By Laura Braunstein

Each spring, the Dartmouth College Library honors its graduating student employees with the Student Library Service Bookplate Program. Graduating students who have worked for the Library are invited to choose books, DVDs, CDs or other items for the Library’s collections. Each item receives a bookplate that acknowledges the student’s selection and honors his or her service to the Library. Students are eligible for the honor if they have worked at least four terms in any Library department (including RWIT, the Student Center for Research, Writing, and Information Technology, which the Library collaborates in running).

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Among the graduating student employees being honored by the Library are, seated, from left: Haifa Fersi, A&S Adv ’13, Shanterian King ’13, Connie Shang ’13, Samantha McPherson ’13, Whitney Woodcox ’13, Madeline Lesser ’13, Maryna Marchanka GR ’13, Elizabeth Neill ’13, Hannah Hoyt ’13, Ivy Ddamba ’13. Standing, from left: Pavel Bacovsky ’13, Justice Amoh ’13, Radelys German ’13, Timothy Wolfe A&S Adv ’13, Richard Asala ’13, Alexis Monroe ’13, Anna Leah Berstein Simpson ’13, Christian Opperman ’13, Davilyn Quinn Barnwell ’13, Andrew Reducha ’13, Priscilla M. P. Nguyen ’13, Courtney Karol ’13, Juan Sanchez ’13, Dean of Libraries and Librarian of the College Jeffrey Horrell, April O’Brien ’13, Trevor Ladd ’13, Benjamin Turner ’13, Jamie Li ’13, Patricia Barros Jardines ’13, Richard Waitumbi ’13, and Yoon Ji Kim ’13. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)

“The Dartmouth College Library is delighted to recognize our student assistants who have worked side by side with us through their undergraduate careers. Their efforts are essential to our overall service programs throughout the library system. We are grateful for all their contributions and very pleased to have them associated with our collections in this permanent way,” says Jeffrey Horrell, Dean of Libraries and Librarian of the College.

For Priya Shanmugam ’13, who worked at Baker-Berry Library’s Information Desks, the bookplate program commemorates a favorite job: “Working at the library allowed me to appreciate the daily life of Dartmouth students. I got to quietly observe and enjoy the routines of printing, studying, procrastinating, triumphantly finishing — and appreciate the bonds that form between students in the library. We motivate our peers, plan flash mobs and surprise performances to keep people optimistic, and support each other every day. Working at the library let me see that up close.”

Davilyn Barnwell ’13, who was an RWIT tutor, selected a book to symbolize her activities and her passions. “Working at RWIT and living in Foley Cooperative were two experiences that I stumbled upon during my sophomore year, and I credit both environments for my choice to stay at Dartmouth. Cooking and writing are very similar in my mind; both combine rules or recipes with instinct and voice to ultimately create human connection. I selected a cookbook published by my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen, in the hopes that the library can become a sanctuary not just of literature and writing, but also of culinary inspiration.”

The Library will honor more than 70 students from the Class of 2013, with selections ranging from biographies, cookbooks, and children’s fiction to world literature, inspirational works, and DVDs of favorite films. Commencement week displays will celebrate honorees at all of Dartmouth’s campus libraries.

Visit the Bookplate Program’s webpage for a full listing of students’ selections from all seven years of the program.