This series of profiles highlight valued student employees from across the Libraries, including Sydney Hertz, an undergraduate student worker at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. The Libraries is the largest employer of students on campus. We couldn’t serve our users without them!
![](https://blogs.library.columbia.edu/spotlights/files/Sydney-Hertz-1-200x300.jpg)
Q: Which library do you work at and what is your title?
I work at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library on the 6th floor of Butler. I am an undergraduate student worker.
Q: What does your job entail?
Scanning. Lots of scanning. Lots of removing staples and lots of very old paper. Each student intern has two main tasks: scanning requests and your student project. Scanning requests is exactly what it sounds like—scholars make requests and we scan them! The student project is more specific to each student. Right now, I am working on two: my long-term project concerns the Edward Kline papers where I recover lost text from old thermal paper, and my short-term project concerns portraits of performers from the Dramatic Museum. They’re so strange and spectacular, I am a bit obsessed with them.
Q: Could you describe your favorite part of working at the Libraries?
All the little mysteries and all the little surprises. We have so much material in the library and so many wonderful people working on it. My favorite moments come from sharing these mysteries and surprises with each other. Karen Green, the Curator for Comics and Cartoons, will come in and show me these amazing original drawings. Emily Runde, the Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Collections, will pass by and tell us about her manuscript students. Even the student interns will show each other the strange things we are scanning. It’s just a lovely group of nerds who are so passionate about their work.
Q: What is your area of study?
I major in ancient studies at Barnard, but I focus specifically on the study of classical theater. Even more specifically, I work on the depiction of disabled and queer bodies in ancient Greek drama. It’s classics but also theater but also disability studies. I’m trying to figure it out!
Q: Of the libraries on campus, which is your favorite place to study?
Ironically, I hate studying in libraries—way too quiet for me. I do love a Milstein green chair moment though. Or the CEP [Center for Engaged Pedagogy] at Barnard!
Q: What do you consider to be a “hidden gem” at the library where you work?
I consider our entire library to be a hidden gem! It is open to all scholars, even those from outside Columbia. If you don’t have a research need, there are amazing exhibitions you can drop in and see. And also Edgar Allen Poe’s raven mantle! I mean, come on, that is so cool.
Q: What book are you currently reading?
Disregarding all the books I need to be reading for my thesis (that I’ve yet to start), I’m reading this collection of gothic short stories. It’s just The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre. I am John Polidori’s biggest fan.