Faces of Colby: Library Assistant April Paul
by Emily Price
As Colby students, I think we can all admit to having a love-hate relationship with Miller. It is both the dreaded place to which we drag our tired minds to tackle our never-ending homework assignments, but it is also where we find a unique sense of community among other students going through the same exact thing. We are lucky that our library is such a great study space, but perhaps we don’t always realize all of the work that goes into making it this way. This week, The Echo sat down with Miller Library’s Library Assistant, April Paul, to find out what she does behind the scenes to keep our library running so smoothly.
“Well, I’ve been at Colby for ten years, but before Colby I actually had about 15 years of experience in the newspaper business. I worked at the Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal, and the Portland Press Herald over that span of 15 years,” explains Paul. “With the newspaper industry kind of declining, I had the opportunity to get a position here at Colby. It was a seamless transition to go from the newspaper business to Colby, especially because I am originally from Maine. I’ve lived here my whole life. I didn’t have to move at all when I switched jobs which was great. I learned a whole new aspect of work in terms of going from working in newspaper industry to working for an academic institution.”
Before working as a library assistant in Miller, Paul worked in other areas around campus during her ten years at the College. “One of my goals since I’ve been at Colby for ten years is to work with students. When I first started, I was an administrative assistant to the Secretary of the College in the President’s office. I organized trustee meetings and other things like that. In this first position, I only had interactions with a couple of students. Then I moved the Career Center, where I worked for a little less than a year. In this second position, I got to interact with a few more students than my previous. Three years ago, a position opened up in Miller, so I moved here. Now I’m 100% in with the students.”
Paul’s job requires much more than student interaction though. She’s pretty much the reason that Miller is able to function as well as it does. “So my daily routine is to come in, go through emails, and make sure students arrive on time to open up the library for patrons, students and community members. I go through the stacks out back to make sure things are in order to be reshelved, and a lot of the day to day duties are just making sure that the front desk runs smoothly, dealing with reserves, helping any students needing sub-requests, and responding to faculty questions. A lot of things come in via email, so it’s a lot of back and forth from my office to the desk and answering emails.”
Occasionally, Paul has to deal with a little more than your run-of-the-mill library tasks. Since Miller Library is a public library, anyone is allowed to visit and use its resources. For the most part, the College doesn’t have many problems with visitors; however, there have been times that have worried Paul. “A couple of times we’ve had some people come in that were a little unstable. They weren’t holding weapons or anything, but we’ve had to call security and see these people out of the library.”
It sounds kind of hectic, but Paul says it’s really the students that keep her going through all of the craziness. “My favorite part about my job is definitely the students. I’ve only been here in Miller for a little over three years, but I would describe the Colby student as very smart. I am impressed at how they take advantage of all of the wonderful opportunities that Colby has to offer them. They’re very dedicated to their classes and work. I’m privy to seeing a lot of the work ethic here in Miller.”
“My only advice I have for my students is to please come to the library. I once heard a senior say that he’s never been to the library, and I think that it’s kind of mind blowing that you can go four years without stepping foot in the library. I would recommend that students at least come to the library and explore the different studying options, tools, and resources that are available. Once you leave Colby, you won’t have access to the same types of materials that you do here.”
