Towers Newsletter of the Library Associates of the University of Idaho Library Winter 2013
Volume 16, Issue 4
Inside this issue:
Student library job is catalyst for career success
Student Success........................... 1
The University of Idaho Library’s mission has always been student success, and for more than a century the library has provided jobs to countless students to help them achieve their goals.
Library Briefs............................ ..3 Dean’s Corner.............................. 4
Last spring, when UI Law School Dean Don Burnett took over as interim president of the university, we learned that his mother once worked in the UI Library. Burnett, citing his lifelong devotion as a Vandal, often mentions his mother’s 35 cents an hour library job that helped Burnett’s young University of Idaho sophomore Mary Ortman parents survive the Great Depression. Back assists a student at the circulation desk. then, the library was housed on the second floor of the Administration Building, where it remained until a new facility was completed in 1957.
Ways to Give.............................. 4
Library Colleagues....................... .2
Important Gift Processing Deadlines - Year End http://uidahofoundation.org/ uidahofoundation/giftadministration/ yearendgiftdeadlines
Today, the library is still a place where students can work to supplement their incomes and reduce loan debt. But according to many past and present library student workers, their jobs provide them with much more. In addition to the opportunity to build a resume for employment after graduation, the benefits they often receive are habits for a lifetime — time management skills, a strong work ethic, and self confidence. Skills for the future Mary Ortman and Dan Geidl, two of the 37 students in the library’s current workforce, know they are gaining more than a paycheck. Ortman, a sophomore from Post Falls, Idaho, began shelving books last year as a freshman and has since been promoted to the circulation desk. “I spent a lot of time in the library growing up, so this is where I wanted to work on campus. It’s a pretty cool place,” she said. “My job here has taught me a lot about how to balance school and work, because I can’t do my school work until all my tasks at the circulation desk are complete.” Geidl, a junior from Troy, Idaho, sees another benefit of his library job. “This job is an important stepping stone to my career,” said the aspiring filmmaker. “I’ve learned to interact with lots of different types of people, which has really improved my communication skills.” 875 Perimeter Dr. 2350 Moscow, ID 83844-2350 Phone: (208) 885-6534 Email: librdean@uidaho.edu
Workplace success Brian Henry ‘11, an architectural specifier for a Seattle firm, is one of many former student workers who have been successful in the workplace after graduation. continued on page two
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