With all the additions to the new library, one that students may not have noticed are the new faces.

Since the reopening, Glenda Harada, administrative director at the Henry Madden Library, said that employment is up; and even higher than before the rebuilding.

“We have hired many more student assistants than we had in the past, even more than we had before the library was closed for the transition,â€Â Harada said.

“We also have more public safety assistants and students helping to move the books to their final destinations on the Collection Level; we are getting back up to the number of librarians and staff members that we had five years ago, but we’re running a much larger library with them.â€Â

In fact, Harada said that the only employees that were lost along the way were long-time employees who retired.

“We were able to replace some of these people and also to reorganize and combine some service areas with no loss of service,â€Â Harada said.

Harada also added that “because the HML web page gets substantially more hits than any other campus website, we have hired an additional information technology consultant who, in addition to his other duties, keeps our web presence up-to-date and informative.â€Â

With all the new employees and new features of the library, Harada said that along with the old responsibilities, many of the new ones have shifted.

“You may have noticed when you visit the library that all employees are wearing a red lanyard. We wear these because we want every visitor to know that we are all here to assist them. Even those of us who don’t work at a public service desk are ready to answer questions, provide directions, or even to take you where you need to go in the library,â€Â Harada said.

“We are also trying out new instant messaging software to facilitate reference services to those who are unable to come to the building in person. Our library instruction and outreach librarians are using a wide variety of new technologies to reach out to library users.â€Â

Although there are many new employees, Harada said that with the changes that every semester brings, the library is always looking for more help.

“We always accept applications for student workers. We do most of our hiring in the fall, of course, but students come and go all year long for various reasons. Sometimes mid-year, we develop a new project and need students to assist,â€Â Harada said.

If any student would like to apply, the best way is to grab an application from the third floor, of the south wing, in the administration office. Harada said that students are welcome to either fill it out right there, or take it home and return it later.

Harada also said that it is best to include a copy of the student̢۪s upcoming class schedule as well as a phone number where they can be reached.

“I think the library is one of the best places on campus for student workers.â€Â Harada said.

“We are open early and late and on weekends, so we can accommodate a wide variety of class schedules — we have a terrific group of faculty and staff members with whom to work!â€Â