A DAY AT THE LIBRARY: A Multimedia Gonzo Feature

By Jake Lankford.

The Ned R. McWherther Library, named after the TN governor who funded the construction of it in 1994, is an instantly-recognizable spot on campus. Four floors high and packed to the brim with resources, it is an important spot for many students on the University of Memphis campus. But what does a day from a student’s perspective look like here? From the employees’ perspective? I, Jake Lankford, gonzo journalist, decided to find out, while also partaking in my own day at the library.

Approaching the library, I was greeted by a large tiger statue out front, one of many unique tiger statues scattered all over the University of Memphis campus. This one seemed to be guarding a stack of books like how a dragon would guard a treasure. It makes for a striking sight walking into the library, it lets you know that this isn’t just a library, it is the University of Memphis library and proud of it too. The tiger’s skin is made up of various famous literary quotes, quite fitting for the statue that stands guard outside of the library.

As I made my way in, I was greeted by the smell of toasted bagels next door at Einstein Brothers’ Bagels, the sound of students talking and the sight of the sun shining through the large, prominent skylight at the top of the library. My experience isn’t unique to library regulars at all, this trinity of smell, sound and sight is a regular aspect of walking into the large building. Bagels, chatter and sunlight, all coalesce into the metaphorical greeting the library gives students.

Upon walking in, one can also get a view at the various floors that make up the library, and the stairways that connect them. From the first floor entrance, one can see the second, third and fourth floors from the get-go. Normally, I would be making my way to the fourth floor, the silent floor, but I had some business to attend to at the circulation desk.

At the desk that day was the Head of Circulation, Shelia Gaines. Gaines’ position is rather important, she is in charge of checking books in and out, including books from the library and from other libraries, called “interlibrary loans,” and ensuring those books are returned on time. Our discussion was rather brief, someone was in line behind me at the desk, so I had to get in and get out quickly. I also had other business at the circulation desk aside from interviewing Gaines, I had a book to return today, Vladimir Nabokov’s POEMS AND PROBLEMS, so I dropped the slim, black book in the return slot and made my way to the elevators. A student returning a book and the Head of Circulation overseeing it. Two perspectives at that same, important desk.

The Ned R. McWherther library is large, but for the convenience of everyone, floor directories are posted near the elevators. My preferred floor is the silent zone, where I go to read, but before I could go relax with my book, I went right for the second floor, where my next destination was, the interlibrary loan office.

Interlibrary loans are another integral part of the library. Sometimes, a student will need a particular book for studying or for simply pleasure reading and despite how big the library is, it doesn’t have every book in existence. That is where the magic of the interlibrary loan comes in. The Ned R. McWherther library asks another library for a book and has it shipped right to them, and the office on the second floor is in charge of all of this process.

The person in charge of this process is the interlibrary loan librarian, Sofiya Dahman. Like with Gaines, Dahman’s position is a busy and important one. Dahman manages and processes requests, deliveries to and from the interlibrary loan office and answers questions anyone may have about the interlibrary loan system.

Though the second floor was the perfect spot for my final interview, it isn’t exactly the best spot for reading. That was what my Nirvana/Heaven, the fourth floor, was for.

And here we are. Me at my table with my most prized book: a first edition copy of ADA, OR ARDOR: A FAMILY CHRONICLE. The final stop on my day at the library: a small table in the blissful silence of the fourth floor, where I can read and relax. Seven chapters a day, either all in one session or spread out over the course of the day. Either way, it is a seven-chapter dose that begins and ends at the Ned R. McWherther Library, my day at the library.

A day at the library looks different for several people. For students, it can consist of searching for a book from the stacks and either reading it at the library or taking it with them to check out the circulation desk. A day for a student can also be taking a personal book with them to read in peace and quiet. For the many employees, it is a different story. While us students associate the library with studying and quiet, it is a busy and important job to keep the library running and ensuring each book and document is accounted for. Two sides of the same coin, so to speak.

My days at the library are simpler affairs: come in, go to the fourth floor and read a few chapters of whatever book I am currently on, and leave either when I feel like I’m done reading or whenever I have to report in for work. Today, I, Jake Lankford, gonzo journalist, got to peer into the many other days at the library that are happening all around me. This massive library is indeed full of stories: stories contained to books and stories from both the students and employees who fill the library.