Job Duties

The Service Desk has 3 main components:

  1. A front counter, staffed by undergraduate assistants (SA3s) who greet all patrons,respond to basic Circulation and Reference questions, and refer more advanced/complicated questions to the appropriate person

  2. A supervisor’s desk, staffed by either a student supervisor (SA4 or SA5) or Service Desk staff person who acts as the primary source of assistance for the student assistants and oversees all desk activity

  3. A reference desk, staffed by either a subject librarian or a Reference staff person who provides research assistance

SA3 (undergraduate assistant) duties:

  • Basic Circulation/Front Counter tasks, such as...

    • Checking in/out items

    • Renewing materials for patrons

    • Giving patrons basic information about their accounts (checkouts, due dates, bills owed, bills paid, holds)

    • Retrieving books on hold for patrons and answering questions about placed requests (recalls, missings, storage, Oxfords, ILL)

    • Placing/canceling holds for patrons

    • Providing basic policy information about loan periods, privileges, etc.

    • Helping to locate missing items by using the item’s record in Aleph to check its status, see holds, determine when last discharged, etc.

    • Making change for patrons

    • Selling copy cards and bags and recording payments

    • Using the power packs to unstick stuck stacks

    • Helping to maintain the holds shelves (weeding old holds; shelf-reading)

    • Maintaining the Reference and McNaughton collections (re-shelving books, dusting, shelf-reading collection)

      • Maintaining the desk area (cleaning counters, straightening up the shelves, restocking office supplies at the counter, recycling boxes)

  • Basic Reference tasks, such as...

    • Assisting patrons with DiscoverE, Databases@Emory, eJournals, subject guides, ready reference, and other research tools

    • Helping patrons locate known items in the library’s catalog, including books, journals, articles, key databases, and government documents

    • Helping patrons obtain items outside of the Emory library system through WorldCat.org, ILU, and ILL

    • Referring questions to either the Reference librarian or desk supervisor on duty whenever unable to solve a problem within a few minutes of trying

    • Referring patrons to the appropriate subject liaisons for more advanced reference consultations

    • Providing directional assistance and general library and university information to patrons.

  • Other tasks, such as...

    • Using this site to keep track of updates/notifications from supervisors and to report problems/questions/concerns to supervisors

    • Tracking all patron interactions with Desk Tracker

    • Monitoring office supplies on Levels 1 – 3 and refilling as needed

    • Assisting patrons using the EmoryCard deposit machine

Handoffs

SA3s will refer these items to the Desk Supervisor on duty

  • Modify an item’s status through Aleph (i.e., declare an item lost, missing, or claimed returned)

  • Modify a patron’s record (update contact information, extend the privilege expiration date, block/unblock a user, change account settings, etc.)

  • Set up a new user account

  • Set up or modify proxy privileges

  • Delete records

  • Create bills through Aleph

  • Pay library bills on patrons’ records

  • Waive/cancel/credit library fines (especially their own!)

  • Process incoming Storage holds or cat-rushes (books w/ yellow slips in them

SA3s will refer these items to the Reference Librarian on duty

  • Offer research assistance beyond locating known items in our catalog or showing patrons how to access our research tool