CHELMSFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY The Inside View: Library Intern Finds Career Path

Preface By Christopher Kupec, Assistant Director, Chelmsford Keith Dominique, a young man thinking about entering library school, interned at the Chelmsford Public Library for a few weeks. It gave Keith a chance to see librarians in action and get a better feel for what we do. It also gave us librarians on staff a chance to reflect on our profession, why we chose it, and how to pass on what we know now to someone considering the field. I guess it's a good sign that Keith decided to take a job at a library after his time with us. Here's a short report from Keith on what he did and what he gained from the experience.

Chelmsford Public Library Offered More than a Diversion!
By Keith Dominique

When I first made the decision to go through with my internship at the Chelmsford Public Library, I was still unsure about the whole idea. I knew that any experience I could gain certainly wouldn't hurt me, and that I could possibly learn a lot, but as a college graduate, I was ultimately looking to move on to a real job. I was unconvinced that a library internship would be anything more than a diversion from my goal of finding employment. But at the same time, the actual ordeal of finding work was proving to be a bit overwhelming, and I really didn't know where to start.

With this internship, I figured that the best thing to do would be to go into it with an open mind. If it didn't work out, at least I would have something substantial to add to my resume. However, I eventually found out that my fears were unfounded.

My first week was a little awkward. I didn't really know anyone yet, and was unsure how enthusiastic the staff was about the idea of having some stranger hanging around the office for whom they had to find things to do. Fortunately, everyone was very friendly and really went out of their way to accommodate me and make me feel comfortable.

Each week, I worked in a different department, which allowed me to learn a little bit of everything that goes on in a public library. Some highlights include my week in Tech Services, where I learned about the procedures of accessioning (assigning bar codes to books, adding catalog information), processing (covering and labeling books), and making book orders (which are called acquisitions). I particularly enjoyed my week in Reference, where I learned about collection development (the process of choosing which books to order), and the all-important "reference interview", which entails answering patrons' questions and helping them find the information they need. Surprisingly, this was one of my most interesting weeks, because I got to interact with patrons directly. Although, there was only so much I could tell them, since I was still relatively new, it felt rewarding to be able to help people out. I didn't expect to like that aspect of it as much as I did. Other departments I worked in were Community Services, Childrens', and Administration. Each of them provided me unique experiences.

One commonality I observed among most of the departments was that their responsibilities included a lot of work out there on the shelves. Whether it was finding books that had been requested by patrons, or putting shuffled items back in their proper order, checking for missing items, etc., or the never-ending "weeding" process (removing books from shelves that were unpopular, outdated, damaged, etc.), I was always finding myself involved in such duties each week. It was probably some of the most tedious work I'd done during my time there. Yet because an important function of any library is making sure that, for patrons, the process of finding information is as quick and efficient as possible, I learned that these sorts of tasks are some of the most crucial. Understanding the intricacies of the Dewey Decimal System and how books are arranged on shelves had never been a major aspiration of mine, but nonetheless, I became pretty familiar with it by the end of my stay.

Despite my earlier apprehensions, I now feel that undergoing this internship was a very wise decision. The week after it ended, I started my new position as an aide at the Pollard Memorial Library. Not only did my weeks as an intern provide me with some valuable real-world experience in the library profession, but it also led to a paying job, which I'm pleased to say is just the outcome I was hoping for.