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Library Assistant, Evening and Weekend

Colby College
Full-time
On-site
United States

Job Description

Department:

Public Services - Staff

Pay Rate Type:

Hourly

Employee Type:

Job Summary:

The Colby College Libraries seek an energetic, creative, and motivated individual to coordinate evening and weekend library public services in collaboration with other library assistants. The Libraries strive to be progressive, diverse, strategic, and collaborative with a talented and team-oriented group of professionals. The Libraries consist of two physical library spaces: Miller Library (the Humanities and Social Sciences library - considered the main library - including Special Collections and Archives), and Bixler Art and Music Library. The library assistant assists with the day-to-day operations of the two libraries in the evening and weekend hours, and oversees Bixler stacks maintenance on a daily basis including the supervision of library student assistants. The schedule for this position is during the academic year (September through May) and falls on evenings and weekends (Tuesday - Thursday, 4pm - 1am, Friday and Saturday, 11am - 8pm). During breaks from the normal academic schedule (for holidays and institutional breaks), the schedule for this position is Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm.

Essential Functions and Key Responsibilities

To perform successfully in this position, the individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess education/experience, employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed in representative fashion. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.  This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned.

  • In collaboration with Public Services colleagues, coordinate operations for the two library service points in the evenings and on the weekends.

  • Oversee Bixler stacks maintenance, and supervision of library student assistants.

  • Participate in regular staffing at both service points, and maintain office supplies.

  • Interpret library policies and procedures to the staff and public; resolve customer, circulation, and employee issues.

  • Assist patrons in the use of the library collections, provide basic reference services, and refer more complex inquiries appropriately.

  • Assist as needed with receiving and processing materials for Course Reserves; enforce Fair use Guidelines for copyrighted material.

  • Perform administrative record keeping and reporting.

  • In collaboration with Public Services colleagues, manage a team of student assistants including hiring and training students, setting schedules, monitoring student performance (and initiating appropriate corrective action, as needed).

  • Assure that the library facility and equipment are in good working order, resolve or report maintenance problems, and maintain adequate supplies.

  • Participate in projects, working groups, and College committees, as needed.

Communication

  • Maintains regular communication with the Public Services team and library student assistants in areas related to staffing service points, stacks maintenance coverage and student supervision; promptly relays critical information.

  • Provide consistent and timely communication to students, faculty and staff regarding the status of the Bixler art and music collection.

Statistics

  • Compile annual statistics for reporting in the Public Services annual report.

  • Provides annual narrative assessments.

  • Create, assess, and improve (as needed) processes for collecting statistics.

Position Qualifications

Education and experience:

  • High school diploma or equivalent required; professional coursework or post-secondary education are a plus

  • Superb time management skills including the ability to independently set goals and priorities

  • Ability to adapt to change and handle multiple priorities

  • Strong organizational skills, accuracy, and attention to detail

  • Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including strong relationship skills.

  • Demonstrated ability to assess workflows, and provide solutions where needed

  • Highly developed computer skills, including Google Apps (calendar, docs, sheets) and Microsoft Office, are necessary, with a willingness to learn new programs and/or devices; experience with integrated library systems preferred

  • Ability to work independently and as a member of a team, establish priorities, and work collaboratively as a member of a diverse community. 

Physical/Mental Demands

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and/or may be encountered while performing essential functions.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.

  • The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.

  • There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.

  • While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities. 

  • There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.

  • An employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds to perform essential position functions.

  • Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.

  • The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.

  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.

To Apply

Interested candidates should apply electronically by clicking the "Apply" button on the Colby Careers website. Please submit a resume, portfolio with examples of your past work, and the contact information of three professional references.