One of the things I've come to like most about my library is something I'd be unlikely to find at too many other jobs. The college I work at has a new-ish (in its first three years new-ish) program for developmentally disabled that mimics the college experience. The students don't live on campus, but their experience is akin to the experience of the myriad commuter students enrolled in undergraduate study. They have classes (though I'm not 100% sure how much choice there is, though I suspect in the latter two years of the four year program, there is a little freedom. Also, their classes aren't necessarily a college curriculum; one class is about maps, another is about learning to cook simple meals for yourself.), they can purchase meal plans, and they are full-fledged members of the campus community; they don't earn degrees, but some sort of life skills certificate. There are only 15-20 of these students admitted to the program every year (so right now we're talking 45-60 of them enrolled currently), and some of them are enthusiastic users of the library. When you're working the circulation desk, you happen to come into a lot of contact with these kids.
I love them. Some of them are rambunctious and scattered and overly excited at times, but they're nothing like their counterparts on campus. They're usually not sullen, they don't act entitled, they don't get snotty when you're trying to help them, and they don't treat us like shit. In other words, they're everything the typical college student is not. (I'm generalizing, here; I work with and love many of our college student workers, and I know they're not all that way.) They can get nosy, and they can be exhausting, peppering you with questions every two seconds. But in general, I think they're just trying to understand what it is a certain person does at the library, which is why they can get overbearing. Anyway, the point is, they're a joy to work with.
I have personally struck up a relationship with a student, Hart (not his real name), and he makes me smile almost every morning. Hart ALWAYS comes in at 8:15 or so and wants a pair of headphones. One morning, he noticed I was reading a football book (Sunday Rules) and asked me if I liked sports. Thus, the crux of our relationship was formed. Hart always has something to say about football or basketball (his two favorites), usually updating me on the Bulls or Bears record (mostly Bulls now that the season has started). One morning he returned a book about Michael Jordan that I hadn't seen, and when I asked him if it was good, he asked me if liked Jordan. I told him of course. And then he told me that of course I would like the book. Two of the books he's recently read and returned, I've then checked out. The boy's got good taste. And the few times I've seen him around campus (I rarely venture out and about), he's called to me and told me something sports-related. He's seen me reading the aforementioned book, and Michael Strahan's book, and wanted to check those out (unfortunately, they were from the public). But I can honestly say that Hart is one of the only students (besides our staff) that I know by name and have regular conversations with, and I love it.
At first, when I learned about this program, I really didn't think it would touch me in any way, because I work in back most of the time, and I work with non-circulating materials. But now that I've come to know some of these kids, I've realized that it is one of the things I will miss the absolute most when I move on (and at some point, I will). It's been such an added bonus to this job.
Awesome post.
Posted by: Dadmo | November 07, 2007 at 10:18 PM