Shhh! Quiet Please!

Emily Kizina – Senior English Major / Gumberg Library Intern

That last two weeks of my internship have been quite compelling as Mr. Bergfelt and I truck along on fixing guide links. I have learned how to restore pictures boxes on guides, including a picture of the book cover. I have been learning more about how the Library of Congress and its search system differs from most and is more specific. For example, rather than searching “World War II,” you would have to search “World War, 1939-1945.” Searching like this allows the researcher to get as close to the information as possible. I thought this was interesting because there are so many depths to the library, and I guess I never really took the time to understand how complex these jobs can be. There is so much information out there that is accessible, and one thing Mr. Bergfelt and I often talk about is knowing when to stop. When you are making a guide, you have to know when to cut off the information realm. Specific topics can be so broad, so you have to decide what information is important and deserves to stay. Since we are almost to midterms week already, I will begin creating my guide on Wednesday. It was tough for me to narrow down what I wanted to research because there are so many topics I’m interested in. I wanted to create something that other students would be able to use in the future. I also want my subject to tie into a class I’m taking, so I decided to make Pittsburgh Playwrights. Pittsburgh has some acclaimed names like August Wilson and George Kauffman, so I’m looking to bring light to other household Pittsburgh names and showcase all of the resources the library has on them.
I’m looking forward to starting this endeavor, and the incredible perk of this process is that my professor for my drama class, Mr. John Lane, said that I am allowed to talk about this research process as the topic for my final paper. The overlapping of my classes has been so helpful in keeping me organized and on target. It has been enjoyable working on the subject of theater because the theater world is so dense, and there’s so much to love about it.
To end my post today, I wanted to include some pictures of Gumberg and my little office space. My friends and family at home have never been to Duquesne, so they have never seen Gumberg Library perched atop the bluff in all of her glory. I was surprised to find that I got a space for myself because it made the internship feel real, and I love doing my work in this space because it is so QUIET. This little office has come in handy this semester because it’s the perfect space I don’t have to work on my guides from home, and I don’t have to try and find a spot in the library. I can resort here and get my work done in peace.

Gumberg Library taken from Gumberg Website.

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