Kenneth Spencer Research Library

This is the latest installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Ceres Botkin, a Public Services student assistant.

Please provide some brief biographical information about yourself.

My name is Ceres Botkin (they/them) and I’ve been working in Public Services at Spencer since the spring of my freshman year in 2022. I am currently completing the fifth and final year of my undergraduate program, and I will graduate with degrees in mathematics, physics, and computer science. I hope after graduation to either go to graduate school in physics or library science.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

I work in the Public Services department, which entails helping library patrons find and access library materials germane to their research interests. This involves being familiar with the collections and the several strengths of our library. I’ve also worked with several curators on numerous projects from sorting and cataloging donations to helping with research for temporary exhibits.

In addition, I have also helped out in other departments as needed. For example, I have worked in Conservation Services with construction of glass plate housings along with making Mylar book jackets. I have also helped in the cataloging department by aiding the process of integrating newly cataloged material into the wider library collection.

Why did you want to work at Spencer Research Library?

My previous on-campus job involved staffing the front desk of a residence hall between the hours of 3am and 7am. I wanted a job that felt more fulfilling and had better hours. In addition, I had a friend who worked at Spencer who enjoyed the work.

When my friend recommended the position to me, I was reminded of my previous desire when I was a teenager to work at my local public library. The library held a special place in my heart, as I would frequent it over the summers as a third place to go that was separate from my home and school. I would meet up with friends and do research for upcoming debate tournaments there. I always thought it would be nice to give back to my community by also working at a library and supporting one of the few remaining institutions in the U.S. that provides free resources, education, and entertainment.

What has been most interesting to you about your work?

I would definitely say that sorting and cataloging donations is the most interesting part of my job. My first project working at the library, in fact, was sorting 20th-century Star Trek zines. Zine culture is very interesting, and it was wonderful to peek into another world. In addition, it was really cool to see all of the various pieces of art and read the stories that were contained inside.

In addition, I love exploring the different collections and talking with the curators about how we started some of them. For instance, the Literary Ephemera collection in Special Collections is always fascinating to browse because it is mostly comprised of outsider art and poetry. They’re not only interesting to read in a vacuum, but they also provide interesting commentaries on the times they were created in.

What are you studying, and what do you hope to do in your future career? Has your work at Spencer changed how you look at your studies or your future career plans in any way?

As mentioned previously, I am currently studying mathematics, physics, and computer science. Originally I planned on going into graduate school in order to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, but working at the library has made me consider going into library work as well. It would be interesting to get a master’s degree in library science and work at a library after graduation. In addition, I have also considered using my computer science degree and going into the field of digital archives – archiving material which is only digital. For example, I was considering working at the Internet Archive, which houses numerous websites, books, recordings, videos, and software.

What piece of advice would you offer other students thinking about working at Spencer Research Library?

Never assume that any resources available to you will always be available to you. First get familiar with what resources are provided by your local community, government, and university. Second, never stop fighting for those resources. In the context of the library, never stop fighting for the open access of information, funding, and a place to study and relax without having to pay first. Also please donate to your local library if you are in a position to do so.

Ceres Botkin
Public Services student assistant

This is the latest installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Oliver Grotegut, a Cataloging and Archival Processing student assistant and a G. Baley Price Fellow.

Please provide some brief biographical information about yourself.

I am a senior at KU majoring in linguistics with a minor in sociology. I started working at Spencer in March 2024.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

My job is to inventory University Archives materials so that ArchivesSpace, our online collection database, can be updated. We gained quite a lot of material in the years since the last update, so this long-term inventory project ensures that anyone can easily find materials we have available in the University Archives.

Why did you want to work at Spencer Research Library?

I wanted to work at Spencer, or really in archives in general, because I was interested in a job optimizing materials for public use and finding relevant patterns and throughlines in large groups of information. I knew that library or archival work was the ideal field to find such a job. I feel my time at Spencer has provided me with an invaluable amount of knowledge from hands-on learning about archival work, information organization, and document care and preservation that I look forward to bringing with me into a career in archives.

What has been most interesting to you about your work?

There has been a lot I have found enjoyable about my work. It has been especially interesting to sort through decades worth of accepted and denied grant applications and project proposals, and seeing what research was considered novel and worthwhile over the years. By far my favorite record group to inventory so far has been the student housing records. So many of the materials in that group – scrapbooks, incident reports, event planning forms – exemplify what life was like for KU students at any given time.

One I think of the most often is a document from the 1950s where all the residents of Miller Hall explain why they would or would not be alright with having a African American resident move into their scholarship hall the following year. The residents provided in-depth, incredibly honest descriptions about their perspectives on the matter. Rightfully, much of the education and discussion of the civil rights movement focuses on the actions and experiences of African Americans at the time. Seeing the privately held opinions of white Americans at the time, especially those occupying all-white spaces, provides a great deal of further context to the realities of the climate at that moment in history. I also find it interesting sociologically that the matter of potentially having an African American resident in Miller Hall was considered worthy of being discussed and voted on, and the existence of the document says a great deal not just about the opinions of the residents but of the student housing administrators. For those interested, the majority of the opinions were in favor of racial integration, and Miller Hall gained at least one African American resident the following year.

On a lighter note, I also like getting to put new labels on the boxes.

Oliver Grotegut
Cataloging and Archival Processing student assistant
G. Baley Price Fellow

This is the latest installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Public Services student assistant Kaitlynn McIntosh, who answered a few questions about her work at Spencer.

Please provide some brief biographical information about yourself.

My name is Kaitlynn and I am a second-year undergraduate art history major and education minor. I am on the track to be a part of the Accelerated Masters Program in hopes of graduating with my Bachelors in 2026 and my Masters in 2027. After completing my program I hope to work in a museum – possibly as a curator – or go on to be a college art history professor.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

I am a student assistant in the Public Services area, meaning I interact with most of the people that come into the library. I check people into our Reading Room and gather materials for patrons that come in. I also gather materials for professors who would like to hold class inside the library. In my job I handle a lot of old materials and I find myself very lucky to do so. Whenever I am paging items I always find new things that I am interested in or would have never thought I would come across. That is my favorite part of my job at Spencer.

Why did you want to work at Spencer Research Library?

I wanted to work at Spencer because I believed it would give me some good practice for working in a museum one day. Though we are a library, we do have a gallery and exhibition space. I am also handling a lot of old and fragile materials, so this job has given me good practice in how certain items need to be handled and cared for.

What are you studying, and what do you hope to do in your future career? Has your work at Spencer changed how you look at your studies or your future career plans in any way?

I am studying art history in hopes of working in a museum setting. Since starting at Spencer I have opened up to more possible careers after graduating. I have my mind on the possibility of working in a library as a curator like some of the staff here at Spencer. I am intrigued by a lot of the work that they do, mainly that they are able to work with professors who hold class sessions here. Working at a library or museum on a college campus has never crossed my mind but by working here that new possibility has opened up to me. I love working with the public and I would love to continue that into my future career plans.

What piece of advice would you offer other students thinking about working at Spencer Research Library?

If you are wanting to work at Spencer I would say apply. There are other positions for student employees that aren’t just in Public Services. This includes University Archives and Conservation Services. It is a very fun environment and is a great job to have as a student because they are very flexible with your class schedule and are very willing to help you with anything at all.

Kaitlynn McIntosh
Public Services student assistant

This is the latest installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Public Services student assistant Claire Cox, who answered a few questions about the projects she works on at Spencer.

Please provide some brief biographical information about yourself.

I am an Accelerated M.A. student in the history department. This is my third year at KU, but my first year as a graduate student. As an undergraduate, I spent my first two years at Johnson County Community College before transferring to KU and earning my B.A. in May 2023. I majored in history with a minor in global and international studies. I started working at Spencer Research Library in August 2022.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

I am a public services employee. My job tasks include retrieving and re-shelving materials from the stacks, sitting at the reception and reference desks, and assisting researchers in the Reading Room. Occasionally I work on a shifting project in the stacks. I also get the opportunity to curate temporary exhibits located in our North Gallery.

What part of your job do you like best?

I really enjoy working in the stacks. Whether retrieving or re-shelving materials, I am usually handling new items that I have never seen before. Not only does this help me get to know the collections better, but it is also really fun and interesting. The Kansas Collection is my favorite part of Spencer. I am constantly looking at old books related to the Kansas environment from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I also like working with the patrons that come into the Reading Room, and I love hearing about their research interests/projects.

What are you studying, and what do you hope to do in your future career? Has your work in at Spencer changed how you look at your studies or your future career plans in any way?

I study environmental history of the Great Plains in the twentieth century. I look forward to continuing my research on the relationship between Indigenous peoples, rural communities, and the environment by further examining the process of artificial lake-building in the region. As an undergraduate, I studied the construction of Clinton Lake near Lawrence. I plan to build upon this research throughout the upcoming year. As an employee at Spencer Research Library, I have learned a lot about how a special collections library works from behind the scenes. This knowledge informs how I conduct my own research, and I feel more confident when visiting other research institutions or archives. I have also found a lot of very useful material in the Kansas Collection about Clinton Lake, which I used for my undergraduate thesis project.

What advice would you offer other students thinking about working at Spencer Research Library?

I highly recommend working at Spencer. There are so many different opportunities for students to find a position that suits their own interests. Contrary to the stereotypical library job, working at Spencer never gets boring! Every day comes with new and exciting challenges.

Claire Cox
Public Services student assistant

This is the latest installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Conservation Services student assistant Sarah Jane Dahms, who answered a few questions about the projects she works on at Spencer.

What is your role?

Here at the Spencer, I work in the Conservation Department. We work in a lab setting to stabilize and repair books and materials throughout the KU library system. As a student I work with materials that are in circulation. I do anything from stapling music pamphlets into pamphlet binders, securing dust jackets within archival plastic covers, and housing delicate books and materials in custom boxes to mending and rebinding books. It is a job full of conversation, collaboration, and problem solving. Each item has its own needs and desires, and it is our job to pay attention to the material and work with it, instead of overcorrecting or forcing a repair. No two days in the lab are the same.  

What are you studying, and what do you hope to do in your future career? Has your work at KSRL changed how you look at your studies or your future career plans in any way? 

I recently graduated this Spring with degrees in both English and Visual Arts. Working in the Conservation Lab gives me a unique space to combine both aspects of my study. Here, I constantly work with books, but I have an opportunity to get to know the materials creatively. Over the course of a few minutes to several hours, I collect clues about the history of the material to create a repair that supports the overall environment of the material. If I do my job well, then my repair should exist within the same world as the original did. Working here has honed my creative hand skills. We work on multistep processes where a millimeter makes all the difference, but we have the chance to create things that are aesthetically pleasing. Because of my experience here, and my time studying for a book arts certificate at KU, I will continue combining English and Art in a Master of Fine Arts this fall. Through the University of Alabama, I will study book arts in their Library and Information Sciences Department. This path was entirely inspired and supported by my time at the Spencer over the last two years. Through repairing and rebinding books, I have completely fallen in love with book structures and creation. I am honored to continue creating books artistically and focusing on their quality and longevity.  

What part of your job do you like best? 

One of the most important factors of my job is flexibility. Yes, our schedules are largely flexible, but the position itself allows for each student to shape the role. Over the course of the first six months every Conservation Student learns around fifteen multi-step treatments. These treatments range on a scale of technical hand skill and creative potential. Every student who comes through the lab falls in love with one, if not several of these creative processes. We each do all treatments, but many of us specialize in one or two of these areas. Because of this flexibility, students from all areas of campus thrive in the work environment. It allows us all a space to shape our job, and to get to know other students with different backgrounds and skills from our own. Separately from this day-to-day flexibility, we often work on long-term projects as a group. Sometimes the projects last weeks or months, as we move collections around the library. These projects give us time to explore the library and walk amongst hundreds of unique books and materials.  

Sarah Jane Dahms
Conservation Services student assistant