Kashmindra works among the old books in the IWO book depository
Today, part two of a two-part series on the IWO, which houses both an exam room and the University Library's book storage. Kashmindra Vrede (44) works in the book depository, where “every meter counts.”
“The IWO book depot belongs to the library (UB) for the UvA (and the HvA). We make sure that all books, theses, and papers from the depot are delivered to the appropriate UB locations in Amsterdam. We start the day with requests made between 5 p.m. the previous day and that time, starting by taking those books out of the depot and organizing them so they can go to the right locations. Some books come back that we have to put in the cabinets. We label new books and theses that come to us and repair books that are damaged. And when we get around to it, we literally have “push-through” work: every meter counts in the IWO. So if we manage to free up one meter of space in a bookcase, we do it. But that takes some time because it's many, many meters.”
Ghost floor
“We have three floors with lots of books, and each floor is about the size of a soccer field. There are almost 100 kilometers of books here. I work throughout the entire building; the bookcases are upstairs and in the back of the building. At the front, we label and sticker the books and lend them out. That's also where visitors come to read books. We make sure they get them.”
“No one has a fixed workplace here, because we rotate all the tasks so everyone is employable in every possible way. At the beginning of the day, we discuss who is going to do what. We all work together and when one person is done, they help the others. You may have worked a whole day and at the end of the working day you run into a colleague who shouts, “Hey, were you there, too?!” The depot is huge. You'd think we'd be bursting at the seams at some point, but there's also a fourth floor. I've never been there before, so for me, it's a ghost floor. But we are good for a while here.
1861
“I love old books ... I really like them. I love things that existed before me. So I love picking up something from 1861 once in a while. I look in the books sometimes, but less than I did in the beginning. Then it was always, “Oh wow, I see all these old things and I get to see them and touch them.” Now it's becoming a little more normal. But if I have time, I still peek sometimes. But you're moving books constantly, so it's not like you can sit and read extensively. I'm a little more interested now in how you determine what we do and don't include in the collection, and where everything goes.”
“I also like it here: people are listened to. If people show initiative, something is done with it. For example, a colleague of mine got the chance to develop and produce this thing: the 'swindle,' which we can use to conveniently open the cabinets, making them lighter.”
Far from everything
“It's a bit far from everything here, though. Not so far from my home; in 15 minutes, I'm at work. But of course, all the other departments of the UB are closer to downtown. It's also a bit of a walk from the subway if you come by public transportation. After a while, I became accustomed to seeing old books, but does that make the job less fun? I still like it when everything is ready at the stroke of three. And then to hear back from people saying that they were helped so quickly by us, that's what we do it for, right?
This is an updated version of an interview Stella Vrijmoed had with Kashmindra Vrede several years ago.
