Student Assistants alternate between working at the desk and on the floor. The hour on the floor is used to shelve and shelf read materials, restock supplies, tidy up, and generally maintain the Library as a productive place for everyone to work.

Recording Floor Activities:

When you return to the desk after your hour on the floor, log the activities that you completed on Circulation: Floor Activities in LibInsight. Not every activity will be able to be completed each hour, but you should try to get as many of them accomplished as possible.

Pick List:

At the beginning of the day, the Access Services Supervisor will print a list of items other libraries have requested. Retrieve these items and process them in WorkFlows.

• In WorkFlows, select the Holds menu, and then select Trap Holds.
• Scan the library barcode.
• WorkFlows will print a slip that indicates where the items are going.
• Place the slip in the item, and place the item on the appropriate shelf.

See Processing Request Delivery Procedures for detailed instructions.

Shelve Books:

New Student Assistants are to shelve items with designated flags until Supervisor informs the Student Assistant they no longer need to use flags. Employees checking flags should record the number of correct and incorrect flags on Circulation: Flags in LibInsight.

Student Assistants will shelve any materials that are on the shelving cart in the appropriate location. Be sure to double-check the location before shelving (Stacks, Bestsellers, DVDs, Writing and Research Collection, Graphic Novels, Children’s Collection, etc.).

Headcount:

Beginning a half hour after the library opens, and continuing each hour at the half hour, the Student Assistant working the floor is to count the users in the library. The Student Assistant is to count users in the various rooms and locations of the library, as indicated on LibInsight. It is important to record this data once an hour, every hour to understand our traffic. If you forget to take headcount at the half-hour, take it as soon as you remember.

If you are working by yourself and you need to take the count, put up the “We’ll Be Right Back” sign.

To minimize errors with the iPad and LibInsight, refresh the browser before you begin to take the headcount. If you do not see the green “Success” bar display after submitting the headcount, use one of the circulation computers to enter the information in LibInsight.

Log out of LibInsight and charge the iPad at the end of each day.

Shelf Reading:

Shelf reading involves reading the call numbers on shelved items to ensure the items are in call number order. After shelving any materials on the shelving cart, filling printers, taking headcount, and completing any other assigned tasks, shelf reading is your next priority. Ideally 30 minutes of each hour on the floor should be spent shelf reading. 

Begin by checking the shelf reading binder. The binder indicates the call number of the location where the last person to shelf read left off, priority sections for the day, and the order to shelf read each section of the library.

When shelf reading, Student Assistants should check for damaged materials, faded labels, or missing labels. These materials should be put on the Technical Services cart located behind the Circulation Desk for the purpose of repair. The Student Assistants should also remove any papers or objects found in the books and discard them, as well as ensure the books are flush on the shelf. Wire or metal bookends should be on each shelf if needed. You are also to remove any litter you notice on the shelves or in the books. There are trash cans located throughout the stacks.

Don’t: leave the shelves untidy and unaligned from the edge of the shelf. (See below)

Do: make sure things are tidy and brought to the edge of the shelf (see below).

Additionally, there is a listed order on the bottom of the binder pages indicating where the Student Assistants should continue when finishing with a library collection.

The order: Bound & Indexes, Stacks, Children’s, CDs & CD Roms

There are also specific collections that are shelf read on certain days of the week. They are also listed at the bottom of the binder. This ensures each collection is checked for shelving errors.

• Monday: Best Sellers, Graphic Novels, Writing Collection, Career Collection, New Books
• Tuesday: DVDs (the shelves AND the drawers)*
• Wednesday & Thursday: Gov Docs (for those who are trained to shelf read this section)
• Friday morning: Reserves
• Weekend: Newspapers and Current Periodicals**

*When shelf reading the DVD drawers, be mindful that you are still at the circulation desk and need to be aware of users who may approach the desk and ask you questions.

**The newspapers and current periodicals should be shelf read on Fridays when we are closed on the weekends.

If a collection is not finished on its assigned day, Student Assistants are to continue through that collection until its completion before continuing where they had left off with the larger collections listed above.

Once finished, Student Assistants will record in the binder the date and time of shelf reading, their initials, the collection read, and the call number of the last item read.

Check Equipment:

Check library equipment and supplies. If you notice an issue and are unable to fix the equipment, notify the appropriate person (Access Services Supervisor, Librarian, or UITS).

• Computers: If there are any problems with any of the computer workstations, you are to report the problem to the UITS Helpdesk.
• Printers/Copiers: If there is a problem with a printer that you are unable to fix, notify the UITS Help Desk. UITS staff are responsible for changing the toner cartridges in all of the printers.  Fill trays with paper. Do not overstock the trays. If too much paper is in the trays, it will cause paper jams.
• Staplers: Check staplers and fill if needed. If a stapler is jammed, try to fix it or give it to the Access Services Supervisor.

Post & Remove Flyers (NEW Fall 2023):

• Student organizations and campus offices may drop off three (3) copies of a flyer to be posted in the Library
• Use blue painter’s tape from the supplies drawer to post flyers in these designated locations:
  • Lobby printing station
  • South Commons printing station
  • Elevator
• Remove any out-of-date or unstamped flyers as you see them
• Recycle any flyers (whether stamped or not) that are posted elsewhere or left on tabletops
• If someone drops off flyers which are not stamped by either Student Activities or Academic Affairs, leave them in the Technical Services Assistant’s mailbox.

Check and Maintain Library Facilities:

• Remove reservation sheets for the ILCs, Gathering Place, and Study rooms once reservations listed have passed
• Push in chairs and straighten computer workstations
• Look for lost and found items
• Look for Library materials that are out of place – take back to desk to Mark Item Used in WorkFlows
• Throw away trash
• Recycle abandoned prints and other stray paper
• Check that doors that should be locked are locked (and doors that should be unlocked are unlocked)
• Move kicksteps to the ends of shelving ranges
• Report any spills or facilities issues to Access Services Supervisor (or Facilities if evening/weekend)
• Break down any cardboard boxes and place them by the large blue recycling bin in the circulation area