Group portrait of legislative pages at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

A page is an occupation in some professional capacity. Unlike traditional

pages Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

, who are normally younger males, these pages tend to be older and can be either male or female.

Workplace

Pages are present in some modern workforces. American television network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's page program is a notable example of contemporary workplace pages.

Libraries

Some large libraries use the term 'page' for employees or volunteers who retrieve books from the stacks, which are often closed to the public, and return books to shelves. This relieves some of the tedium from the librarians, who may occupy themselves with duties requiring their more advanced training and education.

Legislative pages

Many legislative bodies employ student pages as assistants to members of the legislature during session. Legislative pages are

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

students who are unpaid or receive modest

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

s. They serve for periods of time ranging from one week to one year, depending on the program. They typically perform small tasks such as running errands, delivering coffee, answering telephones, or assisting a speaker with visual aids. Students typically participate primarily for the work-experience benefits. The following examples illustrate the range of legislative page programs: ;Canada *The

Canadian House of Commons Page Programme Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

employs part-time first-year university students who work roughly 15 hours a week and are paid approximately $12,000 (CDN) for a one-year term. They perform both ceremonial and administrative duties and participate in enrichment activities such as meetings with MPs and government leaders. They also meet with student groups to explain the workings of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and their duties as Pages. The

Canadian Senate Page Program The Canadian Senate Page Program is a student internship program for the Senate of Canada. Each year, 15 undergraduate students are chosen through a national competition to work as a page for the Senate. Pages are primarily responsible for assisti ...

is similar. *The

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

employs

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

and

8th grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

students for periods of two to six weeks during the legislative session. Participants must be high-achieving students who take leaves of absence from their schools while they serve as pages. Duties of pages include acting as messengers in the legislative chamber, taking water to MPP's, and picking up key documents (bills, petitions, motions, reports by committee). They also have opportunities to learn about provincial government and the lawmaking process.Legislative Page Program
Legislative Assembly of Ontario website, accessed November 1, 2010 ;United States *Both houses of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

have or had formal page programs. The House program has endedHouse Ends Page Program
/ref> but the Senate program continues; pages are

high school junior Eleventh grade, 11th grade, junior year, or grade 11 (called Year 12 in Wales and England and fifth form in Jamaica) is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16–17 years of age, depending ...

s from throughout the country. The application process is very competitive. Pages serve for periods of several weeks during the summer or for a full school semester during term. They live in dormitories near the Capitol and attend special schools for pages, but are always present on the Senate and House floor during session to assist the proceedings as needed. *In the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

the pages are young males and females ranging in age from 13 to 15. They assist Senators and Delegates with deliveries and errands.

References

{{reflist Hospitality occupations Personal care and service occupations

Workplace

Libraries

Legislative pages

See also

References