Library Assistant II, III, IV

The authorized level of the position is Library Assistant IV.  Applications are being accepted down to the Library Assistant II in the event of recruiting difficulties.

Salary Range:
Library Assistant II, SR-05:  $2,974.00 per monthLibrary Assistant III, SR-07:  $3,093.00 per monthLibrary Assistant IV, SR-09:  $3,220.00 per month

Typical examples of duties of Library Assistant IV positions include:

1.  Independently provides all nonprofessional support services for a library (e.g. school library), including circulation activities, preparing books and other materials for use in the library, maintaining the card catalog and other related files, maintaining stacks, inventorying library materials and other support activities.  Positions of this type work under the general supervision of a professional librarian and may supervise students and/or others in carrying out routine library tasks.   Typical duties and responsibilities include:  charging and discharging books; monitoring overdue materials and sending overdue notices; maintaining a list of students with outstanding obligations; assisting librarians in ordering materials; receiving and physically preparing materials for library use; maintaining the card catalog (i.e. filing and withdrawing cards as appropriate); maintaining the shelflist file (i.e. posting information, filing, and withdrawing shelflist cards as appropriate); may perform limited cataloging (i.e. obtain cataloging information from standard sources and/or cataloging-in-publication and prepare catalog cards; may assign classification number using classification schedule for gift and other materials where subjects are easily discernible and fineness in classification is not critical); may supervise students and/or others in carrying out routine library tasks (e.g. circulation, stack maintenance, physical preparation/upkeep of materials, inventorying materials, etc.); may keep track of library's expenditures; may prepare purchase orders and requisitions; may type memos, correspondence and reports; may assist students in locating materials in the library or using the card catalog; may clip newspaper and magazine articles relating to certain topics (designated by a librarian or other personnel) and place them under the appropriate category in a subject file.

2.  Supervises and participates in circulation desk activities.  A position of this type works under the general supervision of a librarian and is responsible for overseeing the circulation desk operations in a library, which typically includes the charging and discharging of books; collecting fines and fees; sorting and shelving books; sorting and packing books to be returned to owning or requesting libraries; checking in, display, maintenance and claiming of periodicals, etc.  The position is expected to handle problems and complaints that arise at the circulation desk, explaining library policies and rules to patrons and referring problems that cannot be resolved to the librarian.  Supervisory responsibilities include scheduling, assigning and supervising the work of lower-level library assistants; participating in the interview and selection process; and training and evaluating subordinates.  In addition, a position of this type may provide clerical administrative support (e.g. preparing payroll documents for night differentials; compiling statistics and typing monthly statistics reports; ordering office supplies; counting, reconciling and depositing cash receipts; may provide basic directional and/or informational assistance to patrons; may supervise the work of students, volunteers and/or others in carrying out routine library tasks; may supervise the preparation and sending of overdue notices; in an academic library, may coordinate and/or supervise the organization and processing of faculty reserve materials and/or supervise and/or make arrangements for the lending/borrowing of films for instructors).  

          

3.  Responsible for independently performing the full range of functions related to the orderly and timely receipt of periodicals as a major work assignment.  A position of this type is responsible for identifying a variety of magazines, journals and similar materials; posting receipt of issues, noting changes in title, publisher, frequency, etc.; making changes to appropriate records; making claims for missing issues to publishers and/or vendors; noting extension/credit to account upon response from publishers/vendors; processing invoices for payment; processing initial subscription orders and subscription renewals; setting up and maintaining necessary records (check-in cards, payment records, publishers' addresses, holdings, cross references); may prepare serials holdings list.  A position of this type may also be responsible for organizing periodical issues and sending completed volumes to a commercial bindery in accordance with established guidelines and procedures.

4.  Processes orders for a variety of library materials.   Librarians provide basic bibliographic information for materials to be ordered.  Checks card catalog, shelflist files and on-order file to avoid duplicate purchases.  Where information is incomplete, positions use a variety of standard sources to obtain complete order information (author, title, edition, publisher, price, etc.); prepares purchase orders and sends orders to vendors based on standard guidelines or contract specifications; may call or write to publishers/vendors for information regarding bibliographic information, availability and price; totals orders; may compute vendor's discount; may convert foreign values into U.S. dollars; may keep running balance of library material allotments; maintains on-order and related files; verifies orders with materials received; processes invoices for payment; returns damaged or incorrect items received; and clears up discrepancies with vendors (e.g. short orders, payment not received).

5.  Responsible for processing interlibrary loan requests in accordance with established policies, practices and procedures.  When patrons need books and/or materials which are not available in the library, they may request that the materials be borrowed from another library.  Likewise, other libraries may send requests to borrow materials that are not available in their own collections, and materials are sent in accordance with established policies, practices and procedures.  Requests may be for a complete volume(s) or photocopies of magazine/journal articles.  Typical duties and responsibilities include:  processes requests for interlibrary loan of materials from other libraries; ensures the completeness of bibliographic citations for requested materials; may verify bibliographic citations for requested materials using standard sources; informs patron of processing fees and may suggest a more feasible way of obtaining materials (e.g. borrow complete volume, instead of photocopies of pages); completes interlibrary loan form; based on previous experience, sends interlibrary loan request to the library which can provide the material in the most expedient/feasible manner; notifies patrons when the material is available, imposes a due date and monitors its return; returns material to the lending library; processes requests for interlibrary loan of material to other libraries; sends requested material to other libraries in accordance with established policies, practices and procedures; monitors due date; keeps records of interlibrary loans; maintains awareness of copyright laws and interlibrary loan procedures; and maintains appropriate records. 

6.  Responsible for sending material to a commercial bindery, in accordance with established/standard practices and procedures.   Materials may include worn books and/or periodicals.  In accordance with established guidelines, practices and/or procedures, a position of this type determines whether the material is suitable for binding (e.g. pages too brittle) and the type of binding process that would be most appropriate (e.g. dependent on the existing binding, sufficient margin space, whether the material is hardcover/ paperback, whether material has plastic cover, etc.); may consult with the bindery on questionable items; prepares materials to be sent to the bindery (e.g. remove book jackets, pockets); organize periodical issues in correct sequence with corresponding indexes/supplements; prepares bindery order slips with instructions (e.g. type of binding, color of cover, spine markings, do not trim margins); maintains appropriate records and keeps statistics; may keep track of bindery expenditures; receives bound material returned from the bindery and checks to see that work is complete and correct; notifies the bindery of any discrepancies and sends material back for correction. 

7.  Performs basic copy cataloging by locating a catalog record for the material to be cataloged and editing the record to match the piece in hand, in accordance with established guidelines and procedures.   Copy cataloging may be performed by using a computer terminal to search for and edit machine readable catalog records.   At this level, assignments are limited to certain types of material and/or catalog records which are generally acceptable (e.g. Library of Congress catalog records) and require minor editing and/or straightforward adjustments (e.g. author, title, publisher, paging, dates, size, illustrations, indexes, bibliography and other easily identifiable items of physical description), and the application of a limited number of cataloging rules and guidelines.  In addition, the position may edit records for variant editions and may be responsible for recognizing and indicating subtitles/parallel titles, main entries and obvious added entries (e.g. joint author), in accordance with standard practices and established guidelines; verifying name, subject and/or series authority records; may complete the call number by adding author and/or title cutters; may perform brief cataloging, in accordance with established guidelines, practices and procedures.  Materials for which no record can be found or records which are substantially incomplete, or require extensive editing are referred to the supervisor or other higher-level employee.

Experience Requirement: Except for the substitutions provided for in these specifications, applicants must have had progressively responsible experience of the kind and quality described below and in the amounts shown in the following table:

 

Class TitleGeneral
Exper
(yrs)Spec
Exper
(yrs)Tech/Paraprof
Exper
(yrs)Total
Exper
(yrs)Library Asst II1/2001/2Library Asst III1001Library Asst IV1102

General Experience:  Clerical work experience which demonstrated knowledge of spelling, arithmetic, the ability to read, understand and follow oral and written instructions, and compare words and numbers quickly and accurately.

 

For the Library Assistant III level and above, the applicant's general experience must also demonstrate knowledge of and ability to perform various clerical procedures, operate various kinds of office equipment, and deal with others in a tactful and polite manner or must have been at least comparable to the Library Assistant II class in the State service.

 

Specialized Experience:  Progressively responsible experience in a library which involved performing various library support activities (e.g. circulation work, stack maintenance, processing orders for library materials, posting receipt of periodicals and other materials, locating and verifying bibliographic information using standard sources, etc.) and which provided knowledge and required the application of library terminology, practices, policies and procedures and understanding of the nature and organization of library materials.  For the Library Technician V and above, the experience must also demonstrate knowledge and understanding of various elements related to the organization of library materials, including elements of bibliographic description, catalog card elements and general format, standard library tools and reference sources (e.g. Library of Congress Subject Headings, Books in Print, Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature), classification scheme(s) (e.g. Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress), and/or the nature of various types of publications and materials.  For the Library Assistant IV and Library Technician V, at least one (1) year of the required experience must have been comparable to the next lower level than the one being applied for.

 

Technical/Paraprofessional Experience:  Progressively responsible work experience which involved performing technical paraprofessional library work (e.g. copy cataloging, general reference, collection maintenance).  At least one (1) year of the required experience must have been comparable to the next lower level than the one being applied for.

For certain positions at the Library Technicians V, VI and VII levels, supervisory aptitude may be required.  Supervisory aptitude is required at the Library Technician VIII level.  

Supervisory aptitude is the demonstration of aptitude or potential for the performance of supervisory duties through successful completion of regular or special assignments which involve some supervisory responsibilities or aspects; by serving as a group or team leader or in similar work in which opportunities for demonstrating supervisory capabilities exist; by completion of training courses in supervision accompanied by application of supervisory skills in work assignments or by favorable appraisals by a supervisor indicating the possession of supervisory potential. 

Substitutions Allowed: 

          Substitution of Education for Experience: 

          1.          Graduation from high school may be substituted for the required one-half (1/2) year of General Experience.

 

          2.          Successful completion of a substantially full-time equivalent clerical, stenographic or secretarial curriculum leading to a degree, diploma or a certificate of achievement at an accredited community college or at a business or technical school which included courses in basic English, arithmetic, general clerical procedures and office machines may be substituted for the one (1) year of General Experience provided the duration of the training was for a year or more.

 

          3.          Successful completion of a substantially full-time equivalent clerical, stenographic or secretarial curriculum leading to a degree, diploma or a certificate of achievement at an accredited community college, business or technical school which was for a period of less than one (1) year may be substituted for General Experience on a month-for-month basis provided the training included courses in basic English, arithmetic, general clerical procedures and office machines.

 

          4.          Successful completion of one-half (1/2) a school year of substantially full-time clerical, stenographic or secretarial curriculum at an accredited community college, business and/or technical school which included courses in basic English, arithmetic, general clerical procedures and office machines, may be substituted for six (6) months of General Experience.

 

          5.          Successful completion of one (1) school year (of a program of more than one [1] year in length) of substantially full-time clerical, stenographic or secretarial curriculum at an accredited community college, business and/or technical school which included courses in basic English, arithmetic, general clerical procedures and office machines, may be substituted for one (1) year of General Experience.

 

          6.          Successful completion of a substantially full-time equivalent library science or technology curriculum leading to an Associate in Science or comparable degree from an accredited community college, junior college or other comparable institution, may be substituted for the General Experience or the Specialized Experience on the basis of one (1) year of such training for one (1) year of experience, up to maximum of two (2) years of General or Specialized Experience. 

 

          7.          Successful completion of a substantially full-time equivalent library science or technology curriculum at an accredited community college, junior college or other comparable institution, may be substituted for the General Experience or Specialized Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester credits for six (6) months of General or Specialized Experience, up to a maximum of two (2) years.

 

          8.          Education in an accredited university in a baccalaureate program with courses in English composition and college mathematics may be substituted for experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours for six (6) months of General Experience, up to a maximum of one (1) year of General Experience.

 

          9.          Applicants who possess a master's degree in library science or who have satisfactorily completed all of the coursework (except for the thesis and/or comprehensive qualifying examinations) leading to the master's degree in library science, from an accredited college or university may substitute their education for the General, Specialized and/or Technical/Paraprofessional Experience required, up to a maximum of one (1) year of general, two (2) years Specialized and two (2) years Technical/Paraprofessional Experience.

 

          10.        Graduate level coursework in library science from an accredited college or university may be substituted for the General, Specialized and/or Technical/ Paraprofessional Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester credits for six (6) months of experience. 

 

          11.         Excess Technical/Paraprofessional Experience may be substituted for Specialized or General Experience on a month-for-month basis. 

     

          12.        Excess Specialized Experience may be substituted for General Experience on a month-for-month basis.

 

Quality of Experience: Possession of the required number of years of experience will not in itself be accepted as proof of qualification for a position.  The applicant's overall experience must have been of such scope and level of responsibility as to conclusively demonstrate that applicant has the ability to perform the duties of the position for which applicant is being considered.

Salary:  The advertised salary is based on full-time employment and includes shortage and school year differentials, if applicable.

Requirements:  Applicants must meet all the requirements for the position they are seeking as of the date of the application, unless otherwise specified.  Unless specifically indicated, the required education and experience may not be gained concurrently.  Calculation of experience is based on full-time, 40-hour workweeks.  Part-time experience is pro-rated.  Example:  Twelve months of experience at 20 hours/week is equivalent to six months of experience, not one year.  Also, hours worked in excess of 40 hours/week will not be credited.  Example:  Twelve months of experience at 60 hours/week is equivalent to one year of experience, not one and a half years.

Temporary Assignment:  Claims of Temporary Assignment (TA) experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements must be verified and attached to the application using one of the options below:

1. A copy of the applicant’s TA History Report or equivalent system-generated report;

2. A signed letter from the applicant’s supervisor that includes the applicant’s name, his/her TA job title, the TA start and end dates (from mm/yy to mm/yy), his/her specific TA duties performed, and either the TA hours worked per week or total TA hours worked; or,

3. Copies of the applicant’s signed SF-10 Forms.

Documents:  Attach all relevant supporting documents to your application.  Documents that were attached to applications submitted before November 16, 2023 do not automatically attach or transfer to applications submitted on and after December 16, 2023.  All submitted documents become the property of the Hawaii State Department of Education.

Information about Temporary Positions:  Temporary positions may be extended year to year, dependent upon funding and departmental needs.  Making yourself available for temporary positions increases your employment possibilities and may lead to permanent opportunities.  A person hired for a temporary position may also become a temporary employee upon satisfactory completion of the initial probation period of at least six months.  Once a temporary employee, you would be eligible to apply for promotion and transfer opportunities to permanent as well as other temporary positions.  You may also enjoy other rights and benefits as afforded to an employee in a permanent position, with the exception of return rights and placement rights associated with a reduction-in-force.  

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