To the Editor:
I feel it is important to dispel the myth that student employment at Baker-Berry is an "all-expenses-paid vacation." The Dartmouth staff approached "Library Jobs Long On Time For Studying" appearing in Wednesday's issue of The Dartmouth with a personal agenda (May 26), took my words out of context and misquoted me. The article gives a one-sided perspective on student work at the library and across campus that portrays student workers, and library student workers in particular, in a very negative light. The article fails to mention the other side of work-study -- the work that is actually done: checking books in and out, bar-coding material, placing items on the hold shelf and placing them in transit to other libraries, shelving, answering patron questions and checking out study rooms. Studying is an added bonus during off-peak hours when there are few patrons in the stacks.
In addition, every library student worker must be trained to use the computer program, Millennium Circulation, and be shown how to maneuver through the digital website. It may take the better part of a term to fully understand how to adequately help patrons with their queries. I feel the spin placed on my comments towards DDS workers was unacceptable. I am very glad to work at the library and not DDS. Nowhere did I say I felt sorry for them. Indeed, DDS workers have extra benefits that I don't have, such as extra DBA and a higher hourly wage. The Dartmouth insults library workers by not showing the work we do and focusing only on the luxury of being able to study during our downtime. Work-study is not just study. We work, too.
