Library ambassadors: written by Ariel Fullerton

Hi, Everyone!

I hope you’re all having a great start to the spring term! My name is Ariel, and I’m in my fourth year of Honours English Literature with a French Minor. I just finished a co-op placement, as a Peer Tutor, with UW’s Writing and Communication Centre, which I enjoyed very much. During this placement, I assisted students during drop-in tutoring appointments at the Dana Porter library. While at the library, I had the chance to check out some of the exciting events that the Library Ambassadors were running, including exam kit de-stress packs, #BookfaceFriday, and Blind Date with a Book. I applied to be a Library Ambassador this spring because I thought it seemed like a really enjoyable way to continue fostering my love of student engagement and assistance. Thus far, it has been as rewarding as expected!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to assist International Baccalaureate students from Glenview Park Secondary School in Cambridge with finding books on their assignment topics. I really enjoyed working with the students and being able to help them find what they needed. This opportunity was also a great chance for me to become more familiar with the library and with the Library of Congress Classification System (LC). Find out more about the classification system that UW libraries use here: https://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit03/libraries03_04.phtml and for those who may find themselves as lost as I did the first time I ventured into the library stacks, here are floor specific maps of Dana Porter: http://testtube.uwaterloo.ca/whereisit/index.cfm?bld=DP&floor=6

If you see any of us, feel free to ask us for help! I haven’t been on the team long, but everyone has been extremely friendly, welcoming, and helpful. I’m looking forward to the Library Ambassador team’s Special Collections and Archives tour, as well as to working with the awesome LA team during upcoming Academic Integrity Events, Student Feedback Sessions, and Instagram Takeover.

As Library Ambassadors, we also get to create our own student engagement projects. For my project, I’ve decided to provide a space for students to write poetry. I’m really looking forward to assisting students in the creation process! There will be prompts available, such as write a poem “about the library” and “imagine yourself as an object or book.” When looking into the position of Library Ambassador, I came across an interesting article about how Library Ambassadors are good for student mental health. I hope that my project can provide a way for students to write down their thoughts and that it can be a way for students to de-stress.  I also hope that this event will engage students in appreciating literature and libraries.

-Ariel