Today's Hours
We have some bittersweet news about one of our own here in the CCNY Libraries. After more than 25 years of service to the CCNY community, Evelyn Bodden, the Interlibrary Loan administrative assistant, is planning to retire this January.
As a CUNY Office Assistant, Evelyn was not specifically looking for a position in the library, but when one opened up here at City College, she jumped on it. She has always loved to read, so in her mind, being around books all day would be an added bonus. She started working at CCNY in Feb 1993. For the first three years in Cohen Library, Evelyn worked at the Circulation Desk, checking books in and out, collecting fines and assisting patrons with whatever they needed. After a while, she discovered that she wanted to learn something new, so when it became clear that there would be a need for someone to complete the borrowing requests in Interlibrary Loan, Evelyn jumped at the opportunity.
What she loves most about working in ILL: Evelyn has always enjoyed helping people and gets deep satisfaction in finding the most obscure, hard to find items. In one recent incidence, a patron needed to borrow a book, but the only available copy was found in a library in Spain. After a great deal of negotiation, the library was willing to lend us the book. In Evelyn’s eyes, the transaction was only made greater by the appreciation of the patron.
One of the most rewarding things about ILL: In the early 2000s, a new resource management software was created to streamline and automate multiple steps in the process of borrowing books and accessing journal articles. This software was Illiad and Evelyn was the one responsible for setting up the specifications for CCNY and our users. “It was an intimidating change and a lot of work, but I was willing to do it,” she explained. Not only did she conduct the initial set up for Illiad, she regularly updates aspects of the system each time there is a software upgrade. She also represents CCNY at the various local and regional meetings for ILL.
The hardest thing about ILL: Evelyn has trained a number of student workers over the years but one of the most difficult things about working in ILL is finding enough student workers and dealing with the budget to pay them.
Parting words: “I gave a lot, but I also learned a lot working here.”
When Evelyn retires, she plans to travel with her husband to Honduras (where she’s from), parts of the US, Europe and hopefully Israel. They also look forward to the arrival of grandchildren at some point but their daughter has just become a doctor so they might have to wait a bit longer for that. Evelyn will certainly be missed around here!
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