Job Duties
The Service Desk has 3 main components:
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
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
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