Library Assistant

Do you enjoy meeting new people? Do you love the library and what it has to offer? Come and work at the friendliest library in Illinois! Fremont Public Library is a large district library with a friendly, neighborhood-library atmosphere. It's common for us to forge friendships and connections with our patrons! We pride ourselves on outstanding customer service that welcomes all people. 

Library Assistants in the Youth Services Department work at Help Desks located on the first floor of the library. These desks offer help to patrons of all ages! Primary duties include:

• Finding and placing holds on library materials
• Helping patrons sign up for programs
• Assisting with business machines (copy, fax, scan, print, and computers)
• Answering directional questions about the library
• Duties may also include shelving, assisting with programming, or other duties as described in the Job Description below.
  

Hours: This position will be regularly scheduled 24 hours per week. This position is required to work nights and weekends. There is an option to add daytime hours, but nights and weekends are a firm requirement.

Pay: $16 per hour. This is year-round, part-time non-exempt position. 

Benefits:

• Paid sick and paid leave time.
• Paid Holidays when the holiday falls on the day you are usually scheduled to work.
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Counseling and wellness services. 
• Retirement: IMRF and the option to start a 457 retirement savings plan.
• Professional Development: Funding for conferences, seminars, and workshops. 

General Job Description:

Provides patrons with program and meeting room assistance, answers general library questions, restocks displays and promotional materials, and shelves and straightens materials.

Duties:

• Staffs the Adult, Teen or Kids Help Desk:
• Looks up and makes eye contact with patrons entering the library or department,with a smile and friendly greeting for patrons of all ages
• Answers the phone for internal calls and back-up for patron calls to the main line
• Provides general and directional information about the library, its collection,programs and services, and uses good judgment in referring patrons to librarians when needed
• Signs patrons up for services, study rooms and programs available on the library’s website
• Monitors teen and snack areas, study rooms, and other library spaces
• Uses the public catalog to look up specific materials, placing or removing holds and retrieving materials that are currently available
• Assists patrons with Library computers, Wi-Fi access, and other equipment such as printers, scan stations, copiers, etc.
• Assists patrons with basic questions regarding library apps
• Uses good judgment in referring patrons to librarians or the checkout desk based on the perceived needs of the patrons
• Retrieves, shelf-reads, and shelves materials
• Assists with the reproduction of bibliographies, bookmarks, and other reader’s advisory tools
• Assists with decorations and library displays and maintains the tidiness of the department, cleaning up after patrons regularly
• Assists the librarians with clerical or craft prep work that can be conducted while on desk
• Helps patrons sign up for the Summer Library Club and other services and programs throughout the year
• Monitors programs, assists with library-led classes, and helps set-up and take-down any equipment or materials needed for the program
• Reports issues of programs and passes along compliments about them to the program’s coordinator
• Performs miscellaneous duties as needed

Organizational Relationships:

• Reports to the Manager or Assistant Manager
• Works in cooperation with librarians and department members
• Works with Librarians when helping with clerical projects as approved by the Manager

• Have a high school degree or equivalent
• Display an outgoing, friendly personality and ability to think on your feet
• Be patient, helpful and enthusiastic about working with children, teens or adults
• Have an interest in reading, watching movies or tv, or other library media
• Fluency in use of Microsoft 365 applications (Outlook, Word, etc.)
• Willing and able to speak in front of an audience to introduce a performer
• Be able to assist patrons with searching the internet, adding and navigating all library apps onto their mobile devices
• Be able to consistently follow directions with multiple steps
• Self-motivated and willing to learn

Physical Requirements:

• Manual: enough to operate computer keyboard and mouse
• Mobile: enough to navigate library spaces and quickly move around a room to troubleshoot equipment or retrieve items for a presentation or to straighten shelves and the department; able to sit, stand, walk, bend, stoop, reach, grasp and carry with hands and arms, get down on floors, climb stools, and perform other physical tasks for 4-hour shifts
• Visual: able to detect color coding, read documents and a computer screen
• Communication: Fluent in English, both written and oral. Able to speak and be heard and hear the speech of co-workers and patrons in person and over the phone