Today’s post was written by Kayla Banks, receiving assistant for the William H. Hannon Library and former LMU undergrad.
Recently, I sat down to have a chat with Sameha Hasan, graduating class of 2025, at the start of her last year as a student employee for the William H. Hannon Library. Over the past four years, her student career has changed significantly with the times: a global pandemic, a library system migration, and an ever-evolving office culture.
When Sameha first started work in the Acquisitions and Collection Development Department (ACD) as a first-year, it was unusually “quiet.”
Sameha: “We were coming back in-person after Covid and there were a ton of periodicals that needed to be checked in, on top of the daily issues we were getting.”
At the time only a small set of projects were assigned to ACD student employees. As the department expanded and more students were hired, the student work became more diverse. Sameha was able to welcome that change.
Sameha: “…adjusting to new management styles while getting new projects and new co-workers kept it interesting.”
Being a student employee at the library also offered Sameha a chance to become more involved in unique ways.
Sameha: “I get to see the process of how a book is received at the library, how special collections curates the exhibit, or how outreach manages the library’s Instagram (which I have been part of! So fun and cute). […] I also get to see other background stuff of things like SCELC which happens during spring break when all the students are gone. It’s like a secret meeting of librarians that no one at school knows about.”
Beyond the workplace, access to the library helped Sameha advance her academic life as well.
Sameha: “I know how to look for books in the stacks, how to use a book on reserve, what kind of info I can get from a periodical, the best study rooms to book. The biggest advantage is I know how to research. […] I also love the ask a librarian chat and have used it multiple times when I couldn’t figure out how to access a source. Super clutch at 1am [when] I wanna rip my hair out!!”
This familiarity with the library’s resources has roots in Sameha’s childhood, visiting her mother Zakiya Hasan who also works in the library. Sameha would enjoy time reading books in the children’s section like “Little House on the Prairie.” She also checked out books for school book reports and loved viewing DVDS in the media viewing rooms such as Ratatouille, Ponyo, and I Love Lucy.
Fast-forward to today, when asked how she believes her work impacted the library and her classmates as patrons Sameha had this to say:
Sameha: “A big hallmark of my time here was when the library underwent a system migration in which we moved all library information from Sierra to Alma. This was really tough because we all had to learn how to use the new software at the same time. There would be little errors in the information and we would get recruited to fix those. It felt like we were maintenance workers going in between the pipes to clean up those errors. But it was important that we fix that because it affects the public-facing information on the library website. We want our patrons to easily see what we have at the library.”
“Each project I’m assigned impacts library function, and they’re all unique projects. One big project I was involved in was the CATs project (Course Adopted Texts). I looked [at] about 800 different titles/ISBNs to see which ones the library had access to and which ones we would need. This was important because the library is working on getting access to provide these titles to students for free for future course materials.”
We take pride in our student employees and the work they do. The library offers not only jobs but safe spaces and support systems for students as they navigate their personal and academic careers.
Sameha: “I love working at ACD because of the flexibility […] I also love how the department understands that I am a student first. They are always willing to listen to my problems about class and studying and understand that my studying needs come before work.”
We also offer waffles.
Sameha: “I think it’s very important that we talk about our department-recognized holiday: Waffle Day.”
Note: ACD celebrates two waffle holidays: National and International Waffle Day. It’s a chance to connect as a department at the start and towards the end of the academic year.
Sameha leaves future student workers at the library some advice:
Sameha: “Take full advantage of library resources. You get up close and personal with resources and become very familiar with the system and organization. I’ve asked a librarian in my department, Marie, serials and electronic resources librarian, help on how to use research databases for my Advanced Nutrition project, and she told me about specific databases that was more focused on research related to my topic. I was researching plant milk alternatives and she told me about SPORTDiscus and NutritionNetBase. I’ve asked Jessea, scholarly communications librarian, for help on how to do citations. I’ve asked Glenn, head of acquisitions and collection development, to order a book I wanted the library to own. I’ve asked Cristina, acquisitions ordering assistant, to look over my resume.”
“I loved my time at ACD and it’s been so special. As a STEM major it was nice to be involved in something different. I also loved getting to know all of my co-workers. It doesn’t feel like I show up just to sit down and work. I feel like I’m involved with the library.”