Librarians Are Still Needed: My Graduate Assistantship at the Santa Rosa Branch Library

By Monique Becerril

This summer I had the fortunate opportunity to intern at a Pima County Public Library branch located near downtown Tucson. The branch is small, the bookshelves are minimal, and quiet space is usually absent. What I did not realize was the incredible experience I was about to embark on. Not containing any type of prior public library experience, the staff and patrons welcomed me with open arms.

While at the library, I was able to run a couple of the programs and receive on the job library training. To name a few duties, I was in charge of weekly teen time, tween/pre-teen time, and a program entitled, “Reading with Your Eyes Closed” which mainly introduced patrons ages 8-18 to audio books.

The reason as to why I personally believe this opportunity was unique is because of all the cultures, ethnicities, identities, and hands on experience I was exposed to. It was the people who I worked for and “served”. Although small, this library had numerous patrons that ranged from African refugees, African Americans, Mexicans, Mexican Americans, American Indian, Caucasian, Americans and Middle Easterners. All of these ethnicities, languages, and cultures were heavily represented every day in the library, especially through the youth.

I quickly learned how to put cultural competency into play and viewed how the digital divide affects patrons of all ages. I learned how to tackle ethical decisions of freedom of expression (yes, there were a few of those with the older adults) and strive to meet the needs of all patrons who enter the library, but kept in mind that the librarians are not babysitters for small children. I tackled health questions, economic questions, political questions, home repair, finding jobs, applying for jobs, making money, making food, resume building, logging onto a computer, how to read email, finding articles, finding cartoons, registering for school, searching for books, translating, saving documents, printing, scanning, searching for movies, searching for music and the occasional, “Where’s the bathroom.” This was non-stop everyday, from open to close. In fact, many patrons would be standing outside of the door in the morning waiting for it to be unlocked.

Furthermore, I constantly reflected about the tremendous importance of librarians in the digital age and the type of haven a library can be for the community. Librarians are still needed. Who will be there to tackle these issues for patrons? Who will be the ones that will take them step by step, question by question with follow up questions and showing the patrons the “how to’s” of obtaining an answer?

As a graduate student, busy with work and hastily job searching, I think it is very easy to overlook the community around us. Being in the setting and living the experiences shoots you into overdrive with everything you have learned in graduate school. It teaches you something that brings the countless hours of essay writing, theory practices, discussions, and research to life. Arguably, it may even train you a bit more. This experience goes beyond working in a library. It is about working with people and acknowledging the fact that what we are learning in grad school is not in vain. Librarians are still needed.