What are the responsibilities and job description for the Library Assistant - Imagination Center Library position at Madison, City of (WI)?
The Madison Public Library is hiring Library Assistants!
Are you passionate about community service, learning, and connecting people with resources? The Madison Public Library is seeking a dedicated and customer-focused professional to join our team in a dynamic paraprofessional and clerical role. This position offers the opportunity to provide direct service to the public—whether in a library facility, online, or through community outreach—while also supporting essential clerical functions such as material processing, ordering, and cataloging. You’ll assist with readers’ advisory, reference support, technology help, and collection maintenance. This work is generally performed under the leadership and/or direction of a librarian and/or library supervisor and you may have to take on responsibility for library operations in the absence of a librarian or supervisor. If you thrive in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment and value inclusive access to information, we encourage you to apply!
This recruitment will form a pool of candidates that will be used over the next six months to fill any Library Assistant vacancies, full-time and/or part-time permanent positions at any of our 10 libraries. It is typical for the Library to have multiple vacancies at various libraries over a six month period. Because of this, we encourage you to apply if you are interested in Library Assistant positions at other locations.
Employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.Current Vacancies: Three (3) 100% Library Assistants at the Imagination Center Library. Shifts may include evenings and weekends.
Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, trans, nonbinary, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We value the unique blend of lived experiences and diverse perspectives that comes from non-traditional education pathways and the variety of transferrable skills each candidate brings to the table. We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Even if every item on the job posting doesn’t match your experience perfectly, we encourage you to apply and share how your skills and experience can best serve our community.
- Be a beacon by greeting customers appropriately and maintaining a level of approachability.
- Inspire trust by maintaining patron privacy and providing accurate information.
- Foster community by developing relationships with library customers that demonstrate respect for customers’ race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, employment status, housing status, etc.
- Conduct service interviews and link customer needs with services and resources.
- Assist library customers to access on-site resources as well as the services and collections of the entire Madison Public Library, LINKcat (integrated library system), inter-library loan system, online resources and community resources.
- Provide reference and readers’ advisory services to meet informational and recreational needs.
- Assist customers in understanding library services, procedures, resources and systems/technology.
- Utilize the Internet, electronic databases, and knowledge of library collections(s) and/or other sources to anticipate and meet customers’ needs.
- Provide instruction or tours to customers on the use of the full range of library resources.
- Process inter-library loan requests.
- Use de-escalation skills to manage and/or provide backup to other staff during behavior incidents. Accurately write incident reports, using factual detailed yet concise language that doesn’t speculate or editorialize.
- Oversee and perform circulation-related clerical duties (e.g., check out and check in library materials, collect payments, issue and reissue library cards, process holds, retrieve materials, explain regulations and answer questions, maintain files and inventories, perform or oversee shelving functions and other circulation related activities as needed).
- Oversee the daily operations of a branch library or of a library service in the absence of a librarian or supervisor. Direct workflow, provide training and assistance to clerical and hourly staff and volunteers as directed. Maintain familiarity with library programs, policies, procedures, technology and related developments. Maintain a safe and welcoming library environment.
- Foster community through a commitment to continued personal growth, specifically in the areas of racial equity and social justice.
- Actively participate in staff meetings, system-wide meetings, etc.
- Engage with co-workers positively and constructively to help improve processes and communication across our buildings and systems.
All applicants will be considered for these positions. Based on the number of applications received, a comparative evaluation may be used to determine who will be invited to the interview.
The City of Madison strives to provide exceptional customer service to all its residents and visitors. Therefore successful candidates will have demonstrated ability to effectively work with multicultural communities.
For a complete list of the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, please see the Library Assistant 1 classification specification.
Ability to meet the transportation requirements of the position.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to lift/carry objects weighing up to 50 pounds (equivalent to a bucket of books) frequently.
- Ability to push wheeled carts of books and other materials weighing up to 200 pounds onto and off elevators and across carpeted areas for up to an hour, four times per day.
- Ability to frequently stand, walk, bend, kneel, stoop, reach overhead and repeatedly lift books weighing as much as three pounds for extended periods of time up to six hours.