Marcia Welsh, night supervisor for Baker-Berry Library
On the job: One of two night supervisors at Baker-Berry Library, Welsh assists students and faculty at the circulation and research desks. “I work Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.,” says Welsh, who started working at the library in March 2010 after being laid-off that same month from her part-time administrative position in the Department of English. “I love working with students and faculty. The library is quite a busy place at night. A lot of students are here until 2 a.m., and then they head to either Novak Café or the Class of 1902 Room—the library’s 24-hour spaces—to keep working. Their work ethic is very impressive.”
Marcia Welsh at work at Baker-Berry Library. She assists library patrons at the circulation and research desks. (photo by Joseph Mehling ’69)
Dartmouth ties: Welsh lived in Old Lyme, Conn., for more than 20 years but moved to the Upper Valley 10 years ago, following the death of her husband, Vernon Welsh ’31. “Dartmouth and this area were very appealing, having such a fine library and art museum, wonderful cultural events, and my late husband is an alum,” says the former Guilford, Conn., town librarian, who has also worked in Dartmouth’s Department of Music and the Biomedical Libraries. “When we would come up here in the summer we would spend time in Baker Library and on campus doing things. So this was a chance to do that through the year, which has been really great. I also love the natural beauty here.”
Student-teachers: Welsh studied piano in her youth and began playing seriously again five years ago, when she started taking piano lessons with Dartmouth graduate and undergraduate music students. “I love playing,” says Welsh, who takes weekly lessons and is currently working on a Beethoven sonata, a Schubert impromptu, and some Chopin etudes. “I think I’ve had five teachers by now because they graduate and leave. My current teacher is an undergrad, Ran Sun ’12, who is a really top pianist. We have some amazing student musicians here who have studied since they were three or four years old, and we are all fortunate to have them here among us.”
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