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LIBRARY HOLDS ITS STUDENT WORKERS’ ORIENTATION DAY
(Text by Mellie Brodeth)

Every term, we come together for a day of orientation for our Library student-assistants as a way of giving tribute to the best workers during the semester. During this session we also take advantage of highlighting the importance of tasks our student workers do to assist the Library Staff in serving our academic community better each day.

The 17th of February, Thursday, at 11:00 AM was the red-letter day. Fourteen of our student workers came to attend this much-awaited day.

As we highlighted the value of team work, Brother Robert Smith, FSC, PhD, Academic Vice President and Supervisor of the Library, our special guest for the day, shared the ”ABCs of work” with the students.  A lively and enthused interaction between him and the student workers followed and together they came up with some of these ideas: “A” for attitude, to maintain a positive view of life and work, “B” for behaviour, how a positive attitude can be translated into a good behaviour, and “C” elicited several answers from the students, like “creativity, challenge, courage…”

For the first time – in my four years of service – we reversed the “roles!”  Instead of “us” – the Library Staff telling our students what their tasks consist of…  we asked them in turn to tell us what different tasks they were doing, why, how, and how did this library work affect them as students at Bethlehem University.

All in all, with the supportive presence of Brother Robert Smith, FSC, PhD, and the short talks of both Olfat and Reem, the Library’s two best student assistants, the orientation session was, for all of us, a source of enrichment, enlightenment, and concerted efforts to serve the academic community with renewed commitment and dedication.

This energizing and training-workshop session is captured in the following photos taken by George Maria, Head of the Audiovisual Center:


Brother Robert invites the student-assistants to think and talk about the ABCs of life and work…

Brother Robert awards the certificate for Best Student Assistant to Reem Abu  Judeh, as Vera and M. Claire pose with them for a souvenir photo.

Brother Robert awards the certificate for best student assistant to Olfat Jawabreh, with Vera assisting.

This group of students demonstrates the task of showing “ownership” of  books by stamping them with the seal of B.U. Library

Valerie instructs Ala’ and Zinat who later on showed the group how delicate is their work of preparing book pockets…

Alaa’ shows the group how to arrange/shelve books properly so that they will be easily accessed by borrowers, as Hala (left), Intisar (right) listen in the background.

Brother Robert graciously accepts the Library’s gift from Juana.

Brother Robert is flanked by the Library staff and the student assistants during the reception in the Library’s workroom.


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