Student Worker Manual : Resource Sharing

IMPORTANT:  Please Read all the way through!  ^-^

I apologize for the length of this document, but there is a lot of information that I need to update you on.  Please read and get back to me with any questions you may have:

Entering the Library, HUSKY IDS ARE REQUIRED!
To enter the library, you MUST have a current valid Northeastern Husky Card (no sign-ins will be permitted).  You will also need your card to tap access into staff areas.  We have given your IDs access to 260SL, 270SL, the Staff break room, and the Circ area on the 1st floor.  Do not forget your card and keep it on you at all times! 

Don’t feel well?  What to do?

If you don’t feel well, then please stay home.

1. Notify your supervisor asap.
2. Get lots of rest, take it easy, and we hope you get well soon!!!

If you feel better, then email your supervisor and work your next shift.

Covid?

Please refer to Northeastern University’s current Covid guidelines:  https://news.northeastern.edu/coronavirus/reopening/vaccine/.

1. Don’t go to work.
2. Notify your supervisor asap.
3. Get lots of rest, take it easy, and we hope you get well soon!!!

When you feel better and your quarantine is over, then email your supervisor and work your next shift.

Break Time and Food 

If you have a break during your shift, then please make sure to take it!  Break time does not roll over and cannot be used to arrive or leave early for your shift. 

When you go on your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat (your “timesheet” of the day).  When you come back from your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat.  (EXAMPLE: I am going on my break.  I am back from my break.)

Out of courtesy to other users, please do not eat at shared workstations.  You may eat meals in the staff lounge.  Drinking beverages (non-alcoholic obviously) in our office or at the Circulation Desk is okay! 

So, if you have a break and would like to eat, please go to the staff lounge.  Your HuskyID will give you tap access. 

The staff lounge is located on the 2nd floor.  Please see here: 

Through this door: 
 
Once through this door, the Staff Lounge will be your first door on the right. 

Staff Computers?!

We have 2 student computer stations (circled in blue). 

Please feel free to choose either one at the start of your shift unless it has already been claimed by another student.  There is a computer station between the 2 student stations that is dedicated for microform viewing and does not have our interlibrary loan software on it.  Please do not use the middle computer station, it has a sign:

Timesheets?
There are no physical time sheets.  There might be a formal, online timesheet at a later date.  For now, at the start of your shift, please say “Hi” and “Goodbye” on the RS Teams chat.  Each computer station in the office has the MS Teams application pre-loaded to the desktop.  You just need to sign in with your myNortheastern username and password and access our Team.

MS Teams 
I have created a Team for us on MS Teams.  It is called Resource Sharing Department (Interlibrary Loan @ Snell Library).  Here is the link to our Resource Sharing Team.

Our Team is split between General (for our online “timesheet” and questions) and Training Guides (for all our Training info).  Your supervisors are available to chat and Video call through Teams during your shift for any and all questions you may have!  

Someone asked me for help out in the Library.  What do I do?

There is little to no direct interaction between you and patrons.  But, as you will be shifting books and packages between floors, then you may get stopped by a patron for help.  If it does happen, then gently explain that you are student staff shifting books/packages and that library staff can help them either at the Help & Information Desk on the 1^st floor of the library or via the online Chat accessible on the library homepage https://library.northeastern.edu/.

Done for the day?  Log Out and Shut down!

10 minutes before your shift ends, STOP! 

1. Return any materials to their pre-process shelves. 
2. Log out of Teams and any other applications.
3. Turn off the computer.

Thank you for your hard work and hope you have a good day!

Questions? Comments? Fears or Worries?

Please reach out to your supervisor. 

Resource Sharing Staff Policies

Breaks

• You get a break if you work a 3-hour or longer shift and acquire 5 minutes of break time for every hour you work during that shift.  If you work a 3-hour shift, then you have a 15 minute break.  If you work a 2-hour shift, then you do not have a break.

• When you go on your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat (your “timesheet” of the day).  When you come back from your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat.  (EXAMPLE:  “I am going on my break.”  “I am back from my break.”)

• Break time does not roll over and cannot be used to arrive or leave early for your shift. 

• If you go on a break during a stack search, then never leave your truck upstairs while you are on your break.  Bring it down with you when you tell your supervisor.

Cellphones

• Please keep all personal phone use during work hours to a minimum.
• Calls under 30 seconds is okay in the office.  (enough time for “Hi, I can’t talk right now, I’m working and will call you back.”)
• Emergency calls over 30 seconds, but under 5 minutes is to be taken to 4^th floor phone room after notifying a supervisor that you are doing so.
• Calls over 5 minutes will be taken out of your sign-in and/or break time.
• Texting/Messaging:  Please keep texting and messaging in any app to a minimum.  3-5 texts/messages during a 3-hour shift is okay. 3-5 texts/messages a minute is not.

Computers

• Always check with a supervisor before using a computer for personal use.
• There is absolutely NO computer usage allowed on any of the open computers while you are on a stack search.

Dress Code

• Casual.
• Comfortable, but not revealing.
• Suit and Tie are not necessary.
• Footwear on at all times.  Hopefully, comfortable as you will be walking around to transport books.
• No clothing with sexist or racist language or symbols please.

FAX

• Absolutely NO personal FAX usage is allowed.

Food & Drinks

• NEVER around the scanner.
• Out of courtesy to other users, full time, part time, and student staff should not eat at shared workstations. Please eat meals in the staff lounge.  
• Drinking beverages (non-alcoholic obviously) in our office or at the Circulation Desk is okay.

HuskyID

• You MUST have your HuskyID on you at all times during your shift.
• To enter the library, you MUST have a current valid Northeastern Husky Card (no sign-ins will be permitted). 
• You will also need your card to tap access into all staff areas, which includes our office. 

Music and Video

• Usage of any portable media devices (smart phones, iPods, etc.) while you work is allowed only for listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc.  Please use your headphones. 
• Please do not watch videos while you work.  You can watch videos if you are having quiet study.  Please use your headphones.
• Please make sure to moderate your volume.  If other people can hear you, then it is too loud.

Photocopier/Printer (office)

• Always check with a supervisor before using the copier/printer for personal use.  This benefit is only allowed to our student workers (not extended to friends/family).  Please keep copies to a minimum.

Quiet Study

• Quiet study during a shift is not guaranteed.  It is a privilege, not a right.  If you are done with your assigned work and your supervisor says quiet study is okay, then please feel free to study or use your phone.  Quiet activities only.
• PLEASE BE AWARE, if more work arises during your shift, then quiet study will be interrupted in favor of additional work.

Sick/Vacation/Absences

• Always inform your supervisors as soon as you know you will need time off.
• Always e-mail if you can’t come in to tell your supervisor.  The e-mail address is ill@northeastern.edu. Please, cc a copy to Pamela at p.diaz@northeastern.edu.

Talking

• Yes you may!  We encourage you to interact with your co-workers and get to know one another.  But, please remember to continue working while you talk and moderate your speech in both volume and word choice.  Keep in mind, this is a small office and the full-time staff may be trying to speak with a patron either on the phone or in person.

 

!!!CAUTION!!!

These guidelines are strictly for my own Resource Sharing Aide student workers and will differ from other departments.  If you have another job on campus, then make sure you check with them to see what their policies are.

 

1. If Northeastern University is CLOSED (when you are watching school closings on the news, online, or radio), then the office is closed.  DO NOT COME INTO WORK!!!
2. If Northeastern is not officially CLOSED, but you feel that coming to work would be dangerous for you to do, then DO NOT COME INTO WORK!!! And, just call me/send me an e-mail to that effect.  Don't forget my number is 617-373-3198, e-mail is p.diaz@northeastern.edu, and the main office number is 617-373-8276, e-mail is ill@northeastern.edu
3. If you have an afternoon shift and the campus announces that afternoon activities/classes are canceled due to the weather, then go with #2.  Work if you can, but if you feel the weather is getting worse and you need to get home while you still can, then DO NOT COME INTO WORK!!!  And, just call me/send me an e-mail to that effect.
4. If the campus is not CLOSED, if you feel the weather is okay to travel in when the campus does not get CLOSED, or if it doesn't snow even though all news channels say it will (it has happened), then do come in for your shift.

If you have any questions or are unsure about these protocols, then please contact your supervisor.

What to Do When Pamela is Out of the Office?

• Check in with Jonathan and/or Molly to see if they need help with anything.  In the rare event that all supervisors are out, then do not worry about checking in with a full-time staff member and proceed with the rest of the list.

• Here is a list of duties in order of priority.  Please work on what you have been trained on.  Anything you haven’t trained in yet, please skip:

1. Banding ILLiad Borrowing Books (when banding is ready, staff usually park the truck in front of the candy bowl, with all the banding paperwork; if the banding paperwork is not on the truck, then the set is not ready for banding yet):  Band books and shelve on the Hold Shelf.  Don’t forget to @On Hold Shelf in your Teams chat after the books go on the Hold Shelf, so that staff can update and email notifications!
2. Open and sort Incoming Mail:  Check 1^st floor for additional incoming UPS or Courier packages.  Don't forget to fill out that Incoming Mail tracking sheet under Training Guides.  Follow the instructions in Incoming Mail - Retrieve and Incoming Mail – Sort under Files>Training Guides.
3. Book Searching (any pull slips will be in the tray next to the candy bowl):  Refer to the Stack Search Tips file under Files>Training Guides for searching strategies.
4. Scan Articles.
5. Hold Shelf Check:  Make sure the shelf is in alphabetical order by last name, make sure all the books are upright and not falling over, and pull any expired interlibrary loans and add them to the ILLiad Return shelves (only pull books for the day before; if today is Tuesday September 2^nd, then you would pull any books up to Monday September 1^st; also, ignore any books without our ILL bands on the front cover, someone else is in charge of those books)
6. ILLiad Borrowing Returns:  Pull all returns from the Interlibrary Loan Returns trucks on the 1^st floor and also check the Interlibrary Loan Returns trucks in the office for additional returns.  Follow the instructions in ILLiad Borrowing Returns Processing and ILLiad Borrowing Returns Checklist under Files>Training Guides.
7. Ship Outgoing UPS.  Follow the instructions in UPS How to Ship under Files>Training Guides.
8. Ship Outgoing Courier.
9. Ship Outgoing Bookrate.
10. Ship Outgoing FedEx:  Follow the instructions in FedEx How to Ship, FedEx International How to Ship, and FedEx How to Schedule a PickUp under Files>Training Guides.
11. Process Rapid E-journals:  Follow the instructions in Rapid Ejournals Lending Student Guide under Files>Training Guides.
12. Break a truck:  “Needs to be Sorted”
13. Build a truck:  “To Be Shelved” (double sided, 2 shelves)
14. Shelve a truck:  “To Be Shelved”

Don’t forget to take your break (if you qualify for one) during your shift.  When you go on your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat (your “timesheet” of the day).  When you come back from your break, please make a note in your Team’s chat.  (EXAMPLE: I am going on my break.  I am back from my break.)

• If you have a question, then please go to Jonathan or Molly.  If by chance both are unavailable in office or Teams, then message me directly in Teams and I will follow up on your question when I return to the office.  If it is an ILLiad request you are trying to update, then reply “no” for any pop ups, set the book on my UFO truck with a postit about the error you encountered, or message me in Teams with as much info as possible (if there is no book).

• All duties done (that you have been trained in), then final check in with Jonathan and/or Molly to see if they need help with anything.  Nothing, then Quiet Study until your shift ends. Don’t forget our policies regarding Quiet Study:  If more work arises during your shift, then quiet study will be interrupted in favor of additional work.

Thank you and have a good day!