Utilizing Your Student Assistants’ Capabilities

STUDENT ASSISTANTS 2.0

History

• Our Profession has been using Student Assistants since the 1800’s

• Increasing responsibility

• From basic library processes to Pseudo-Librarians

History (Cont.)

• Knowledgeable of current assignments, easily approached by other students, the student “face” of the library

• Numerous publications available on student assistants

• Use them or no?

• How to train

•Horror Stories

Intro/Background - Delta

• Work as a team “managing” student assistants together

• One librarian coordinates hiring and training

• Get referrals from Student Employment Office

• Students work at Reference desk and/or Archives

• Also have students working in Circulation but hired/trained separately by another staff member

Intro/Background - CSC

• Previously - every student who wanted a job, Got One

• Since Jan ’10 - cut the student staff by 35%

• Every student does every job (Exceptions: ILL & Technical Services)

• What do other Institution’s students do? (Regardless of Department)

• How much time is involved in training?

The Survey

• We used Survey Monkey with Total of 524 Respondents *

• The Survey was Divided into the Following Categories:

• General

• Circulation

• Interlibrary Loan

• Reference

• Technical Services/Acquisitions

* Not every respondent answered every question

The Survey (Cont.)

• We Sent the Survey to the Following Listservs:

• ACQNET-L (Acquisitions)

• CIRCPLUS (Public Access)

• AUTOCAT (Cataloging)

• ILL-L (Interlibrary Loan)

• COLLIB-l (College Libraries)

• CJC-l (Community / 2-year Colleges)

- Results - Who Answered

2-year College4-year CollegeUniversity

23.8% (123)43.1%

(223)

33.1% (171)

- Results - Satisfaction With Student Workers

Are they worth it?

YesNo

5.2% (27)

94.8% (497)

Training & Supervision vs. Returns

Student Job Performance

ExcellentGood FairPoor

24.5% (128)

63.6% (332)

0.2% (1)11.7% (61)

88%

Tips• 20% of comments: Performance directly related to quality and

amount of training

• Hire students as Freshman as their value & worth increase over time

• Give responsibility and ownership

• Treat the position as a REAL job

• Behavior has to be modeled

• Expectations made clear

• Stringent interview process

• Test filing and call number reading abilities

• Be willing to weed out underperforming students

Discussion Of Overall Results

HANDOUTS

List Of Jobs From Survey

White Sheets

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q8. Student assistants independently operate public service desks (without direct staff supervision)

4.7% 42.2% 39.2% 13.9%

Q9. Adds holds and recalls of items 9.2% 29.7% 16.2% 44.8%

Q10. Answer telephone at the service desk 24.3% 44.2% 21.4% 10.0%

Q11. Answer directional/informational questions for patrons (ex. where is the computer lab; explain general library policies)

25.6% 48.0% 20.6% 5.8%

Q12. Library greeter 35.7% 14.8% 10.8% 38.8%

Q13. Help patrons find items on shelves 11.9% 62.1% 17.7% 8.3%

Q14. Supervise special rooms (library lounge, art gallery, music listening room, etc)

11.1% 15.8% 6.3% 66.8%

Q15. Accept completed item request forms from patrons (interlibrary loan form, storage retrieval, etc.)

19.1% 31.8% 13.0% 36.1%

Q16. Book and/or schedule study rooms/carrels 11.1% 20.8% 7.0% 61.2%

Q17. Light tidying of building (push in chairs, pick up trash, dust, bulletin boards)

65.3% 11.7% 10.4% 12.6%

Q18. Clean stacks and books (dust or vacuum) 58.4% 13.1% 8.4% 20.1%

Q19. Clean equipment (computers, microfilm units, monitors, keyboards)

48.2% 22.6% 8.6% 20.6%

Q20. Operate security desk 3.9% 10.0% 6.8% 79.3%

Q21. Student assistants independently supervise operation of library detection gates (without direct staff supervision)

10.5% 33.0% 15.0% 41.6%

General Student Tasks - Handout Info

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q22. Oversee library detection gates and respond to alarms - alarms are physically isolated from staff populated areas

7.7% 25.2% 11.8% 55.2%

Q23. Assist with emergencies (fire alarms, evacuation of building) 10.4% 27.5% 20.5% 41.5%

Q24. Respond to problem patrons in building 10.2% 18.8% 26.5% 44.6%

Q25. Maintain and organize Lost and Found 35.9% 26.8% 6.8% 30.5%

Q26. Assist patrons with using computers and printing 12.1% 53.4% 22.6% 11.9%

Q27. Assist patrons with using photocopiers 16.8% 55.5% 17.3% 10.5%

Q28. Maintain equipment (ex. refill paper for computers, photocopiers, coin, etc)

35.6% 37.4% 15.2% 11.8%

Q29. Opening/closing the building with staff supervision 14.0% 40.6% 21.3% 24.1%

Q30. Open/close building without staff supervision 3.6% 13.8% 30.0% 52.6%

Q31. Open and distribute departmental mail 12.3% 28.9% 7.1% 51.7%

Q32. General departmental photocopying and collating 29.3% 34.2% 9.2% 27.3%

Q33. Record "Hours" voice mail message 9.1% 7.1% 1.4% 82.5%

Q34. Monitor departmental email account 5.9% 5.2% 4.8% 84.1%

Q35. Review & suggest changes to library procedure 12.8% 22.0% 21.5% 43.7%

Q36. Record statistics (gate count, etc) 28.9% 28.5% 12.3% 30.3%

Q37. Senior student assistants formally supervise other student assistants 3.8% 7.7% 26.9% 61.6%

Q38. Senior student assistants formally train new student assistants 5.9% 13.3% 32.7% 48.2%

General Student Tasks - Handout Info (Cont.)

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q40. Shelve stacks and periodicals collections 7.7% 63.2% 26.9% 2.2%

Q41. Shelve other collections (media, unbound periodicals, reserves)

6.9% 65.8% 25.3% 1.9%

Q42. Sort and pre-shelve materials for shelving 18.4% 58.5% 20.1% 3.0%

Q43. Shifting 18.2% 49.2% 27.1% 5.5%

Q44. Tidy/straighten stacks and other collections 49.2% 37.1% 12.4% 1.4%

Q45. Search for books and other items (missing, lost, claimed returned)

7.4% 59.5% 29.2% 3.9%

Q46. Shelf reading (automated or physical) 10.8% 59.4% 26.2% 3.6%

Q47. Building pick-ups /In house collection of materials 38.9% 30.3% 10.3% 20.6%

Q48. Create new book display from scratch 9.7% 17.7% 15.5% 57.1%

Q49. Sort and maintain new book display 14.3% 28.4% 8.3% 49.0%

Q50. Retrieve items from book drop 58.8% 18.0% 12.4% 10.8%

Q51. Deliver/retrieve library materials to faculty/departments across campus

20.8% 16.0% 4.8% 58.4%

Q52. Deliver/retrieve library materials from storage facility or branch libraries

7.2% 11.9% 3.9% 77.0%

Q53. Retrieve library materials from open stacks for patrons 21.9% 50.6% 8.6% 18.9%

Q54. Retrieve library materials for patrons from closed stacks 8.9% 22.7% 7.8% 60.7%

Q55. Check out/renew/check in library materials 13.0% 60.4% 22.2% 4.4%

Q56. Sign out equipment to patrons (digital cameras, etc) 7.7% 40.9% 17.4% 34.0%

Circulation Student Tasks - Handout Info

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q40. Shelve stacks and periodicals collections 7.7% 63.2% 26.9% 2.2%

Q41. Shelve other collections (media, unbound periodicals, reserves)

6.9% 65.8% 25.3% 1.9%

Q42. Sort and pre-shelve materials for shelving 18.4% 58.5% 20.1% 3.0%

Q43. Shifting 18.2% 49.2% 27.1% 5.5%

Q44. Tidy/straighten stacks and other collections 49.2% 37.1% 12.4% 1.4%

Q45. Search for books and other items (missing, lost, claimed returned)

7.4% 59.5% 29.2% 3.9%

Q46. Shelf reading (automated or physical) 10.8% 59.4% 26.2% 3.6%

Q47. Building pick-ups /In house collection of materials 38.9% 30.3% 10.3% 20.6%

Q48. Create new book display from scratch 9.7% 17.7% 15.5% 57.1%

Q49. Sort and maintain new book display 14.3% 28.4% 8.3% 49.0%

Q50. Retrieve items from book drop 58.8% 18.0% 12.4% 10.8%

Q51. Deliver/retrieve library materials to faculty/departments across campus

20.8% 16.0% 4.8% 58.4%

Q52. Deliver/retrieve library materials from storage facility or branch libraries

7.2% 11.9% 3.9% 77.0%

Q53. Retrieve library materials from open stacks for patrons 21.9% 50.6% 8.6% 18.9%

Q54. Retrieve library materials for patrons from closed stacks 8.9% 22.7% 7.8% 60.7%

Q55. Check out/renew/check in library materials 13.0% 60.4% 22.2% 4.4%

Q56. Sign out equipment to patrons (digital cameras, etc) 7.7% 40.9% 17.4% 34.0%

Circulation Student Tasks - Handout Info (Cont.)

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q76. Pull books and other items for ILL 16.4% 55.1% 16.8% 11.7%

Q77. Check out ILL materials to patrons/borrowing libraries

6.7% 40.6% 20.9% 31.9%

Q78. Renew ILL materials 4.4% 23.0% 13.9% 58.7%

Q79. Communicate (by telephone, email, etc.) with other libraries on circulation related issues (overdues, etc.)

5.1% 8.7% 14.2% 72.0%

Q80. Work with staff on ILL problems 5.5% 30.6% 26.7% 37.3%

Q81. Preliminary processing of ILL request forms 5.1% 28.7% 22.8% 43.3%

Q82. Pack/unpack ILL shipments (OCLC or other) 19.6% 36.5% 14.5% 29.4%

Q83. Order ILL materials 3.9% 7.5% 17.6% 71.0%

Q84. Photocopy/scan ILL articles 18.6% 41.5% 17.0% 22.9%

Q85. Process and send ILL articles electronically, fax, mail

4.7% 26.8% 24.0% 44.5%

Q86. Process physical ILL books and items 9.1% 31.2% 23.7% 36.0%

Q87. File ILL paperwork 12.2% 26.4% 12.6% 48.8%

Interlibrary Loan Student Tasks – Handout Info

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q90. Answer directional questions 34.3% 42.6% 12.5% 10.6%

Q91. Assist patrons with online catalog 7.5% 52.8% 24.2% 15.5%

Q92. Assist patrons with database usage (print or save, etc.)

7.2% 40.8% 33.2% 18.9%

Q93. Assist patrons with basic reference questions 6.0% 33.6% 27.5% 32.8%

Q94. Answer a detailed and involved reference question

6.8% 2.3% 29.1% 61.9%

Q95. Help patrons find materials in open stacks 14.3% 58.9% 14.7% 12.1%

Q96. Teach patrons the basic use of a specific database

5.7% 24.6% 29.5% 40.2%

Q97. Maintain listing of periodical holdings 5.7% 11.0% 8.3% 75.0%

Q98. Assist in distribution of a collection (organize items, pull items requested by others, etc)

10.6% 33.6% 9.4% 46.4%

Q99. Assist patrons with microform units 6.8% 28.5% 14.4% 50.2%

Reference Student Tasks – Handout Info

  Low - % Medium - % High - % N/A -%

Q102. Add tattle tape to materials 28.7% 36.2% 8.7% 26.4%

Q103. Add book covers to books 14.7% 39.1% 11.3% 35.0%

Q104. Basic book repair (taping a book, etc) 10.2% 36.0% 15.9% 37.9%

Q105. Advanced book repair (tipping in pages, gluing a binding, etc)

4.9% 11.7% 26.5% 56.8%

Q106. Receive/process purchased materials 5.7% 34.3% 16.2% 43.8%

Q107. Pack/unpack shipment to outside bindery 14.7% 24.2% 6.4% 54.7%

Q108. Pull unbound periodicals for bindery/discard 14.1% 30.8% 11.4% 43.7%

Q109. Weed/recycle newspapers 30.6% 30.9% 10.2% 28.3%

Q110. Alter records in online catalog 3.0% 6.8% 28.5% 61.6%

Q111. Alter records in OCLC 3.0% 1.1% 13.6% 82.2%

Tech Services/Acquisitions Student Tasks - Handout Info

Additional Jobs Additional Jobs

Yellow Sheet

accept donations (1) maintain packing/workroom supplies (2)

activate holdings in SFX (1) maintain website (2)

authority control (5) make photo ID cards for students (6)

building rounds (1) manage guest computer use/log in (2)

call in building problems (1) monitor group studies (1)

call/email patrons regarding overdue ILL (2) organize book sales (1)

check in periodicals (1) organize office supplies (1)

check returned laptops for damage/problems (1) physical processing of items: labels, stickers, stamps, due date slips (23)

cleaning items: CDs, pre-processing: duplicate checks, finding bibs, etc. (5)

DVDs (2) preview trials (3)

clerical/filing (3) rearrange furniture/rooms for events (1)

copy cataloging (17) remind patrons of rules (1)

count patrons in building prior hourly prior to closing (2) research articles in electronic databases for patrons (1)

create and pay purchase orders/invoices (3) scanning: reserve materials, items for digital repository, for staff/faculty/students (4)

create flyers/brochures for library events/services (1) search catalog/databases for local holdings for collection development (4)

creating training material for other students (1) sort recyclables (1)

distribute surveys (2) special projects (7)

gift book processing: unpacking, cleaning, search/see if library owns (5) statistics (7)

government document processing (3) take lost items to campus safety (1)

inventory (6) water plants (2)

laminate items for patrons (1) weeding/packing discards (6)

Summary of Tasks not Listed in Survey – Handout Info

Future Research

• Conduct a survey with a random sample

• Focus a survey on a school type (community college, 4-year college, university)

• Focus survey questions on a type of library student assistant (circulation, reference, technical services)

• Conduct a survey of library student assistants regarding their satisfaction with library employment

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Carla M. Gruen, MLISPublic Services Librarian & Student Assistant ManagerChadron State College308-432-6271cgruen@csc.edu

Anne M. WoodenGovernment Documents / Reference Librarian & Technical Services ManagerDelta College989-686-9560annewooden@delta.edu