Features

Being a full-time art student is no doubt a hectic lifestyle, as developing a personal creative stance can permeate all of one’s waking hours and even infiltrate the dream world. But some undergrads here at SVA are able to balance their studies and source some surely welcome income via on-campus employment. The main library location at 380 Second Avenue is not only a standout collection of art, illustration, design and new media resources, and a great space to work, study and collaborate, it’s also the largest single employer of undergraduate student workers on campus, hiring more than 20 students each semester. Students help staff the computer lab, circulation desk, the picture collection and the Visual Resources Center.
Two students who worked at the library this summer, seniors Na’Shawn Jackson (BFA Illustration) and Caitlyn Duffy (BFA Film), told us about their experiences. Na’Shawn worked in the circulation department, where he helped keep the collection in good shape, sweeping books (collecting all the browsed books piled high in teetering stacks on tables onto a cart and back on shelves) and checking out materials for patrons. Shelf reading—checking that items are in order on the shelves—is not a glamorous task but a vital one in the library, as a misfiled book or DVD is as good as lost. It’s actually Na’Shawn’s favorite duty: “I really like to organize things, so this fits with my mind-set. It feels good when you are done.” Beyond his specific tasks, Na’Shawn holds the library in high esteem: “I like how quiet it can be. It’s very peaceful.” As far as the library’s role fitting into student life, he states that “it’s so useful as a work space for students. I think that’s the best part about it.”
Caitlyn previously worked in circulation but shifted over to periodicals and the library’s Picture Collection this summer. Before she became a student worker, Caitlyn visited the library about once a week, using it as a study spot and to look at the extensive holdings of photography books in the collection. A Film and Video major, she mainly focuses on still photography work but has particular interests in zine-making and other publishing projects. Caitlyn’s main tasks include checking in and shelving new periodical issues, along with adding to the vast Picture Collection [1] by cutting out pictures from spare donations [2] and gluing them onto paper backing [3, 4]. These analog images number in the thousands and are arranged by subject; they can even be checked out for home usage. Caitlyn’s favorite feature of the library is the patron request policy, where students “can ask for any book they want and, within reason, it will be ordered.” She does feel that some students are not fully aware of all that the library offers, as she feels “maybe not a lot of the kids know how amazing it is.” When asked about the satellite library space on the west side, Caitlyn mentions that she has used it for both solo and collaborative study and also for printing out assignments. Her work duties have extended over there as well, where she has filmed many of the public events hosted in the west side library for digital archiving.