In case of emergencies--including water leaks and library closings--a copy of the Wilson Library Emergency Procedures in PDF format is saved on the desktop of both reserve desk computers. Take a look! It couldn't hurt to look it over too. A print copy is pinned to the wall near the Courtesy Gopher Gold Cards.
Please review the following, the Libraries policy in case of an emergency closing like happened last week:
http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Emergency_Closing.cfm
All students please comment that you have reviewed this post. Thanks!
You may have noticed that we (finally!) have a plethora of new nametags. Now that we have enough, please get back in the habit of wearing them during all shifts -- desk, periodicals, special projects, whatever.
You'll notice that we have a nametag for every employee, to help keep the nametags from "walking off." We've gone through over 15 nametags since the start of the year, so I need everyone to try harder at remembering to leave their nametag here at the end of their shift.
All students please comment that you have reviewed this post. Thanks!
Here are two good reasons not to use flash drives at the desk:
1) It could be damaged by improper removal (loss of $20-50)
2) Its use might be against department policy
As for the first reason, our computers are not set up to allow us to safely remove hardware from the computer, and the department staff have made a decision not to change the computers. So plug those flash drives in at your own risk!
Improperly removing flash drives is not a sure way of corrupting it; the danger only comes when the computer is currently using your flash drive (whether you know it or not). Most sources will recommend using safe removal techniques to protect your hardware. If you have all ready plugged your flash drive in, the safest way is to unplug it when the computer is off, but this should not become common practice.
As for the second reason, our primary concern at work should be work. While we are on the desk, personal tasks (e.g. reading) are generally permitted when they are light in nature, but as soon as they interfere with our ability to serve the library patron in the best way or our activities give our patrons the impression that we are not approachable, we should set these tasks aside. Tasks involving a flash drive will usually fall under the "too involved for work" category.
In my opinion, there can be uses of a flash drive that involve light tasks (e.g. reading from pdf files saved on your flash drive.) Nevertheless, each supervisor will judge for herself whether your task or use of a flash drive is appropriate.
The Libraries' Food and Drink Policy http://www.lib.umn.edu/site/fooddrink.phtml has not changed with the opening of the Wilson coffee shop this week. Covered beverages are permitted in most areas (unless prohibited), but food is not. Food is limited to the basement between the doors to the Periodicals Room, the doors to Bus Ref/Gov Pub, and the doors to the stairs and elevators. The Libraries policies will be reviewed after we have experience with the impact of the cafe.
-- Peggy Johnson, Associate University Librarian
This means that no food or uncovered drinks are allowed within the Periodicals room.
All students please comment that you have reviewed this policy. Thanks!
This is a reminder of our policy about breaks at work, from the "Protocols & Expectations" that each student employee has reviewed and signed.
Breaks:
• Students receive one paid 20 minute break when working a block of four hours.
• Students must take an unpaid 30 minute lunch break when working a shift of eight hours or more.
This means that if you work a block of less than 4 hours, there is no break, unless absolutely necessary.
When working the desk, take your break
1) only when there is coverage
2) NOT when ther is an upcoming shift change between desk students
3) after you have checked with full-time staff & the other student at the desk
All students must comment that you've gotten this info. Thanks!
Law students are "racking" journals this week. "Racking" - where a periodical is checked out to the student for a year - only applies to certain Law Library materials.
Please read Charlie's previous post about racking which provides details about what to do and the purpose of "racking" from the customer's perspective.
"Racking" does not apply to Wilson Library periodicals. We cannot extend the loan period of journals for Law students.
Some Law students believe that they can get Wilson periodicals for a year because that's what happens at the Law Library. This is simply misinformation based on an understandable assumption that all Libraries on campus have the same rules.
Tips to follow:
1) A clear explanation of our policy is usually all that's necessary.
2) Calling on staff to handle this is always an option.
3) Sometimes it can help to refer them Law library staff (Paula Seeger, Circulation Librarian at 612-625-1547), who are perhaps the best "racking" resource.
See Law Library "Racking Procedure" if interested in the details.
Check out the 2006-2007 borrowing privileges chart, a good reference when patrons have questions about what they can borrowo and for how long.
http://staff.lib.umn.edu/iads/procedures/bpf_patron_records_borrowing-privileges-guide-2006-2007.pdf
The Ad*Access Project presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number of major campaigns and companies through images preserved in one particular advertising collection.
See http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/
All students please respond and share something interesting you found in this resource.
If you would like to use us as a reference, you must complete an authorized release form. This allows us to talk to outside employers or entities about your work performance. The release is good for one year from the date it is signed.
See Margaret if you may need to use the Library as a reference in the next year. I will get a copy of the form for you.
It's especially important to do this if you are graduating, applying for scholarships or looking for an internship or job. Having the form signed in advance can be a definite advantage when you're in the midst of a job/scholarship/internship search -- so do it now if you'll need a reference in the near future.
All students must comment that they have read this post. Thanks!
After considerable planning and implementation efforts, Archives and Special Collections (ASC) and the Digital Library Development Lab are pleased to announce the release of the Online Finding Aids system at: http://discover.lib.umn.edu/findaid/ .
This system unifies for searching and browsing over 3,300 Encoded Archival Descriptions (EAD). This makes it among the largest collections of finding aids by a single institution in the country, and will significantly enhance the potential for researchers to discover specific materials held deep in our archival collections.
More about the "EAD Implementation" project, as well as about EAD itself, can be found at: http://wiki.lib.umn.edu/Staff/FindingAidsInEAD.
Search for a topic that interests you and make a brief comment about what you found. All students must comment and include a tidbit about their search results. Thanks!
Direct deposit makes it easy for you to get your paycheck quicker and faster. The money goes right into the bank account of your choice. No waiting to pick up your check. No finding time to cash it or take it to the bank. It's quick and easy, and we encourage you to look into it, if you haven't already done so.
To bring the magic of direct deposit into your life today, simply go to http://onestop.umn.edu and click on the secure "Direct Deposit" link on the right-hand sidebar.
Let full time staff know if you have any questions about how to take advantage of this feature.
What's the last thing to do before closing the reserve desk? Flip all of the light switches off, right? Nope! Make sure that you only flip the switch with orange tape on the far left; the other light switches control the lights in the whole periodical room, and that stays open as long as Wilson Library is open. On sleepless nights, I have seen the Library after close, and I think the lights stay on through the night. So, as I said, in the Periodicals Room, there is only light!
If you are helping a patron who reports that an item just isn't on the shelf, do the following:
1) Get full-time staff, if available. We'll do an on-the-spot in-depth search to try to help locate the item.
2) If full-time staff are not availbale, fill out a blue search card. Ask the patron to fill in their email and/or phone under the 'please mail' line. Also put the date somewhere on the form, and your name. We will contact them within 1 business day about the item they need.
Never ever turn away a patron because an item is missing. There are important options to give the user:
-- Staff will search for the item (as mentioned above)
-- If we don't find the item within a day, INTERLIBRARY LOAN can get the item for them from another Library outside the University. In this case, it's important for the patron to write in the "notes" section of their ILL request that the item is missing from the shelf and they have talked to Wilson Periodicals staff about it. ILL requests for journal articles have an average turnaround time of just 3 days!!
Please comment to indicate you've read this post. Thanks!
To all students working when full-time staff are not (nights, weekends), if there is some need for Facilities Management, you can call ext. 5-0011. This would be for emergencies like when water is leaking from the ceiling or non-emergencies like when a patron spills soda all over the floor. The operator will explain to you what you should do. If full-time staff are around, you can refer any problems to them.
Again, the number for Facilities at night and during the weekend is (612) 625-0011.
From reading this blog, you've probably noticed that there have been a few thefts (lap tops, purses) at Wilson Library recently.
To help prevent theft, the Libraries Facilities department (FOM) has prepared a simple notice to alert library users that it is not safe to leave their laptops, backpack, and other personal items unattended. Please be on the lookout for unattended items and leave a notice on such items for the patron. Take a supply of notices to use while shelving.
We will keep a supply at the desk. Please alert Margaret when we are running low on these notices.
All students please comment that you've read this. Thanks!
New information just out on helping unaffiliated patrons and students access U of MN Salary reports (remember, these are the folks who can't access the information online).
Refer unaffiliated patrons & students who want salary reports beyond 2003-04 to the “Ask Me” links (email, chat, phone) on the Library home page. http://infopoint.lib.umn.edu/
There, they can connect with “InfoPoint” librarians who can look up salary data for up to three individuals at a time. These librarians also have information on where the person can get information if they need more than three.
We are also keeping a copy of the last Salary Report available in print in course reserve. This procedure will be included in the binder for handy reference.
Click here for previous post with information about accessing the online version of the reports.
All students please comment to indicate you have read this post.
In response to recent posting about shelving statistics for newspapers, I need to clarify where and how to record newspaper statistics:
1) The "Newspapers" sheet in the shelving statistics notebook (the one near front desk) should only be used to record print newspapers shelved that are out in the room or in the Periodicals reshelving area. In other words, only record newspapers shelved that have been used by patrons.
2) Do not record anywhere print newspapers shelved directly from the "Today's Papers" and "High Use" shelving in the newspaper room.
Sorry for the confusion on this folks. Please let me know if you have any questions.
All students please comment to indicate you have read this post. Thanks!
You may have noticed that the old dot-matrix printers at the reserve desk have disappeared. How to print a return receipt or book list for a patron, you might ask? The answer is simple: printing from both "Charlie" and "Emilio" - the front desk computers - now go to UniPrint. You will be prompted to name print job, and it can be retrieved at the UniPrint station using a card. Cost is $.10/page.
How to pay for copies from the desk? Use courtesy cards for patrons when printing return receipts or book lists from Aleph. If you print other items for a patron (i.e. helping someone with research and print a full-text article you find; print a list of potential items from MNCat), the patron must pay for these items themselves.
This new way of printing offers a great opportunity for above and beyond customer service: direct printing from the desk computers instead of telling the patron to find their own computer and duplicate a search already done together at the desk.
Remember: Use courtesy card only when printing things like a return receipt or circulation summary.
All student employees, please comment to indicate you have read this post. Also, tell me if you're familiar with how to print a "return receipt" or "circulation summary" (book list). If needed, I'll post directions on how to do this.
In response to some issues recently raised on the blog, we would like to reiterate some key points about priorities at work. I would also recommend that everyone reads the comments posted in response to Charlie's recent "opinion" posting.
* Library work is the reason and focus for your work time.
* Personal entertainment, projects, homework, etc. are not work related activities. They are perks of working in the Periodicals/Reserves unit but are not the reason you should come to work.
* When assigned a project, you are expected to immediately attend to that project and remain focused on this task.
* At all times you are expected to exhibit good customer service skills. It's especially important to proactively work on appearing approachable and helpful to Library users. We are encouraging you to work particularly hard on approachability because users did not rate us as highly in this area in the recent customer service survey (i.e. comments like "library staff looked busy").
* We do not communicate approachability to users when engrossed in the Internet, homework, reading etc. While working at the desk, use common sense and do "lighter" work that does not dominate your attention. You should always be able to tell what is happening in the room and to have your attention directed towards serving customers.
* Being approachable means practicing concrete approachability skills. For some people, this is natural. For others, it is something that requires more practice. Make sure to be in the habit of consistently using eye contact, friendly facial expressioins, greetings, open body language, and good posture. Not looking busy is also an important part of approachability.
* Using your own personal lap top at the desk creates a barrier between you and the library user and can really make you not appear approachable. For this reason, we will be asking you not to use lap tops at work from now on.
* If non-work activities are keeping you from focusing on Library duties or hinder approachability, full time staff may ask you to stop doing them.
These reminders are really about building a culture and environment where Library users receive great service, feel valued and know that they are our first priority. You are a very, very important part of building this, and we want to thank you for the work that you do. Please comment here or talk to me with questions, disagreements, etc. about these issues.
Just like recording newspaper statistics, please initial the shelving statistics that you record in the blue binder.
When there are multiple statistics to be recorded in one box, still add them up but do not cross out previous numbers, like this:
35 MD
124 BH
159
83 KG
242
All students please comment to indicate you have read this post.
Every student employee must be aware and familiar with the Twin Cities Campus Student Employment Rules. This document is only available online. The address is:
www1.umn.edu/ohr/ohrpolicy/Student/Rules/index.htm
It is every student employee’s responsibility to review these rules on her or his first day of work in Reserve & Periodicals.
The computers at the front desk now allow sound. This is important so that you can hear the *ding* that sounds when you check in an item. Listen for the *ding* to make sure the item properly checks in.
Students may not use sound while on the Internet. Playing audio files, looking at video with sound, etc. is not allowed. This includes websites that have a welcome screen where music automatically plays. Having this kind of sound blaring from the service desk is decidedly not good customer service.
All students must comment to indicate they have read and understand this posting.
When checking in the New York Times, please please please remember to look for:
-- New York Times Magazine
-- New York Times Book Review
These two items MUST be taken out of the paper and placed on the "problem newspaper" shelf. We don't have the NY Times Magazine for any of May, which means it was probably thrown out when ads were removed.
TIP: Sort through newspaper ads to make sure to never toss items like TV Guide, Want Ads, Classifieds, NY Times Magazine & Book Review, or other special sections that may be mixed in with ads.
All students please comment on this post.
In the spirit of providing excellent customer service, it is not appropriate use iPods, MP3 players or other listening devices while working at the desk.
As always, iPods etc. are just fine while you are shelving or doing other projects out in the Periodicals room.
While working in Periodicals, please remove any listening device when approached by a Library user. This is good customer service because it shows the users that you are completely available to help. Turning down/off the device is not enough, because the user may still assume that the iPod is on by seeing the ear buds in your ears. So, please "unplug" whenever you are directly communicating with or helping users in any way.
Please check out all links listed on the right-hand side of the blog. Pay special attention to the:
- Technical Assistance Form: fill out and submit when library users are having problems accessing databases or indexes (but not general problems like a mouse not working)
- Incident Report Form (Security): fill out and submit if any security issues arise, including disruptive behavior that doesn't quite rise to the level of being aggressive or threatening.
Please respond to indicate you have viewed all sites and understand their content. Also, recommend links you'd like to see on the Blog!
This is an open blog and can be viewed by anyone using the Internet. Please observe the following rules:
1. Never use the names of Library users even if discussing a particular situation you encountered at work.
2. Do not use the last names of your co-workers (other students and full time staff) to protect everyone's privacy.
3. Be sensitive about the content you post. If it's not something you're OK with broadcasting, choose to communicate it in another way.
The chances of people outside of our work unit viewing this blog are remote; however, the possibility is there and we need to prevent publishing information that is sensitive or private in nature. This especially includes our interactions with specific Library users.
All student workers please comment to indicate you've read this.
Welcome to our exciting new two-way communication tool at Reserve & Periodicals. Anyone can post anything*, and we hope to see many of your bright ideas on this blog. Full time staff are the moderators.
Students are required as a part of their job to check for new postings and read them every day that they work. They will be responsible for knowing policy and procedures posted to this blog. Failure to keep up to date with the blog can result in action by full time staff.
Sometimes, students will be required to comment to indicate that they have read and understand the information. Unless you have other questions/input, simply post a comment containing your first name and last initial.
* Please assign your posts to relevant categories. Your posts are subject to editing if rules are broken, there is mistaken information or it is in the wrong category. All student workers are expected to abide by all University and Libraries Policies. Profanity, spam, flaming, and bad behavior are not allowed.
No one will be censored for your opinions or questions or posting, as long as they do not violate above policies.
All student workers must comment to indicate they have read this post.
All student workers must view the Student Training Module, an online presentation to introduce you to the basics of student employment, library orientation and customer service.
You are expected to not only view this presentation but are also responsible for knowing its content -- so take notes, etc. to do whatever works best for you to really internalize this information.
Click here to access the Student Training Module.
The Student Training Module was designed by an IADS committee. IADS is the Information Access Delivery Services division of the University Libraries -- of which we are all a part. It's basically the division of the Libraries that is responsible for providing direct public service to Library users.