July - Member Question - Supervisor Nights

Question: Are all staff required to work at least 2 nights a week? Does this include supervisors?

Answer by Diane Wetterlin, Oceanfront Area Library: Full-time staff are required to work 40 hours per week (including supervisors). The actual schedule at each agency is determined by the total staffing at that agency, other work the supervisor may be doing, and by the number of staff available to be "in charge" of the building.

July - Member Question - Librarian Requirements

Question: What are the minimum qualifications for the Librarian I positions? Do they require an MLS degree?

Answer by Nancy Pavona, Administrative Services Manager: The minimum qualification for the Librarian I position is an MLS/MLIS degree from an accredited college or university or the Virginia State Library Certificate.

With the most recent Librarian I/III positions that were advertised, we also accepted applications from anyone who was within 6 months of completing his or her MLS/MLIS degree. If one of those applicants is hired, it is a condition of their employment that their degree must be completed no later than 6 months from the date of hire.

If you have any questions about the minimum qualifications for any library position, please contact Nancy Pavona in Library Administration.

June - Member Question about Overdrive

Question: Customers are asking about downloadable audio books and I have been telling them about Overdrive. However, I find nothing on our webpage letting customers know about this change. When will Overdrive become available for customers and will there be any advertising to this change?



Answer by Toni Lohman, Service Development Manager: The launch date had to be moved back to July 15 due to some technical issues that are currently being resolved. We plan to have a "soft" opening without doing any publicity except posting the information on our website. Once we're sure everything is working correctly, hopefully around the first of August, we'll begin promoting it.

June - Member Question - How Much to Help Customers with Applications

Question: I am confused by a recent incident and am seeking clarification on whether or not we physically type applications for customers. Our philosophy, I thought, was to teach customers how to use resources, and not do their genealogy, homework or applications for them. Instead, I thought we guided them on how to use our resources. What is our current thinking on this?

Answer by David Palmer, Public Services Manager: Doing a customer's work for him is not a service we routinely provide because it's not a service we can be assured we can continue to offer. Teaching a customer to use our resources gives him skills he can use far into the future.

There are times, however, when taking the extra step and actually assisting with data entry or finding the exact paragraph that the customer needs is appropriate.

Each situation is unique and, if staffing permits, there is no problem with staff providing one-on-one assistance. If staffing is an issue or if the customer becomes too dependant on personal staff assistance, then the matter needs to be discussed with your supervisor who will talk with the customer about other options for getting the personal help needed.

June - Member Question - Applicant Pool

Question: With the Librarian I interviews upcoming, if an Information Specialist II is hired to move into that position, will they re-open to hire for their replacement? Is there an eligibility list from the last and most recent pool?

Answer by Nancy Pavona, Administrative Services Manager: If one of our existing Information Specialist IIs is hired as a Librarian I, we will readvertise the full time IS II position.

Over the last year, the Recruitment, Selection & Hiring (RSH) Team has been revising and piloting several new processes related to our hiring practices. It is the recommendation of the RSH Team that we no longer maintain eligibility lists for any library positions other than Clerks and the eligibility lists for Clerks will expire after 90 days instead of six months.

By the end of the summer, we plan to have all of the hiring managers thoroughly trained on the changes to our recruitment, selection and hiring processes. If you have any other questions related to the changes in these processes, please contact Nancy Pavona in Library Administration.