We are in the final (I pray!) completion stages of a massive university-wide
program to re-evaluate, re-title, reconsider classification level, etc.,
every non-faculty university employee. Titles have been somewhat arbitrary
but at least are now slightly more descriptive than the old business of calling
the person who paid invoices a "staff secretary" when that person did no real
secretarial work. (Titles are now pretty fixed, only descriptions and job
standards are still being tinkered with in most cases.) However, because we
obviously do not divide our work exactly the way any other library does, it
is not easy to directly answer Karen Nedeski's questions. Here is an attempt:
Periodical check-in is mostly done by students. One regular staff member is
involved and she also has responsibility for mail sorting, some student
supervision, etc. Her job title is currently "Library Clerk I" (I am not
absolutely sure we have a job title "Library Clerk II", if so it is probably
in circulation.). Other people with this job title are in bindery preparation
and in holdings/location work (see below). This position also handles serials
which are straight-forward "adds".
There is currently some attempt afoot to move this person into a job title
called "Library assistant I, Receiving" which currently belongs to a single
individual in monographic acquisitions. These two job titles are the same
pay scale. However, acquisitions dept head is fighting this move because
her person "has a much more responsible position"--basically because invoices
are involved. Our person has to sign for registered mail, act as liaison with
postal service, campus mail, UPS, and make sure mail gets to right department
but does not have a responsible position (largely because she is in the wrong
department).
Standing orders, memberships, and other more difficult serial/series receipts
are done by a "Library Assistant V, Acquisitions", who also handles corresponden
ce with publishers and vendors, approves invoices, arranges return of unorder
ed
materials, etc., etc. Also involves some placement of orders, choosing correct
vendor and fund, etc. This is the next-to-the-highest available level olibrary
assistant; the only higher level would require the individual be in charge of
a work unit.
Non-serials (in our department, books in series) are entered/editted mostly by
the job title "Library Assistant III, Catalog"; serials are entered and edited
mostly by an individual being reclassed to "Library Assistant V, Serials" who
has further responsibilities to work on catalog maintenance issues, work as
liaison to receiving departments, etc. Some of this work is done at a higher
level--Library Assistant VI or Librarian II/III. Holdings information is
edited at a lower level--largely Library Clerk I.
Item records are created by whomever is working on the material. This will
primarily (in Serials) be Library Clerk I, as these are the people doing
check-in, added-volume activity, bindery, etc., activities. Monographic
materials have item records created largely at the Library Assistant III level,
although other people are involve. Our bindery adds call #s to the spines,
so it is mostly pre-bound serials and monographs which get spine labels and
this is done in the end-processing unit of Cataloging (Monographic) under the
supervision of a Library Assistant VI but largely by lower level employees.
(Students usually affix the labels but are not normally allowed to run thprogram
.) Shelf-list program is run by each Library Assistant III, Catalog with
production reviewed at the Library Assistant IV (?), Catalog Maintenance
level.
Thus, our system largely is based on a semi-generic title (e.g. Library
assistant III) modified by a department/work-unit/function name (Cataloging,
Receiving, etc.). Our claiming and backfile/replacement issue work is now
down by people called Library Technician I but I believe there is a move to
retitle those positions into the Library Assistant ranks.
Hope this helps.
Thomas Sanders, Serials, Auburn University, AL (tsanders@auducvax)
