CFL Student Employee Training

information for student employees

Welcome

 Welcome to

Chester Fritz Library Logo

Expectations will be laid out in two areas of excellence for our Public Services Assistants:

  • Knowledge Commons Information Desk PSAs
  • Access Services Materials PSAs

 

Everyone is expected to go through First Things First and Customer Service Standards, as that is where all general information for both sides of the floor is housed. Once that is completed, move on to the section that relates to the area you are working in!

Your supervisors

It's the responsibility of your supervisors to delegate duties and assign specific tasks. We will figure out hours, schedules, and be here to listen and discuss any problems you might encounter. If you have any questions or complaints, please feel free to discuss them with us. If you feel you cannot talk to your direct supervisor, please know you are welcome to talk to any other full-time person within the building. We're here to help you succeed!

Citing this source:

CFL. (2024). Chester Fritz Library policy and training Research Guide.

Microsoft Teams

We use Microsoft Office Teams for communication, project assignments, and documents we're working on.

  • All students get a tab on the Student Projects excel sheet.
    • Please look at how some of them have been filled out. If your supervisor or a librarian has a task for you, they will add it to this document. You will fill out what was completed on a given day for it and when it is finished.
  • We also have pictures of you and your majors - this is so those you may not work with will still know who you are! Maybe you'll work with them in a coming semester.

Training

  • You will be provided some training on how to use Teams. You may also go to this training site.

LibStats

EVERYONE will be expected to record these!

Libstats are to be recorded after every interaction with a patron, excepting "may I check this book out?"  There are a few reasons for this:

  • Staff can be sure answers are given correctly (even for other staff!)
  • This is a place you can look back to if you want to see how others have answered questions
    • Just like the Red Binder / Daily Check In - you are expected to look back at what others have posted in LibStats. This is a good way to learn more about the library in general, as well as what types of questions are directional vs. reference (more on that below!).
  • We keep statistics on how many questions are asked at the desk. We used to do this when we had both an access and a reference desk as well!
  • It provides us with usage of our services, which is needed for national statistics

This section is to clarify a few things you will need to know, but is not comprehensive. Some of this will be expanded on in the reference training session provided within the first two months of the fall semester.

  • The link is in Teams on the password document. Save this link to your task bar

Location

  • Make sure you have Information Desk chosen for the front desk, or Access Services if you're working at the Materials Desk.
  • Make sure you have Access Services chosen if you're working in Materials
  • Use the correct tag EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE STACKS when asked - in the "question" box indicate where you were in the building

Patron Type

  • Sometimes it's hard to tell which category a person is in. Use your best judgement (or ask a co-worker!)

Question Types

  • Directional You will use this one the most often.
    • This is for any questions like:
      • Where is UIT?
      • Where is the bathroom?
      • Where do I find PS3561.I483 C8 1981b
    • It is also for questions like:
      • Can I have a white board marker?
      • What time do you close?
  • Reference and Reference Referred
    • This is for reference interviews (reference), helping patrons discover a new resource or talking to them about research (only done after training!)
    • Reference Referred is if you start with the interview, then pass to a librarian
  • Tech Support
    • Printers, scanners, micro-film, -fiche, -card readers
    • If they ask for help on laptops, that becomes a REFERRED question
  • Lost and Found
    • If they ask if we have something and they claim it
      • Go back in and edit the libstat with an answer of "CLAIMED"
    • If they are LOOKING for something we don't have, get a description of the item, their name, and a contact
    • If something is turned in, record descriptively what it is, include the libstat # on the tag you put with the item
  • ILL Verification (never use this - leave for the ILL specialists)
  • Patent Search (never use this - leave for the reference librarian in charge of patents and trademarks)