When students, faculty, and prospective families pass by the library, they will often see a teenager sitting behind the circulation desk. These students are actually part of the Dana Hall library page system, where high school students aged 16+ play a crucial role in working behind-the-scenes to support the Helen Temple Cooke Library and help it operate smoothly.
As one of the fourteen pages selected for the 2024-2025 school year after a competitive application process – which included an interview and writing application in the spring – I have learned that being a library page is about more than just maintaining a quiet study space.
Pages are responsible for various tasks to help the librarians, working part-time at an entry-level on Sundays from 1:00pm to 9:00pm, Monday to Thursday from 8:00am-9:00pm, and Fridays from 8:00am-5:00pm. On the weekends and after school, the library is fully staffed by pages who work flexible schedules to ensure that the space stays open for the community past school hours.
Working as a page is not just about completing tasks like shelving books and periodicals, covering hard- and soft- cover books, and checking things in and out – it is a dynamic and engaging job that allows students to exercise their creativity as they engage in various projects. For example, my favorite part of my job is setting up the display in a see-through window area that can be seen from both inside and outside the library. The library faculty and student pages decorate the display area with various books, ribbons, posters, and ornaments to draw attention to particular themes (that usually change monthly), like Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, and Banned Books. These displays add more than just visual appeal, helping initiate conversations in school and stimulate curiosity. In the past, I worked on a Winter Wonderland theme, where I decorated the display area with glittery silver ribbons, paper snowflakes, and cozy books to celebrate the upcoming Winter Break and create an ambiance of comfortability and warmth.
Furthermore, I have enjoyed taking on the role of “Class Historian,” alongside Nora Ryan ’25, last fall. Every year, two senior pages are selected as “Class Historians” to record their classes’ time at Dana Hall. We are responsible for creating a Traditions Binder, Scrapbook, and Bulletin Article which ultimately end up in the Dana Hall Archives, located in the Nina Heald Webber 1949 Archives Room in the back of the library. More than a storage space, this room holds things such as books, photographs, and other records from as old as 1881, when the school was founded, to the present. These materials are collected from students, families, faculty, alumni, and administrators. The Archives are open Tuesday-Thursday from 8am-5pm, but a reservation must be made in order to tour the room since items cannot be borrowed.
The Traditions Binder documents the high school traditions that seniors have gone through in detail, such as Cabaret, Senior-Sophomore, and SPREAD. If there are any complaints or changes from previous years, this binder is where they are described as it is unfiltered, but appropriate, writing. For example, past Class Historians have written about differences in traditions because of COVID-19 and the new Upper School building.
Additionally, the Class Historians design a Scrapbook of pictures of the seniors not only during traditions, but also Harbor Cruise, Black Days, and Class Retreats. The writing in the Scrapbook is limited to a dedication page and image sources since the descriptions are written in the Traditions Binder. The Class Historians need to get a photography copyright release form and cite who submitted the photos. The Scrapbook was on paper in the 1900s, but became an online project during COVID. However, this year, Nora and I are making both an analog and digital Scrapbook, combining digital camera photos with traditional print photos to create two unique, timeless keepsakes. It has been exciting to see all of the history that students are making daily.
Moreover, an article is produced at the end of the year to be shared with the public (unlike the Traditions Binder and Scrapbook, which are kept in the Archives room) and published on the Dana Hall Bulletin. The page-long article is our opportunity to celebrate our class’ journey and achievements, from athletic and arts accomplishments to current events that happened during high school, and share our story with the wider community.
Working at the library, while challenging, is fulfilling and exciting. I love getting to interact with people from various backgrounds and grades. So, the next time you see me working behind the circulation desk, do not be afraid to say hello.
Image Source: Dana Hall School