library student employees matt anderson. library student assistants make it possible to be open at...
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Library Student Employees
Matt Anderson
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Library Student Assistants
Make it possible to be open at odd hours Can do routine work, freeing librarians to do more
complex tasks Can work brief shifts Bring valuable, hard-to-find skills (like foreign
languages or technical skills) Are not replacements for full-time people
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Library Student Assistants
• Student assistants in the past: Emerged in 1800s Didn’t work with the public until the 1930s Usually handled card-filing and basic preservation
of materials Were in demand in the 1970s to help improve
cultural diversity of the library staff Source: Sweetman, K.B. (2007). Managing student assistants: a how-to-do-it manual for
librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman.
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Library Student Assistants
• In access services: 75% of ARL libraries have more student employees
now than they did in 1995• Often fill positions as:
Acquisitions assistants Circulation desk assistants Government information assistants Interlibrary loan aides Reserve desk assistants Shelvers
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Why Students Work in Libraries
• As a student, what would make you apply to work in a library?
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Why Students Work in Libraries
• Students want to work at libraries because: They can work night and weekend hours There is access to materials they need They see libraries as a place where they can
socialize with their friends
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Why Students Work in Libraries
• The primary reason students choose to work in libraries: 42% “learning to balance my time between work
and studies” 21.1% “purely to earn money” 21.1% “training myself to be a responsible person” 15.8% “gaining some work experience”
• Source: Yang, Z.Y. (2007). “Survey of interlibrary loan and document delivery student assistants' job satisfaction: communication and feedback.” Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply 17 (4), p. 149-159.
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Why Students Work in Libraries
• Studies indicate on-campus jobs increase the likelihood of graduation
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Your New Job
• When you interview for an academic librarian job, do you ask about the library’s student employees?
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Your New Job
• It is important to adapt to the library’s culture at first, rather than imposing changes
• People do not want to hear about how different things were at your last library
• Asking existing employees about themselves is like an informal interview
• Identifying each individual’s needs is important
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Recruiting and Interviewing Students
• Students can have many different statuses, including: Volunteer Research assistant Intern Hourly Fellow Federal Work-Study
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Recruiting and Interviewing Students
• Federal Work-Study Allows students to earn money while attending
school without having to repay Students must be at least half-time At some institutions, FWS makes for a higher
hourly wage Institutions only end up paying 25-50% of the
wage FWS employees can be reassigned
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Recruiting and Interviewing Students
• The interview should address: Experience (but not be totally based on
experience) Technical knowledge Creativity Experience working with the public What the student likes about the library and the
collection Future plans (but realize that many students
change their plans fairly often)
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Training a Student Employee
• Employees without much work experience need A LOT of training and repetition
• Training two 20-hour students takes more time than training one 40-hour employee
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Training a Student Employee
• Nothing can ruin the student’s experience faster than miscommunication with a supervisor
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The Student’s Experience• Yang’s survey of 19 (17 undergrads and 2 grad
students) student assistants at Texas A&M found:• Only 5.3% felt daily job assignments were too large• 15.8% said their supervisor had not trained them
thoroughly• 57.9% thought they worked as hard as their
supervisors• Fewer than half would like to have a student training
manual• 84.2% preferred supervisors to offer feedback in
person
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The Student’s Experience
• 68.4% felt free to voice frustrations to supervisors
• 89.5% felt free to voice frustrations to other staff members
• Source: Yang, Z.Y. (2007). “Survey of interlibrary loan and document delivery student assistants' job satisfaction: communication and feedback.” Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply 17 (4), p. 149-159.
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The Student’s Experience• Problematic student employees:
Complain Procrastinate Become lazy Have low morale Are absent or late Have personal problems Have personality problems Refuse to do things Gossip Dress inappropriately
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Communication
• When communicating with student employees face-to-face: Listen Smile Acknowledge their good work
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Communication
• When communicating with student employees via email: Avoid rambling Proof what you send them Make sure your audience can understand what
you mean Don’t work too hard on trying to impress
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Good Student Assistants
Will have a more positive academic experience for having worked in a library
Will help you get work done Will make you a better librarian
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Library Student Employees
• Questions? Comments?