Campus Highlight: Personal Librarians
During NSOP (New Student Orientation Program), my first week at Barnard, I remember meeting a personal librarian named Jenna. My name is also Jenna, so of course we bonded, and somehow she became my point person for talking about the Milstein Center. At the time, we were a year away from the Milstein Center opening, and I was so excited. Every once in a while when her office door was open, I’d pop in and ask about different aspects of our new library: would there be standing desks? What will the chairs look like? Jenna would show me photos of recent trips to the site with the librarians in hard hats for protection. New students at Barnard are introduced to the personal librarians during these library scavenger hunt events, and every personal librarian reaches out to their students at the start of the semester. Before you declare your major, your personal librarian is assigned to you based on what floor of the quad you are living on. But once you declare your major, you get a new personal librarian who is an expert in your field of study. Personal librarians are available to Barnard students by appointment, email, and google chat throughout the day to help with research, papers, or any other questions you may have about navigating the Barnard-Columbia library system.
On my tours, I always talk about how Barnard students have access to 13 million volumes of books because of the Barnard-Columbia relationship. In addition to Barnard’s library, we have access to over twenty libraries at Columbia, so you are destined to find the perfect study spot for you. A common assignment in your first year at Barnard is to learn how to take out a book from Butler, Columbia’s largest library, and bring it to class. My personal librarian had me watch a video of Millie, Barnard’s mascot, getting a book out of the Butler stacks and walked me through the process, all before I even crossed the street to Columbia. Needless to say, I found the book, and have continued to navigate the Butler stacks to find all kinds of books, from graphic memoirs to Ancient Greek philosophy.
As a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major, librarian Jenna Freedman is my personal librarian. She has helped me find all sorts of books I have needed, and even in the midst of this pandemic, sent me a personal email checking in on how I am doing. She has gone above and beyond for me, reaching out to publishers and other librarians when we have needed to, and I am so grateful for the Barnard library, and the individualized support Barnard students have access to as undergraduates. My excitement about the Milstein Center my first year while it was still being built was worthwhile. The Milstein Center is a gorgeous and exciting building where I have found some of my favorite study spots (find me in a green chair on the second or fourth floor, depending on my assignment!).
-Jenna Zucker