In my second term at the Codrington Library what is most striking is how the space metamorphoses in the transition from term to vacation and back again. My re-acquaintance with the library, whilst no less bedazzling, has been considerably less terrifying than our first introduction in September. In coming back to my desk on the 5th of January, which despite its unusual lack of clutter was still very evidently my own, I was able to discern that it was unusually peaceful. In the dark winter evenings, particularly after the students scurried away for the holidays, the space was eerily, wonderfully quiet. This carried through to January but changed suddenly. A month into Hilary term, now that the students have awakened from their winter slumber, the library feels undeniably different and has regained its Codrington “bustle”.
The little-known open-door policy towards external admissions and the nature of All Souls means that the Codrington largely attracts a very specific type. Insofar as my day is concerned, the private researchers are most noticeable. Their usual interest in early printed material requires the attention of the more senior librarians and thus accords to me the responsibility of acting as frontman for other readers. The fellows, largely self-sufficient, are, to my great surprise, often the most invisible. Thus, it would seem that the presence, or absence, of students stands out most. In here at least, the majority (undergraduate and postgraduate alike) are quiet and fastidious, steadfast water drinkers, and surprisingly choosy about the books they request. The resonant space discourages idle chatter making me, more often than I wish to admit, the loudest entity walking up and down with heavy feet and opening the mockingly shrill bookcases. Yet, in their silent study, they shape the space and my workday.
Musings aside, what has changed? The longer opening hours in term (9.30-6.30) are more productive and more draining than the 9.30-4.30 day in vacation, but the changes, I think, largely pertain to the way that the day is structured. This stems, I think, from the way that the Codrington functions: in large part through the work of very small team, only three of which are full-time employees. In the vacation period we are more able to work together because there are fewer queries to attend to. The workday, in this sense, has the potential for structure. Personally, I had time for book moves in the stacks, looking into postgraduate programmes, reading up on areas of librarianship that interest me, sitting in and paying close attention to the work of my colleagues so that I might learn from observation, and starting my graduate trainee project (hours and hours of looking at manuscript viewers online!).
In term, however, the “division of labour” becomes more evident with each of us taking up more distinct responsibilities based on competence and seniority. The office is public and central to the layout of the library. All tasks are done from this one base, and thus we are always open to interruption. Consequently, during term-time, the “day in the life” of this library’s trainee, the Codrington’s version 9.0., is largely arbitrary, determined almost entirely by what comes through the office door. My “do or die” daily job list is quite short – updating an excel spreadsheet of books fellows have borrowed, processing post and incoming journals and doing the same in the afternoon, more or less keeping up with re-shelving and helping close down the library in the evenings. I have a variety of background tasks and projects as well, including processing acquisitions and presentations, research for the graduate trainee project and making shelf labels for the great library, but for the most part, after the morning tasks, the rest of the day is filled with reader requests.
So far, I have found this traineeship to be, in large part, an exercise of observation. It is very fascinating, however, to work in a library wherein the readers, however quiet and invisible, still have such a tangible effect on the space and workday. The transformation of the library is equally evident as the day progresses. As lunch approaches, we are less able to keep to a single task for very long (they—the students—have clearly awoken) and this often lasts until mid-late afternoon. This piece, for example, was started early but soon became, truly, a “day in the life” blog post. My desk is the first one walking into the office, so I interrupt my task if someone approaches to request a book or sign up as a new reader. There is definitely more shelving as well! That said, finding the confidence to slam bookcases open/closed when the majority of the great library is filled with diligent students is part of another skillset altogether, one I am yet to acquire, so now that I can do that in the relative cover of darkness I should scurry off as well.
Work to do, places to be, people to see, shelves to slam.
