Library Training for Student Assistants: Guidelines

Your main reasons to be at Salisbury University are to receive an excellent education, get your degree, and build a solid foundation for your career ahead. As a Sea Gull, you will learn, live, and lead here! Working in the library is an extension of being in academia. By accepting the job at the library, you have made a committment and should be available to work the hours that you are scheduled for. 

SU is an equal opportunity employer. 

Your availability and skills are vital! Your continued employment is based upon your cooperation with your supervisor and colleagues, doing an acceptable job, and following library policies.

Skills Required

• Reliability and good time management skills.
• Ability to work independently without constant direct supervision.
• Ability to work comfortably with alphanumeric sequences.
• Ability to work quietly in public areas.
• Reasonable physical stamina for bending, stretching, and sitting for long periods of time.

Punctuality and regular attendance at work are required.  

You are expected to report to work at the times indicated on the schedule.  If you know that you will be late, please call the Circulation Desk at (410) 548.2386. Excessive tardiness will not be tolerated.

Subsitute List:

If you know in advance that you will need to miss work on a certain day, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.  Please complete a substitute slip, found above the mailboxes.  If no one can take your shift, you are obligated to work.

Time Sheets:

At the end of each shift, please enter the hours worked on your time sheet.  Be sure to sign and date your time sheet after your last shift.  Please do not complete your timesheet in advance, as this can lead to complications if/when unexpected absences arrive. 

Hours and Wages:

Student workers are paid an hourly wage, as set by the library.  Students may work up to 25 hours per week, including all jobs on campus. Your check will be direct-deposited into your bank account every 2 weeks, according to the schedule posted by the mailboxes.

You are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner and project a neat appearance while on duty.  Student workers should wear neat, clean clothes with no visible tears, rips, or frays.  Students must wear shoes at all times, and, depending on library duties, may need to wear appropriate, protective footwear.   

The following are specifically banned:

• Clothing with obscene language or obscene images
• Anything that is so revealing as to show undergarments or body parts other than head, neck, arms, and legs below mid-thigh

Supervisors will discuss inappropriate clothing with student workers, if the occasion should arise.

Thank you for your help in projecting an appropriate image for the Salisbury University Libraries.

Customer Service is the first priority at the Circulation Desk.

Please avoid the following behavior:

• Personal conversations or excessive socializing --  If friends stop by, make arrangements to visit after work, and do not hold long conversations at the Circulation Desk while on duty.
• Personal telephone calls, both incoming and outgoing --  If you wish to make a personal call, please wait until you are off duty. Ask your friends and relatives not to call unless it is an emergency. 
• Eating in work areas -- Closed drink containers are permitted, but be discrete.
• Discussing confidential library matters with non-staff
• Personal activities such as paying bills, clipping coupons, reading that isn’t connected to academic work, playing games, knitting – any activity that conveys to the public that you are using paid time for recreational activities.
• Use of library laptops -- While you are allowed to work on your schoolwork while on duty, remember your first duty is to assist our patrons – students, faculty, administrators, and visitors. As such, please do not use the computer so exclusively that you seem busy or inaccessible, as this sends the wrong message to our patrons. Likewise, please pay extreme attention to your behavior when doing schoolwork – keep your head up and take frequent breaks to look up to see if anyone looks like they need your help, if there is a line starting to form, etc.

American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom

The Salisbury University Libraries are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patron information.  You can help by doing the following:

• Turn off the dual monitor when not in use so patron information (name, address, telephone, driver license number, etc.) is not visible.
• Clear patron account information from Aleph after each use by hitting the F4 key.
• The list of items a patron checks out and/or uses in the library is personal and confidential.  Please do not share this information or discuss it with anyone.

Salisbury Universitiy Libraries abide by the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellecutal Freedom privacy and confidentiality rights and standards. Click on the link above to learn more about intellectual freedom and libraries roles in protecting patron information, privacy, and confidentiality.