Library Support Assistant (Graduate Trainee) - Academic Services - 34567 - Band 300

Position Details

Academic Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Band 300

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £18,602 to £19,200, with potential progression once in post to £22,152. 

Full time

Permanent

Closing date: 28th October 2021

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. 

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. 

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.  With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. 
 
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.  We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. 
 
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements.  We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.  In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. 
 
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.   

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham  

Summary of Role

The postholder is part of a team of Library Support Assistants who are self-directed in working accurately and reliably, and able to work to deadlines to undertaking a range of defined and generic duties linked to functional areas of operation.

Three main functional areas include: reception and customer support; retrieval of resources; and reprographics imaging work. 

Other duties include collection management; shelving, including lifting and working at height; basic cataloguing; basic conservation; dutues to support the management and development of the Cadbury Research Library’s archive and rare book collections, and other clerical based activities.   

The role holder plans and organises their workload to ensure it is undertaken accurately, reliably and to required standards, following procedures and workflow, and meeting deadlines. Direction is available when required. 

Funding worth 50% of course fees will be paid for the postholder to undertake a distance learning course to quality as an Archivist. To qualify for enrolment on the Post Graduate Diploma in Archives and Records Management distance learning course, the postholder must be a graduate with an Honours degree in an appropriate discipline. 

Main Duties

To provide support for customers of the Library Services, by working within specified functional areas outlined below:

Specific Functions: 

Front of House Services:

•    Welcoming library/archive users and providing directions to appropriate facilities and services; registering new users and visitors to the library; answering queries about access and membership; making appropriate referrals to colleagues.

•    Ascertain new and returning researchers’ requirements, and explain Cadbury Research Library procedures. 

•    Escort colleagues from other University departments such as Estates into secure areas as needed. 

•    Providing help finding resources (physical and digital), using a range of enquiry skills, providing initial advice in relation to different information resources and appropriate search techniques.

•    Providing assistance with library account and membership enquiries; invoicing and taking payment for reprographic orders. 

•    Providing assistance with basic/intermediate first line IT enquiries relating to password self-service system, printing, WIFI, email, Canvas, cluster PCs.

•    Undertake appropriate referral to specialists within Library Services and other teams. Handling and signposting requests for support in use of the Library or of information resources (for example, from users with disabilities, or those requiring additional skills support).

•    Assist with Cadbury Research Library exhibitions and events programme. 

Stock and Circulation Services: 

•    Locate, fetch and return archive documents and rare books from the strongrooms and the CRL Research Reserve Store as required by researchers or the department; some retrieval at height will be required.

•    Lift and carry a range of archival documents and books, of different weights, condition and size.

Reprographics: 

•    Provide a paid CRL reprographics service, logging orders, invoicing, and making digital copies from original material for researchers or the department.   

•    Maintain a spreadsheet to track progress of orders and ensure copies are sent in the requested format, liaising with researchers about pricing and format of digital orders as required. 

•    Follow specialised guidelines for reproducing copies of manuscripts, archives and rare books in a variety of formats including but not restricted to: microfilm printouts; photocopies; scanned images; digital images using a range of specialist scanners, cameras and microform equipment. 

•    Use software to edit and enhance images, particularly when processing orders for publication.   

Collection Management: 

•    Undertake a wide range of activities to assist with the cataloguing, indexing and collection management of the archive and book collections. 

•    Collate and update information via the use of a databases and office applications alongside specialised library and archival systems to aid the continuous review and management of collections.

•    Assist in the management of CRL catalogue records, including handlists, card and slip files; undertake audit and stock checking tasks of CRL collections, identify items with associations and provenance and update catalogue records with relevant information; identify, transfer and relocate relevant stock from existing University of Birmingham collections into CRL or CRL Research Reserve Store.

•    Conduct accurate measurements and counts of physical stock to organise and prepare stock for movement, re-boxing or transfer, relieving areas of congestion and creating space for new materials, accurately update stock lists and records, flagging queries. 

Working as a team:

•    Liaise with CRL Conservation colleagues on the cleaning and care of items; and assist in the management and processing of new collections and donations. 

•    All Library Support Assistants are expected to participate in rotas which enable Library Customer Support to provide staffed services during CRL advertised opening hours (Monday-Friday). This may very occasionally though include working outside core hours (e.g. evenings, weekends and University closed days/Bank Holiday), both within their usual team and, where necessary, in other teams within Library Customer Support.

•    All post holders are expected to present a smart, professional image and to wear University ID at all times.

•    All post holders will undertake other duties as required, commensurate with the grading of the post to support the delivery of Library Services.

Working independently:

•    Postholder is expected to work self sufficiently and proactively, identifying priorities within their own work to ensure services are delivered accurately, reliably, efficiently to required standards, following procedures and workflow, and meeting deadlines.

Person Specification

Qualifications:

•    Honours Degree

Skills and experience:

•    Good interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills 
•    Ability to arrange activities to ensure work is completed to time and required standards
•    Ability to understand and apply procedures and rules and if applicable, legislation (for example on digitisation)
•    Experience of providing a friendly customer orientated service in a front line role, or experience of providing technical support with the ability and willingness to adopt a friendly customer orientated approach 
•    Ability and willingness to work both independently and as part of a team
•    Ability to carry out a variety of Library Service activities and be knowledgeable in at least one and often more service areas
•    Ability to work flexibly in a busy environment 
•    Good numeracy, literacy, classification and alphabetical skills
•    Strong accuracy and attention to detail 
•    Good methodical and organisational skills
•    Track record of reliability and flexibility at work
•    Basic to intermediate IT skills with printing, wifi, email, pcs (including the ablity to use Microsoft office packages), apps and on line systems and digitisation equipment. 

Knowledge 

•    Good IT Literacy with Microsoft office, adobe, printing, wifi, emails, pcs, apps and on line systems, and an ability to provide assistance with first line IT enquiries. In addition, the ability and willingness to further develop skills in this area and learn and adapt to new technologies. 
•    Knowledge of and ability to handle activities that involve operating intermediate equipment, software, processes, routines and systems (eg collection management, reprographics work with digital images and imaging software). This might be gained through work experience, and library/archive office skills qualifications or more substantial work experience.

Informal enquires can be made to Jennifer Childs - [email protected]

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment   

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.