After being gone for about a week due to Easter break and a particularly unpleasant sinus/ear infection, I have returned to the Reference Department! I'm definitely glad to be back amongst the piles of books that need sorting and the pesky printer that seems to always need more paper.
I have really enjoyed working at Musselman Library. Just yesterday I arrived for my afternoon desk shift panicking about my mountains of homework and the financial burden of purchasing enough caffeine to get me through it all. However, upon my arrival in the Reference Office I discovered the latest McNaughton Books rental catalog for the Browsing Room. While at the desk I gave a couple students a few helpful answers, but I spent most of my time reading through the McNaughton catalog, selecting books for the Browsing Room, and imagining which ones I would like to read if I ever was able to find free time to read for fun. At 3:00 I left the Reference desk much more calm and focused than I was when I arrived. I think that picking out books for the Browsing Room was one of my favorite parts of my Internship. It was something that was helpful, would have visible results, and somehow just imagining that one day I might have free time in which I could read for fun always seems to make me feel a little better.
However, while picking out books for the Browsing Room, it occured to me that these books will not show up until July and I will definitely not be here then. This served as another reminder of how quickly my remaining hours at Gettysburg College and Musselman Library are disappearing. As far as my Library Intern Experience goes, after today I have a short desk shift on Thursday, another on Monday, and then I need to find time for an exit interview with my supervisor, and that's it. And then in a little more than a couple short weeks, Gettysburg College will release me into the real world so I can find some real-life, and hopefully at least somewhat lucrative applications for my liberal arts degree. One such possible application is indeed graduate school for Library Science. While graduate school is not on my plate for next year, it is something that I would like to pursue in the near future. Even if I end up pursuing graduate studies in a field other than Library Science, I know that my Internship experience, especially the research skills and critical skills I have gained, will continue to inform whatever work I choose to pursue.
I can't say enough wonderful things about libraries, and especially about Musselman Library. Even before being given the Fortenbaugh Internship, the library was really like my second home on campus. (When I knew I was to be studying here very late, I frequently went as far as to bring a pair of PJ pants with me. If that doesn't make something a second home, I don't know what does.) Now, it is a place that I can hardly imagine not spending time in every day. Although I am very close to being academically prepared to leave Gettysburg College, I am definitely not ready to go. While it is true that someday I will (hopefully) finish paying off my student loans, I will always be indebted to Gettysburg College and Musselman Library for the the experiences they have given me.
