Dila Cakir

They tell me I’m one of the lucky ones. Even President Safa Zaki was surprised when I told her where I worked. When I learned that I would be working at the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (H-L) as a first-year, I thought it would be just another job. A way for me to get some pocket money while just sitting and studying.

But working behind the Circulation Desk at H-L has been a formative experience that has shaped me into the Bowdoin student I am today. I’ve realized that you can learn a lot about people from behind the desk—people who came before us and the people who make up the Bowdoin community today.

Every person—whether a friend, a professor, a coworker or my supervisors—brings a unique perspective to our collective space for a few brief moments.

It’s also at H-L where the mythical “Bowdoin Hello” comes to life. Every familiar face that walks through the double doors greets me with a smile, a nod or a wave, and I, of course, respond with an eager “Hello.” That’s the charm that follows a small liberal arts college like Bowdoin: Everyone’s only one degree of separation away from everybody.

It was through my job at H-L that my social web grew exponentially. From bonding with my coworkers to chatting (for only a few minutes, of course) with classmates about our homework to meeting the regulars who come in during my night shifts, H-L has become a sort of communal bonding place for me.

From the counter, I can also observe the different types of library patrons.

First, there’s the study group, made up of three to six people who take over one of the tables on the first floor. These are the people who create the spirit of H-L, the ones you hear all over the floor and that make the library feel alive. Then there’s the “study until midnight” students. These folks are the ones who have their headphones in, music on and type away on their computers until I ring the bells for closing. Even then, some of them linger around until the last minute, unable to escape their homework and go home. And then there are the “basement dwellers,” the ones who claim a spot in the basement and stick to it. I see them whenever I go downstairs to retrieve books on hold request.

I’ve seen at least some variation of these patrons walk through the doors of H-L during my first two months here, and I must say, seeing their different personalities and study habits opens the door to understanding the world around me. Before coming to Bowdoin, I was surrounded by people who were similar to me, never giving me the opportunity to branch out of my comfort zone. However, at Bowdoin, I have been exposed to different worlds and perspectives for the first time, widening my worldview.

Another part of my job at H-L is going into the stacks and retrieving books for patrons. Although it’s not my favorite aspect of the job, I always find solace and comfort in being in the Hubbard Stacks. You never realize just how many books the library has in its collection. With almost 750,000 books in both H-L and the Hubbard Stacks, there’s always a new book I’m pulling off the shelves. And you might be wondering, what’s there to notice when pulling dusty novels from the stacks?

Well, each novel tells a story—obviously. I’m talking about a story that’s outside of the ones between the covers. A story of history. Before there were barcodes in every book, the library would physically stamp the date during checkout. I’ve been keeping track of the oldest date I can find in the books that I’ve scanned and shelved: 1976, 1966, 1952, 1943 and even 1933. Looking at these dates, I can’t help but wonder who checked them out, why they checked them out and why someone today is checking out the same book.

There’s comfort in knowing that these books have survived the test of time. In an era that’s becoming more and more digital, it’s comforting that they are still being checked out, waiting to inspire yet another generation of scholars at Bowdoin.

When it’s time to close the library, the bells ring, the books get scanned in and the last of the students shuffle on out. As I walk out, I realize I truly am one of the lucky few.

HJ Yun is a member of the Class of 2030.