and meetings than it previously had been able to. During my year in the library, we had events ranging from lunches for athletes or the book club, traveling exhibitions to teach about historical events, movies and snacks during lunch around Halloween, activities celebrating the diversity on campus, and end of the year banquets. My librarian went above and beyond for everyone on campus, which meant that as student aids it was up to us to help set up and be a part of these events as well.