Two Openings for Library Assistant at My Library

The Chelmsford Library was lucky enough to have some of our funding restored for the fiscal year starting July 1st, and we we have two openings for part-time Library Assistants at the Circulation Desk. Here's the listing from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Job Board:

Duties/Description:
The Chelmsford Library has TWO openings for Library Assistants at our Circulation Desk, one for 16 hours/week and one for 18 hours/week.

Position Overview:
Part time position available to assist the public with the use of the library including Inter-Library loan, circulation and reader's advisory services.

WORK SCHEDULE "A": (16 hrs/wk avg)

Mon., Wed., & Thurs., from 5-9 pm at Main Library
Every Sat. 10-2 pm at MacKay Branch, N. Chelmsford

-And-

WORK SCHEDULE "B": (18 hrs/wk avg)

Tues., Wed., and Thurs., from 5-9 pm at Main Library
Every Sat. w/alternating locations -
10 - 2 pm at MacKay Branch, N. Chelmsford and
9-5:30 pm Sat. at Main Library

Qualifications:
The positions require flexibility to fill-in nights and weekends. Candidates must be able to adapt smoothly to patron demands and should enjoy interacting with public of all ages. Four-year college degree and/or experience working in a public library preferred.

Salary: Union rate $15.97 per hr.

Closing Date: Positions open until filled

Send:
If you are interested in a position, please submit your resume to Alison Barry at [email protected] or 25 Boston Rd., Chelmsford, MA 01824. The Town of Chelmsford is an EEO/AA Employer.

Chelmsford is a fun library to work in, and our Circulation Desk is a very busy place. We need to fill these positions ASAP, so if you're interested, please send your resume to our Head of Circulation, Alison Barry, at [email protected].

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Displaying Circulation History in the Catalog

My last post and peoples' comments got me thinking about displaying the circulation history of items, and how it might make items more interesting.

I don't know how many library patrons consider the fact that other people have used an item before them (unless, of course, they find some evidence of that use). But if we started showing the cost-per-circ, it might prompt some people to wonder about the X number of people who also were interested in the same thing as them.

Obviously, libraries couldn't cross any privacy lines, but I do think there are ways to highlight the "shared resources" aspect of the library, and to emphasize a sense of community among our patrons.

Some ideas for what could be shown:

• Detailed stats on cost-per-circ (including a breakdown on the library's cost for that item - price we paid for it, processing cost, etc) - and, as Walt said, this would be particularly interesting for databases
• Number of local checkouts vs. ILLs and network transfers (along with current number of holds)
• Along with number of checkouts, calculate the popularity ranking vs. total library items checkouts
• Date the item was added to the collection, and date of last checkout (and check-in)
• Some catalogs by default have an opt-in reading history for patrons; they should also have an opt-in way to make their checkout history public, on an item-by-item basis
• Some catalogs, and some third-party plugins (like ChiliFresh and LibraryThing for Libraries), allow patrons to include their review and rating for items right in the catalog record
• Ebook readers should be able to leave comments and notes in the ebook, which subsequent patrons could either turn on or off depending on if they wanted to see them

Some of this information is available in our staff view, and I use it all the time - why not make it available to the public, too?

One drawback to making this kind of item information available is that we might get a lot more "weeding suggestions" from patrons, on items they don't feel have provided enough value to the library (or that have been used too much). Of course, I get this to some degree already, so it's just a matter of having - and employing - a good collection development policy.

Does anyone's catalog include features like these? How do patrons like them?

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Secret Social Networking

Seen in this week's Post Secrets:

I've thought there was an unusually large number of checkout receipts left in books, and maybe this is why. Although I usually keep the things I find around the library, checkout receipts are one thing I always throw away.

But what if we did offer some sort of in-book messaging? Maybe a sticker with a link to the library's record of the book on LibraryThing or Goodreads, telling people they could discuss it there and meet other people who liked it. Or better yet, remind them to write a review in the library's catalog, along with an opt-in social feature (I wish we had that functionality, but maybe soon).

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