There are two types of employment at our university. One is employment offered through the university, the other is employment offered through federal program. There are many university jobs, but the only federal jobs are at the university libraries and at university headquarters. Let's find out about the students works who are employed in federal jobs at the library. What goes on in the library?

Q : What are the responsibilities of library staff?

Library work is divided into two areas : the stacks and the reading area. The reading area is the place where students usually go to study and the stacks is the place where they go to find and borrow books. I work in the reading area.

The primary responsibility of staff in the reading area is to open and close the library. When I open, I also organize various documents. At closing time, I collect permits from people who are not affiliated with the university. My second responsibility is to find people sitting in seats who are not using their Clicker. Third, I manage library-related complaints. Fourth, I manage the study rooms. Fifth, every hour I check how many people are on each floor. My last responsibility is to check the temperature of each floor.

Q : What is the hardest thing you do at work?

There are too many people who don't use their Clicker. We've received a lot of complaints because of the people who sitting in the reading area without using their Clicker. Originally, this was not a part of the job but it has become our job to deal with these people. Sometimes I feel really embarrassed when somebody doesn't use their Clicker sleeps or leaves seats empty. I also have a hard time closing the library. There are too many students who leave their stuff on desks or on the floor. We retrieve all the remaining items and put them on the ground floor. I collect a great deal of lost items every day. One time, someone left an item and called the Caps at dawn to embarrass library staff.

Q : Have you had any embarrassing experiences at work?

From 8 p.m. onward, the gate of the reading area is open to people without a permit. But one time at 7:40 p.m. an elderly man didn’t want to get a permit and asked me to open the gate immediately. I said, "No," and the elderly man told me, "Just open it right now." I was so scared that I opened the gate. Then half an hour later the elderly man came back. He asked for me to change his money, and I said, "This place is not a money changing booth." Then the old man went back to the reading area, cursing at me along the way.

Another time a foreigner asked me to lend him a phone. At first, he spoke to me in Spanish. I didn't understand him so he asked me in English, "Do you speak English?" I answered, "A little bit." Then he asked, "May I use the desk phone here?" Of course I said, "No." So he said, "Lend me your cell phone, then." I wondered if he was trying to call someone who lived aboard because then he might try and make an international call. So I asked, "Does your friend live in Korea?" He answered, "Yes, my friend lives in Korea." So I lent him my cell phone.

Q : Do you have any requests for people who come to the library?

First, I have something to request of the people who are not affiliate with the university. People who are not university students or faculty can only use the first floor. Many people ignore this rule. So, many students from our university complain to the library staff that non-students and non-faculty members are using the second to fifth floors. Also, I want to tell our university students to use the Clicker. It wasn't originally a part of our job to check on people who aren’t using their Clicker. But there were so many complaints that we had to take on that responsibility. Ideally, individuals should directly resolve disputes with people who do not use their Clicker. I hope that everyone who uses the library will use their Clicker.

▲Kim So Ae, a federal student worker at the library

By Seo Seong-il, reporter  qlvmfl99@naver.com

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