Meet Julie, a student worker in Paley Library.    She has worked there for the four years that she has been at Temple, but you may not have seen her.  She works in the Special Collections Research Center, but when she started, it was “just” the Urban Archives.  As a student worker Julie has had the opportunity to assist patrons, but also did photocopying, retrieved boxes, and filed away newspaper clippings and photos.  In her last few days of work, she continues to work on an ongoing project of transferring  the Philadelphia Bulletin clippings from the big cabinets into archival boxes   Julie has really enjoyed working in the Urban Archives ,not only because of the staff and her supervisors, but because she learned many new things about Philadelphia history.  Working with the various documents, photographs and news clippings have given her insights into Philadelphia neighborhoods and landmarks, as well as the surrounding suburbs.  On one occasion she found development plans for her hometown, Lansdale, PA.  Julie loves going to the beach, and frequents Ocean City, NJ.  She enjoys supporting the Philly sports teams, especially the Phillies.  She notes one exception that during football season, she wears black and gold as she roots for her mom’s hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 Julie’s major is Speech, Language Pathology.  She started out at Temple as undeclared.  She really did not know what she wanted to do.  Of her three older sisters, who attended Temple before her, two were in the education field.  Julie loves working with children, but did not want to be a teacher.  In August of 2010, in the Temple bookstore, while buying books for the upcoming fall semester, Julie met an excited student who was graduating that day with a degree in speech pathology. The brief conversation from this chance meeting gave her the idea to look into this major.    She hopes to combine that with her desire to work with children and work in an elementary school, or an early intervention program.   Before that, however, she is going on for her master’s degree in Speech Language Hearing Science here at Temple.

Graduation, on Thursday will bea proud time for Julie.  She has studied and worked hard, and achieved dean’s list every semester.  In April, President Theobald presented her with the honors cords that she will wear on graduation day.

While I have never worked with Julie, I do know her very well.  In fact, I have known her since the day she was born, and I will be watching with pride as she graduates on Thursday, May 16, 2013!

What does America drink?  I am sure many answers come to mind, as there are at least sixty to eighty thousand different beverages available in the United States today. What you may not be aware of is what drinks have been popular throughout our history, and what influences have shaped those drink choices. On the afternoon of March 26^th Andrew Smith, instructor in food history, food controversies and professional food writing at the New School University in New York City,  and author of  Drinking History: 15 Turning Points in the Making of American Beverage, discussed beverages in the United States, both in the past and today. He explained how influences such as ingredients, individuals, corporations, and historic events such as colonization, the American Revolution, the Whiskey Rebellion, the temperance movement, and Prohibition have affected what we drink.   In the beginning there was water.  The Native Americans drank it to survive, but they also preferred it in different flavors, so they spiced it up with syrup, barks, fruits, berries, leaves and roots ingredients readily available to them.  Some of the additives produced physical effects, and it was used in spiritual ceremonies and in healing.  When the Europeans arrived, they brought with them some of their traditions as well as their taste for other drinks, so tea, beer, ale, rum, and whiskey became part of the drinking landscape by the colonial era.  In time, wars, political events and social movements each played a part in the beverage selection.  Soda came about as an alternative to alcohol during the time of the temperance movement. While cocaine is no longer an ingredient in Coca Cola as it was then, soda is still popular, and is the number one beverage consumed in America today.

You might say that working in Paley Library is the perfect place for Jasmine Woodson.  She loves to learn and she loves to assist others in their learning.  Jasmine has worked   as a bibliographic assistant in the access services department since 2011, where she primarily manages our E-ZBorrow inter library loan system.  She processes the requests that other institutions make for our materials, and makes sure our patrons get their requested research materials.  As night supervisor in circulation, she spends time at the service desk, and enjoys the patron interaction.  Jasmine also has taken on hours at the reference desk and teaches English 802 library workshops, and is grateful for the opportunity to help others as well as improve her skills in those areas.

Working on a university campus, of course offers additional learning opportunities, like taking classes and attending lectures.  She is working toward a master’s degree in English to go along with her undergraduate degree in English and masters in Library Science, both from the University of Pittsburgh.  Her attendance at the CHAT lectures has expanded her interest in the digital humanities.

Jasmine enjoys working at Paley Library.  She came here from Carnegie Mellon University, where she held a similar position, but she says it was not the same type of work environment.  At Paley she values the interaction she has with her colleagues, admiring their innovation and work ethic.  Her department is very supportive and encourages participation in library activities, such as the public services retreat.   Recently, it was announced by interim dean Carol Lang that Jasmine was awarded the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 2013 Library Support Staff scholarship which will allow her to attend and participate in their upcoming national conference this April, an impressive start to her aspirations to be more involved in the library profession.  Jasmine looks forward to this professional development opportunity, not only for her own self improvement, but she also hopes to use the knowledge and skills gained in assisting our library patrons.