Photo by Christina VanHorn,
UNH Human Resources

Do you like to access research information via a reference book or on-line via a computer search engine? Well, either way, Alan Bryce can assist you in being successful in that process. Alan has been working in the UNH Libraries for 5 years now, starting with the Biological Sciences Library in Kendall Hall, and for the past two years in the Engineering, Math and Computer Science Library (EMCS), currently located in New Hampshire Hall.

When asked how he had become interested in working at UNH, he shared that he and his family had been associated with the University for a long time. "I grew up in Durham. My dad, Forbes Bryce, taught Sociology and Criminology here. My Mom went to school here (M Ed.), and I graduated from UNH in 1981 with a BS in Farm Management from COLSA." While going to school here, Alan also worked at NHPTV when the studio was in the MUB. After college he found himself working 70-hour weeks in food service for over 15 years. He read Zen and the Art of Making a Living (Laurence G. Boldt) one day and decided to leave the hectic hours of food service management to become an assistant manager at WaldenBooks for 2 1/2 years. "I was looking at a career change and the library at UNH seemed a good place to start. I love books and had been running a bookstore for a number of years."

If you are a researcher or student here needing to access the EMCS Library, the first challenge is in finding it. It is actually temporarily housed in the gym of New Hampshire Hall. You know you are there when you walk through the doorway, past the security system and you see the many stacks of reference books and computer stations and then look up to the high ceiling to the basketball hoops around the room. Though the current location is not the most optimal - it can be 90 degrees plus on any given summer day in there - Alan and his colleagues have done a remarkable job turning a gym into a library. They have 2 more years in NH Hall before being relocated back to a brand new library facility in Kingsbury Hall. Kingsbury Hall was originally built in 1949. Alan stated that "the renovations that are taking place in Kingsbury Hall are going to allow for the changes that have taken place in the library sciences for now and for the future."

When asked about his current position, Alan replied that he views his role at UNH as "making other people's jobs or research tasks easier." When a new faculty member, researcher or student comes to the EMCS Library, Alan will conduct a reference interview and help them to "determine which question they need to ask in order to get the answers they need." He finds helping people get to the "Aha!" moment, when they see the light, the most satisfying. "I try not to answer the question for them, but point them in the right direction to where they can find the answer."

Alan observes "I need to use a completely different set of skills when dealing with a full time researcher and a first year freshman. The researcher is looking for a great deal of detail, the freshmen is looking for a broad view of a subject and even though each is approached the same, there are very different ways to get the information for them."

Some of Alan's other responsibilities include supervising about 20 student workers. Alan and his colleagues train the students for a slew of tasks in all areas of all three branches and Alan manages the students' work schedules. Alan also processes books - new and old, opens and closes the Library; and helps people find things (books, and journals) in the library catalog and in the stacks.

There are six EPS branch library staff members - Alan, Barbara Morris and Emily Poworoznek at the EMCS Library in NH Hall, Bob Constantine at the Chemistry Library in Parsons Hall and Erica Brown at the Physics Library in DeMeritt Hall. The EMCS Library has extensive hours to staff. During the summer the library is open Monday and Wednesday 8am - 8pm, Tuesday and Thursday 8am - 5pm, and Friday 8am - 4:30 PM. During the school year, the library is open and staffed Monday through Thursday 8am - 11pm, Friday's 8am - 5pm, Saturday 2pm -5pm and Sunday 2pm -11pm.

The staff of each branch specialize in particular subject areas. The Library subscribes to extensive databases, each with different relevancy mixes or search engines. This requires Alan and the other staff to learn how to use the subject-specific databases in order to provide assistance and find information for the faculty and students, based on their research and instructional needs. Alan sees more students and researchers using the Internet more now due to improved on-line library services and due to the fact the EMCS Library is temporarily relocated far from Kingsbury, with library users scattered across campus.

Besides assisting faculty, staff and students, Alan and his colleague's field request for information from off-campus as well. Alan has received calls from engineers calling with a need to reference building codes because they are working on an addition or remodeling construction project. A lawyer may contact the library regarding building codes in use years ago because they are doing research for a client that may involve a lawsuit due to faulty construction that did not meet the codes in place at the time. Among their more exotic requests: helping a translator who needed to translate ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) Standards from Japanese back into English but with Japanese requirements.

Alan observes: "libraries are incredibly important to researchers because they provide extensive access to professional journals with the latest research. Libraries also archive information and are a document repository, allowing a student or researcher the ability to access previous research. The science of engineering and of computer science is just as applicable today as it was 25 years ago. The technology changes but the basics remain the same. This archived information can assist the student/researcher in not reinventing the wheel. By examining a past process used in an experiment or in manufacturing of the time, a new process or technology can be realized by building on the previously work done." Citations are very important.

The UNH Library is a member of the Boston Library Consortium. There are 18 New England libraries in the group. Among the services provided: the Virtual Catalog allows you to request a book directly online - meaning someone in MA can request a book or reference material from our library system, and a UNH faculty or student can request the same from any of the libraries in the consortium.

When asked what he enjoyed most about working at UNH, Alan said "the students and the constant wonder that they bring to learning are a joy." When asked who at UNH has had a positive impact on him he stated "lots of people, starting with my teachers from my class days to right now with the faculty and staff that I have become close to in the time I have been here. Community is very important and the people here at UNH form a very strong "community" that comes together regardless of time and place when someone is in need. I have been very fortunate over the last few years to be working in a place that values that."

When not working at UNH, Alan shared that though he is para-professional librarian by profession, he is a carpenter by trade. He is currently remodeling a 115 year old New Englander. Alan said "you HAVE to be a carpenter...I did not say I was a finish carpenter…"