Fondren Library actively hires and mentors approximately 110 students a year. The departments below have highlighted some of the work that gets done in several areas of the library.
Woodson Research Center
Student workers in the Woodson Research help support research by digitizing archival materials for reference requests and assisting with archival processing both in the physical and digital realms. From editing oral histories, to rehousing fragile materials, assisting in creating exhibits, their work makes an incredible impact!
Amanda Focke
Head of Special Collections
Woodson Research Center
“Working at Woodson has helped me develop skills in organization and proper data management. One of the highlights has been processing the John Mack collection. I spent a lot of time just doing a simple task but it allowed me to talk to some very cool grad students but also to see some of the amazing things in the collection. I think the biggest takeaway I will have from Woodson is the importance of preservation. It may seem rather simple but working here has made me realize that if something isn’t written down or purposefully passed down then history loses its humanity. This value will never be lost on me now.”
Jonah Blunt
Student Worker
History and Asian Studies Major
Jonah Blunt, reviewing the John E. Mack Archives.
Photo by Amanda Focke
Gabe Witkop reviewing original drawings of Sid Richardson College for an exhibit he created on the new college construction.
Photo by Traci Patterson
Victoria Santos, shelving one of the livres d’artistes books located in the Woodson Research Center.
Photo by Amanda Focke
DMC
DMC student workers have been the backbone of the DMC work. They help cover the DMC’s scheduled open hours, especially weekend hours. They are involved in all aspects of the DMC’s daily operation, including equipment check-in/out, poster printing, studio support, and consultation on various media projects. They also teach general DMC workshops. Guillian, a Psychology Visual and Dramatic Arts student, has worked at the DMC since he came to Rice as a freshman in Fall 2021. He is reliable, responsible, and talented, with many graphic skills that DMC needs. In the Summer of 2023, after Mario left, Guillian took over Mario’s graphics and 3D modeling workshops on Photoshop, Illustrator, and Blender and taught it well!
Jane Zhao
Director
Digital Media Commons
Guillian teaching a Blender workshop.
DMC Student Crew, from left to right: Ida, Maggie, Guilian, Kelton, Ada
UX Office
“Fondren Library’s User Experience Office launched in 2010, with me and one student worker. So, from the very beginning student workers have been an integral part of UX work at Fondren.
During the campus roll-out of Canvas some years ago, a graduate student worker, Hao Yan ‘17, helped with the usability assessments that contributed to a successful launch. We typically hire between 5-10 student UX assistants, plus hire and facilitate the Fondren Ambassador representatives.
We try to provide a wonderful experience, and give students opportunities to do usability testing, user research, survey design/assessment and work our UX tables. We often gather feedback on white boards on the first floor, and it is always the UX students who put these out and gather feedback on services and other things. They also help create and maintain research guides, and teach classes like Overleaf. Their contributions mean so much to making Fondren a better experience!”
Debra Kolah
Head of User Experience
UX Office
Fondren Ambassadors
Zeisha Bennett, Class of 2025, VADA (Film and Photography Concentration) Major
Amber Hu, Class of 2025, Statistics Major
Hazel Landers, Class of 2026, Musicology Major
Charlotte Lawrence, Class of 2027
Shreyes Minocha, Class of 2024, Computer Science Major
Aditya Pradhan, Class of 2025, Bioengineering Major
Reagan Reynolds, Class of 2025, English and Psychology Major
Ashley Wang, Class of 2025, English (Creative Writing) and Psychology Major
UX Office
“I worked on a couple of projects at the UX Office such as trying to increase awareness of the Fondren Library resources at the Business Information Center (BIC), also known as the business school library. The highlight of that project was getting to analyze real survey research done, interpret the findings, and present suggestions to real stakeholders at the BIC. From that experience, I realized that good presentation skills are a key aspect of any career that involves stakeholders. My favorite project was getting to conduct usability tests on different library websites that use Quartex software so that Fondren Library can design a historical archives website that uses Quartex software and is intuitive to its users. I thoroughly enjoyed observing user behaviors and finding themes in their activity because knowing how to conduct user research is crucial for a career in UX design. A sense of ownership and control over a project with the ability to get guidance at any time made my work feel meaningful and motivating. I've worked at places where I felt like I didn't have a lot of autonomy over what I was doing or where my work was going, but I didn't feel that way at all at the UX Office.”
Allison He, Class of 2025
UX Researcher
“I work as the Mathematics Collection Development assistant at Fondren. I assist with the selection and acquisition of new books, as well as the weeding out of damaged and outdated books in the collection. Additionally, I contribute to our online research guides, particularly the guides on math and AI, and focusing on the history of math and the relationship between AI and accessibility. I also help out with events run by Fondren to introduce students to the university's Overleaf subscription. As a Fondren Fellow, I’m currently also working on the Voices of Mathematics: Oral Histories as a path to understanding project. The goal of this project is to preserve historical information about mathematics at Rice and make it accessible to a broader audience. One of the good things about being in a UX environment is that I’ve gotten to see people thinking about how other people interact with the library and its services, which has been helpful for understanding how to make sure people get use out of whatever I’m creating for the library.”
Alex Manchester, 5th Year Graduate Student
Mathematics Collection Development Assistant
Fondren Fellow
Fondren Ambassador
Photo by Jeff Fitlow
Submitted by Keaton Abbott, Class of 2025
Fondren bids farewell to Raiya Myren ‘23, who worked all four of her undergraduate years at Fondren Library.
Tianran Zhou ‘23 and Anouska Agrawal ‘23, Fondren UX Office UX researchers celebrate finishing their Master of Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction (MHCIHF) degrees at Rice.